Anti-Filipino remark on ‘Desperate Housewives’?
The mob is at it again. Filipinos have recently forwarded emails, posted blog entries, and signed online petitions decrying the supposedly “racist” remark that Teri Hatcher’s character in the US TV show Desperate Housewives uttered in last week’s season premiere.
The “offending” line:
Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas because I just wanna make sure that they’re not from some med school in the Philippines.
A clip of the scene is here:
An online petition calling for the show’s producers and writers to apologize for the episode’s “discriminatory and hurtful” remark has already gathered more than 12,000 signatures as of this posting (Oct. 8 update: now make that 108,000, wow!). But do all these petitioners really know what the issue is about? Or is it merely a case of not being left behind by the mob?
They said it was offensive to Filipinos, I’m Filipino, therefore, I should be in.
At worst, the remark was a jab at some schools, not just the medical schools, and diploma mills in the country that continue to produce graduates who are not skilled enough for work. Watch the video again. Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher’s character)’s line was neither a racist comment against Filipino doctors nor against Filipinos in general.
As long as we have a place called Recto where fake diplomas can easily be bought and licensure exam fiascos that undermine the credibility of our professionals, the state of Philippine education will continue to be the butt of jokes.
Hell, even we ourselves do it. Don’t we laugh so hard whenever the latest batch of school-bashing jokes are out?
UST - UP Sana Tayo
DLSU - Di Lumusot Sa UPCAT
ADMU - And Daming Mali sa UPCAT
MAPUA - Meron Akong Panaginip, UP Ako!
FEU - Failed to Enter UP
CEU - Can’t Enter UP
PUP - Parang UP
AdU - Ako’y Di UP
PLM - Pangarap Lang Mag-UP
PNU - Puro Nagsibagsak sa UPCAT
PWU - Puro Wishing UP
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How is this different? Because it was delivered by a foreign country? In that case, Indians should complain (hell, yeah, they should file a government protest!) that we continue to call them “Bumbays” (from “Bombay,” the city), and we knowingly use the term derogatorily, not even as a joke.
Had the line been mentioned matter-of-factly in a news or documentary program, our protest would have been valid. But lest we forget, Desperate Housewives is a dramedy — a drama AND a comedy. Everything said there should not be taken seriously. For one, Susan Mayer was definitely in character — insensitive, arrogant, and stupid — when she delivered the line.
Locally, GMA7’s Bubble Gang has, for almost a decade now, continued to poke fun at Diego for being “ugly and gay” and at Mykah for being “baluga or dark-colored.”
Where’s the rage? Is it because those are now accepted as “legitimate” jokes? They sure don’t sound funny to gays, the dark-colored, or the ugly, but why are people not complaining?
It’s time we quit having double standards. It’s also time we improve the quality of education in our schools.
But please, mob, it’s not time to call for another boycott.
UPDATE: The show’s network, ABC, has issued an apology for the said remark:
The producers of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere. There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines. As leaders in broadcast diversity, we are committed to presenting sensitive and respectful images of all communities featured in our programs.
In the end, however, all this hullabaloo only created more buzz and publicity for the show. Desperate Housewives still wins.
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Have your own thoughts? Join the discussion here.
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November 25th, 2007 at 11:59 am
To Liz again! You talk of the Chinese gangs gang raping as their favorite pastimes, when it’s Filipino fathers who rape their own children and fathers who rape their own daughters in laws! Don’t believe what I said? Then do dig up the old issues of Philippine Newspapers that have headlines of FILIPINO dogs raping their own children!!!
November 25th, 2007 at 11:55 am
To Liz.
You should be ashamed of yourself and your biased remarks against Chinese-Filipinos in the Philippines and believe it or not, whether you like it or not, Jose Rizal is half-Chinese. You talk so much about Chinese gangs in Chinatown in Manila, when it’s the Filipino gangs, rebels and terrorists that do the most damage and killing in our country. Your own kapwa, you brown assed boastful arrogant Flip gook!
And you’re an engineer? Let me tell you something, go be and engineer and leave the political and social talk to those who know what they are talking about. Filipinos, not Chinese or any other nationality are your own worst enemy, YOU are our own worst enemy!
November 11th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
I understand is not the first language of many Filipinos. In fact, it can be tough for Filipinos to catch the nuance that someone speaks. Thanks for the clip because I can see the comment clearly for the first time.
It was intended as dry humor and if anything it was a negative comment towards the character played by Terri Hatcher. She was unable to accept the medical results given by the doctor so immediately said, hey I want to look at your diplomas and see if they come from someplace like the Philippines.
To fully understand the comment, you have to understand the humor and understand about the path some doctors take to studying medicine. The doctor in the show was obviously an American. Some American who have very low grades but have money will go to study medicine in countries where payment was get you into medical school. examples might be Russia, the Carribean and even the Philippines. So even if you consider it a jibe against the doctor, then the farthest you can go is that it was comment against Americans who attended medical school abroad.
All that Filipinos did by protesting was to let the whole world know three things:
a) They have difficulty understanding English in a cultural context. (Call center companies spend a lot of money convincing companies of the opposite.)
b) Filipinos have no sense of humor.
c) Filipinos are too concerned with how people view them but are not concerned at all about how they behave. Take a trip to recto and see if Filipinos really care about the quality of education.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:18 am
@Liz
I’m also a nurse working in the US (I got my deploma at UST) and I don’t think it is a big deal. I let my own handy work speak for itself. I make sure I provide the best service I possibly can and everybody at my hospital knows that. I choose to lead by example and not wasting my time ranting on some messageboard.
Do you think your arguments will change the opinions of people here? I don’t think so.
As for this show damaging our reputation. What will damage our reputation is ACTUAL malpractice and poor service in the workplace, not some silly remark on some stupid sitcom. Believe me, if professional institutions such as hospitals, care centers or the US government started to discriminate against pinoys just because of some silly remark on a satire piece, I will be the first pinoy to leave the States.
Be the best that you can be. Show them we pinoys are one of the best people in this field.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:03 am
To be fair, if you think the Filipino media is bad. You guys should go and check out the the low end of the spectrum of Japanese TV. Although Filipino pop is one of the worst once at least we are not exactly the bottom of the barrel
November 11th, 2007 at 2:35 am
isa pa liz, siguro nga may mga gang rapes sa china, pero it is a fact na RAPE CAPITAL ang pilipinas na pati apo, anak, kapatid, hindi isolated cases.
November 11th, 2007 at 2:32 am
@Liz, di mo lang amtanggap na malaking prsyento sa dugo ni rizal ay instik.
di ba instik din si aguinaldo, manuel l quezon, sergio osmena
nakakahiya ka, kasaysayan ng pilipinas, di mo alam