Metacritique of P-Pop Culture: Visual Consumption, Fandom, and the Formation of a Filipino Cultural Criticism

Abstract

This study is a metatheoretical analysis, or metacritique, that examines existing research on P-pop culture, particularly the fandom of the girl group BINI (BLOOMs), to articulate a Filipino-oriented framework of cultural criticism. Instead of relying on empirical data, the study critiques the theories, arguments, and methodologies used to conceptualize fandom as a domain of contemporary popular culture. Drawing on Mirzoeff’s Visual Culture Theory (2015) and Jenkins’ Participatory Culture Theory (2006) as external lenses, and the Filipino Psychology of Enriquez (1992) and Covar (1997) as the internal grounding perspective, the study reveals that dominant interpretations remain shaped by Western epistemologies. However, these can be localized and enriched through loob, damdamin, and pakikipagkapwa, which function as indigenous analytical categories. The study proposes the P-pop Metacritique Framework, a model that bridges global theories with Filipino sensibilities, underscoring that a Filipino metacritique is rooted in interiority, affect, and relationality.