Sa pamamagitan ng karanasan ng mga tauhang tipikal, isinadula sa nobela ang magusot na ugnayan ng Pilipinas at U.S. na nakaugat sa kolonyalismo. Nakasalig ito sa kapitalistang lakas ng U.S. at komodipikasyong umiiral. Ang krisis ng neokolonya ay isinalarawan sa pagpatay sa isang Pilipinong trabahador sa loob ng base na hindi ginawaran ng makatarungang imbestigasyon. Isinudlong dito ang pagpaslang sa isang Kano ng isang anak-sa-ligaw, hatiang Filipino–-Amerikano, na ikinulong at naghihintay ng paglilitis. Ang pook ng ‘’Gapo ay tanghalan ng tunggalian ng puwersang umaapi, ang imperyong U.S. at kolonisadong lumalaban sa pagsasamantala. Umiikot ang salaysay sa kumplikadong kalagayan nina Mike Taylor Jr., ang “bastardo;” Modesto (kinatawan ng mga empleyado sa base); Alipio (baklang ayaw maging ama o ina), at Magda (biktima ng pinaslang na Kanong “customer”). Bukod sa ideolohiya ng maternidad na umuugit sa praktika ng kababaihan, ang problemang itinampok ay lantad na rasismo at seksismong kalakip sa imperyalistang paniniil. Sinipat dito kung paano nairesolba ang krisis ng identidad sa bisa ng pambansang alegorya, at sinuri ang halaga ng nobela bilang pagunita sa hamon ng krisis, ng suliranin nina Mike at Magda, nakabitin sa sitwasyong naranasan ni Jennifer Laude, ang huling biktima ng U.S. hegemonya. By means of typical characters, ‘’Gapo dramatizes the conflicted relation between the Philippines and the U.S. rooted in past and present colonialism. Sprung from the capitalist supremacy of the empire and dominant system of commodification, Olongapo functions here as the arena of the war between the colonized and colonizer. The neocolonial crisis is embodied in the dynamic psyches of Mike Taylor and Modesto, the chief protagonists; in Alipio, the gay character who grapples with the dilemma of being father or mother to a “brown” American; and Magda, the victim of an American customer slain by Mike, whose Filipina mother Magda nursed till her death. Besides the influence of maternal ideology over women, we witness here toxic racism and sexism at the core of imperial exploitation. The essay seeks to analyze how the crisis of identity is resolved by means of national allegory. The novel’s continuing relevance lies in how it can help illuminate the predicament of Mike and Magda whose symbolic predicament found concrete expression in the plight of Jennifer Laude, the latest victim of U.S. hegemony.
Keywords: Alegorya Base- Militar, Imperyo, neokolonyalismo, Pamilya, patriyarkoPatriyarko, Rasismo, Soberanya Allegory, Empire, Family, Military Base, Neocolonialism, Patriarchy, RacismAguilar, Delia. Toward a Nationalist Feminism. Manila: Giraffe Books, 1998. Print.
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