Desperate Housewives: How not to insult the Filipino
By Marisse G. Abelgas
I’ve never watched a single episode of “Desperate Housewives.” At least not until yesterday, when a barrage of angry e-mail pointed me in the general direction of this network’s website where I could watch a re-run of the 9/30/07 episode in which Teri Hatcher, one of the show’s ensemble cast, had been given the most unfortunate task of mouthing a most unbelievably stupid line.
Eighteen minutes into the show, there it was: Teri Hatcher’s character is told by her gynecologist that the dreaded female condition called menopause is slowly but surely creeping up on her, and her character responds with the line : “Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Coz I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines.”
Now, most of us who may or may not be typical desperate housewives of any shape, form or color would respond thusly: “Okay, before we go any further, can I check my birth certificate? Coz I would just like to make sure there’s no mistake regarding my date of birth.”
But to deride your own doctor?! To insult Filipino doctors?! I’m sorry, but the producers and the entire cast and crew of the show, male and female both, deserve to be cursed with hot flashes, hormonal imbalance and loss of libido for the rest of the season and their entire lives for that matter, if that’s the best line they can come up with to deal with a sensitive issue such as menopause.
I suspect one of their scriptwriters is of Filipino descent who may or may not have gone through the ordeals of menopause, but who, perhaps after hearing Filipino relatives punning their own, decided to inject into the script some rather morbid humor about his or her race. In any case, I sincerely suggest that the show’s producers immediately fire that scriptwriter, simply because he or she obviously doesn’t know that one of the basics of scriptwriting is research, research, research.
If the show’s scriptwriter had only done his or her job, he or she would have known several things:
One, Filipino doctors, nurses and other health workers are some of the best, if not the best in their fields. More than that, they are highly regarded all over the world, and much sought after.
Two, I’m willing to bet you will not find one hospital or medical facility in the U.S. where there isn’t at least one Filipino physician, nurse or some other type of medical professional. Woe upon Teri Hatcher if she should ever get sick and hospitalized, because let me tell you, Filipinos are not easily starstruck if they’ve been unduly insulted.
Three, countless Americans trust Filipino doctors and hospitals so much they would much rather go to the Philippines for major surgeries. In fact, if the scriptwriter had done his or her job really well, he or she could have instead advised Teri Hatcher to just go to the Philippines for less expensive but high-quality surgical facelifts.
Four, you can laugh about Filipinos, or insult Filipinos, only if you’re a Filipino yourself. You can crack jokes on TV or any public forum, about Filipino politicians, actors, doctors, lawyers, TNTs, OFWs or balikbayans, only if you’re a Bert Marcelo or a Willie Nepomuceno or an Ai-Ai de las Alas. But never, and I mean never, if you’re a Teri Hatcher. Remember what happened to Joan Rivers and her doggie comment? Remember the ensuing hate mail campaign, the boycott, the endless, vicious counter-jokes? That wasn’t pretty now, was it?
So here’s the thing: The Philippine Government is demanding an apology from the network. I suggest we go further than that. I suggest we demand that by way of an apology, the network create a character on the show who’s a handsome Filipino doctor who graduated from a Philippine med school, who has a smart, lovely wife who’s a doctor herself or a lawyer or nurse (and not some desperate housewife so she doesn’t have to be given a part in the show), with three intelligent and beautiful children who are always at the top of their class (and therefore do not need speaking parts on the show either), and with a relative who’s some powerful politician in the Philippines who constantly visits Teri Hatcher’s suburban neighborhood where Teri Hatcher and her neighbor-pals fight for his attention and money…when they’re not swooning over the dashing Filipino doctor of course. We’re going for complete realism here.
If the network can do something like that to appease my most offended soul, I’ll think twice about urging friends to join a boycott of the show/network. On the other hand, I can also settle for simply letting the network chop off the scriptwriter’s head. Spontaneous executions, after all, are always better for ratings than scripted apologies.
I’ve never watched a single episode of “Desperate Housewives.” At least not until yesterday, when a barrage of angry e-mail pointed me in the general direction of this network’s website where I could watch a re-run of the 9/30/07 episode in which Teri Hatcher, one of the show’s ensemble cast, had been given the most unfortunate task of mouthing a most unbelievably stupid line.
Eighteen minutes into the show, there it was: Teri Hatcher’s character is told by her gynecologist that the dreaded female condition called menopause is slowly but surely creeping up on her, and her character responds with the line : “Okay, before we go any further, can I check those diplomas? Coz I would just like to make sure they are not from some med school in the Philippines.”
Now, most of us who may or may not be typical desperate housewives of any shape, form or color would respond thusly: “Okay, before we go any further, can I check my birth certificate? Coz I would just like to make sure there’s no mistake regarding my date of birth.”
But to deride your own doctor?! To insult Filipino doctors?! I’m sorry, but the producers and the entire cast and crew of the show, male and female both, deserve to be cursed with hot flashes, hormonal imbalance and loss of libido for the rest of the season and their entire lives for that matter, if that’s the best line they can come up with to deal with a sensitive issue such as menopause.
I suspect one of their scriptwriters is of Filipino descent who may or may not have gone through the ordeals of menopause, but who, perhaps after hearing Filipino relatives punning their own, decided to inject into the script some rather morbid humor about his or her race. In any case, I sincerely suggest that the show’s producers immediately fire that scriptwriter, simply because he or she obviously doesn’t know that one of the basics of scriptwriting is research, research, research.
If the show’s scriptwriter had only done his or her job, he or she would have known several things:
One, Filipino doctors, nurses and other health workers are some of the best, if not the best in their fields. More than that, they are highly regarded all over the world, and much sought after.
Two, I’m willing to bet you will not find one hospital or medical facility in the U.S. where there isn’t at least one Filipino physician, nurse or some other type of medical professional. Woe upon Teri Hatcher if she should ever get sick and hospitalized, because let me tell you, Filipinos are not easily starstruck if they’ve been unduly insulted.
Three, countless Americans trust Filipino doctors and hospitals so much they would much rather go to the Philippines for major surgeries. In fact, if the scriptwriter had done his or her job really well, he or she could have instead advised Teri Hatcher to just go to the Philippines for less expensive but high-quality surgical facelifts.
Four, you can laugh about Filipinos, or insult Filipinos, only if you’re a Filipino yourself. You can crack jokes on TV or any public forum, about Filipino politicians, actors, doctors, lawyers, TNTs, OFWs or balikbayans, only if you’re a Bert Marcelo or a Willie Nepomuceno or an Ai-Ai de las Alas. But never, and I mean never, if you’re a Teri Hatcher. Remember what happened to Joan Rivers and her doggie comment? Remember the ensuing hate mail campaign, the boycott, the endless, vicious counter-jokes? That wasn’t pretty now, was it?
So here’s the thing: The Philippine Government is demanding an apology from the network. I suggest we go further than that. I suggest we demand that by way of an apology, the network create a character on the show who’s a handsome Filipino doctor who graduated from a Philippine med school, who has a smart, lovely wife who’s a doctor herself or a lawyer or nurse (and not some desperate housewife so she doesn’t have to be given a part in the show), with three intelligent and beautiful children who are always at the top of their class (and therefore do not need speaking parts on the show either), and with a relative who’s some powerful politician in the Philippines who constantly visits Teri Hatcher’s suburban neighborhood where Teri Hatcher and her neighbor-pals fight for his attention and money…when they’re not swooning over the dashing Filipino doctor of course. We’re going for complete realism here.
If the network can do something like that to appease my most offended soul, I’ll think twice about urging friends to join a boycott of the show/network. On the other hand, I can also settle for simply letting the network chop off the scriptwriter’s head. Spontaneous executions, after all, are always better for ratings than scripted apologies.
