HACKERS, SEX WORKERS AND INEPT DOCTORS IN WHERE?

Popular culture has a way of disseminating certain ethnic groups into stereotypes. In American pop culture, images are conveyed as influenced by news  and events as they shape a socio-cultural impact on the American society. Russians are often portrayed as either die-hard communists or prostitutes. The Chinese and Japanese people are martial arts experts with Asian actors kicking butts  or sword-fighting onscreen. The Arabs are terrorists and the French are always fashionable, classy and elegant and Mexicans are either illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.

What about the Filipinos? Filipinos are not that so "popular" in mainstream American media. However, there few "citations and mentions" of Filipinos that did resonate among the American public. Some of them stirred controversy to the rage of Filipino communities in the USA and in the Philippines.

In American movies, Filipinos just fall into one category, militarymen  in the jungles as allies to American combat. But one exception could surprise you; when speaking, Filipino characters just only do one thing---they curse. The movies, "The Rock" with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery, "Constantine" starring Keanu Reeves, and "Her Alibi" with Tom Selleck and Paulina Porizkova all have Filipino extras delivering Tagalog curses.

American TV fare is more audacious than Hollywood movies because they really categorize Filipinos with a certain image. Some of them are listed below;

1) HACKER ---Mentioned in NCIS.

Probably spurred by the notorious big-time Filipino hacker, Onel De Guzman in 2000 who created the ILOVEYOU virus.

"We have hackers coming from the Philippines."

2) SEX WORKER---Mentioned in Family Guy.

"You just came from Manila...you ate some lumpia...and you had sex with Filipino women."

As prostitution in the Philippines grows rampant and widely-known to tourists and American military, it's not a surprise Filipinos can be typified as such.

3) ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT--Mentioned in Family Guy.

(Sorry, I forgot the exact dialogue).

Mexicans are generally portrayed in movies and TV programs as the illegal immigrants, but the Filipinos are slowly gaining that image too. Filipinos are the 3rd largest group of migrants followed by Mexicans(1st) and Chinese (2nd).

4) INEPT PHYSICIAN ---Mentioned in Desperate Housewives by Terri Hatcher

"Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? 'Cause I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines."

This racial slur had enraged so many Filipinos both in the Philippines and in the USA, especially the Filipino medical workers. ABC, the producer of Desperate Housewives, issued a one-paragraph public apology after several Filipino-American groups protested to ABC. The apology was not  accepted.  Personally, I think this is the most "uncouth, uncivilized, and insensitive remark about Filipinos" by the American media. It was simply derogatory, defaming and humiliating to Filipinos. The writer of the story is probably anti-Filipino.

OR QUACK/VILLAGE DOCTOR---Shown in Lost Season 4, Episode 1

In the first episode, Desmond lands in a village on an island and the people there are speaking Tagalog. Desmond runs and looks for the doctor because his wife Penelope is about to give birth. The doctor successfully delivers the baby.

5) MAIL-ORDER BRIDE---Mentioned by Alec Baldwin on the Late Show with David Letterman.

"I'm thinking about getting a Filipino mail-order-bride at this point....or a Russian one."

With the proliferation of dating agencies specializing in Filipino mail-order brides, I think Filipinos should not be sensitive with this joke because somehow this is true. But Philippine senator, Bong Revilla was so outraged and demanded a public apology, that he challenged the actor to come to the Philippines as mayhem will ensue.

Though these images are shown in American pop culture, the Americans themselves do not blatantly express them personally right at your face. I have learned while living here for more than a decade that the usual remarks they associate with Filipinos are just 2 things; balut (A Filipino egg delicacy), and nurses.

However, American pop culture says a different thing. Does it?

Anyway, can you think another typical Filipino image being portrayed in American pop culture? Do you agree with me here? If not, why?

RELATED POSTS:

MY OWN LIST OF FAMOUS FILIPINO-AMERICANS AND FAMOUS FILIPINOS IN AMERICA

Comments

[Sean]

I quite agree with you. I can relate much...

[Marly]

American media does not know anything better. Just racial profiling and stereotyping. It always happens.

[Mel Avila Alarilla]

It is very unfortunate that Filipinos are associated with these negative categories. The fault of one guy in disseminating the dreaded "I love you" computer virus have tarnished the whole Filipino people. Or that Filipinos are a nation of prostitutes (which country in the whole wide world does not have prostitution?) Or that because of an irreverent remark in a popular American TV show, Filipino doctors would be looked down upon as inept. Or that Filipinas are good for mail order brides. These negative type casting show utter disrespect and contempt for the Filipino people and nation. Which people in the world do not have dirty linens in their closet? Would it be appropriate to say that America is a land of massacres because of massacres perpetrated by some misguided individuals? Same thing with Filipinos. There are bad eggs among the Filipiono people but on the whole, Filipinos are hardworking, gregarious, God fearing and conscientious. No more typecasting and bigotry. Those are things of the past. Thanks for the informative post. God bless you always.

[Jade]

They do these everywhere, In Britain I don't know which show it was, but they categories Filipinos to maids that you could easily get.

It's really sad but the best thing to do is just ignore these ignorant people.

[marlu]

These comments really hurts and it is a disgrace to us Filipinos. On one end, these are all facts. We try to make a living that will make our ends meet so those who are underprivilege got no choice but to do things beyond their moral values without knowing it is a reflection to us Filipinos. A mistake of one citizen is the mistake of all Filipinos. That is how ignoramous people of these 1st world countries sees it, so be it noh as long as you know you're not either of those derogatory words mentioned.

[JR]

greats my friends...but i dont like hacker bacause that a wrong people

[Ms. Law]

it makes my heart bleed,,tsk tsk..kakalungkot (sigh)

[Don]

It is truly sad the we are so naive that we believe when we hear on the news about black on black crime that we believe all blacks are scum. Or all mexicans are drug dealers or all whites are rich and Filipinos are all prostitutes.
We should be smart enough to know there are bad apples in all barrels.

[Junior]

Bong Revilla is always out of line. He should stay out of politics, whether it be politics literally or politics in the media, he should just continue to make 'super-cop' movies where he's the one cop that destroys a gang of 50 with 1 handgun that has unlimited bullets and a pair of sunglasses.

[Alian]

I wouldn't have seen the mail-order brides ad if I hadn't turned off Adblock on your blog for the duration of June. Now that the ad revenue is no longer going to the Ituri Forest People's Fund I guess I should turn it off.