By Daisy CL Mandap
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| Wong says sorry for playing the role of a Filipina helper who used sorcery to seduce her employer |
Equal Opportunities Commission chairperson Ricky Chu
said there were scenes in the controversial TV drama, Barrack O’Karma 1968 that he found disturbing and could be
construed as “bordering on racial discrimination.”
Chu made his remarks when asked for his opinion on
whether the TV episode might have violated racial discrimination laws during
The SUN Interviews, which aired live on Facebook Wednesday night.
He said what disturbed him most were the dialogues
in two scenes in episode 7 of the show where a male character used a collective
noun in addressing the local Chinese actress who played the role of a Filipina
domestic worker.
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By making the man say things like “You Filipina domestic
helpers are such and such…” Chu said there was a narrative that was totally
discriminatory and bordering on racial discrimination and possibly
vilification.”
He was joined in the program by Shiela Tebia
Bonifacio, a spokesperson of Asian Migrants Coordinating Body which announced
during a press conference held earlier in the day that it was mulling filing a
complaint with the EOC against those behind the program.
AMCB’s statement which Bonifacio read during the press
briefing said members were “very offended” by the drama series aired recently
by TVB, which it said unkindly portrayed migrant domestic workers as “dark-skinned
liars, seducers and witches.”
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Bonifacio said she had watched the TV drama with
some Chinese friends and it made her feel insulted, particularly because the Filipina domestic worker was
portrayed as having used witchcraft to
seduce her male employer.
She said the AMCB wished to complain, not so much about the brown-faced portrayal of Filipino migrant workers by a light-skinned actress, but because of the overall
negative depiction of their character.
Chu agreed that the brownface aspect may not be discriminatory in itself, but it could be
used with other elements to draw up sufficient evidence of
discrimination or vilification.
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| EOC chair Ricky Chu says a complaint has to be made before an inquiry can be launched |
Chu also welcomed Bonifacio’s desire to pursue a
case, saying the EOC needed a complaint before it could initiate an inquiry.
“I want to make it clear that I don’t want to pre-empt
a complaint,” said Chu.
He said the migrant workers’ group need not worry about
approaching the EOC because there will be a team that will assess their
complaint and advise them on their next move.
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Meanwhile, Franchesca Wong, the actress who darkened her skin to play the role of the Filipina helper, has broken her
silence following the uproar over the drama series.
“I genuinely have no intention to disrespect or
racially discriminate any ethnic group, please forgive me for getting it wrong.
It has been a challenging experience to be at the centre of the lesson that art
reflects deeply entrenched social attitudes,” said Wong.
“I am truly sorry that my insensitivities have
offended and hurt. I am committed more than ever to using my acting for the
good of the community.”
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| Wong was shown in a video while in the act of coloring her legs brown |
Consul General Raly Tejada who has slammed the show
for being “ignorant, insensitive and totally disgusting,” saw TVB’s move as an
admission that they did something wrong.
“I believe TVB has stopped making the show available
and they even shelved the second episode. This is a big victory and an
admission on TVB’s part that there is something wrong with their show,” he
said.
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But the country’s top diplomat who has fired off
letters of complaint to both TVB and the Hong Kong government over the perceived slight to Filipinos said the network
should do more than just pull out the show.
“I hope a proper apology could be issued by TVB,” he
said.
Congen Tejada also welcomed Wong’s public apology,
saying it was an admission that she did the Filipino community wrong.
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“I also see it as a sincere attempt to redeem herself,”
he said.
