What is so bad about being Filipino? People are always cloaking their “Filipino-ness” with other asian stylings. I was watching the premiere of Medium the other night. As a side note, isn’t there something so endearing about big stars with bad teeth? I love it! It’s so humanizing. For those who are not fans of the show, Patricia Arquette plays a medium who has prophetic dreams and can see dead people. She’s also the Phoenix Police Department’s ace-in-the-hole for solving crimes. Oh, and she’s got crooked teeth.
The show opened with a naked Filipina girl, lounging in a bed talking to an unseen person. How do I know she was Filipino? Not only did she look Filipino with her almond-shaped eyes, brown skin and black hair, her speaking Tagalog pretty much gave it away. I know my knowledge of Tagalog is waning, but I do know it when I hear it. And this girl was speaking it. Yet—she was referring to being Indonesian, being in Indonesia, loving Indonesia. Okay, I got it…you’re Indonesian.
If you look Filipino, speak Tagalog, and quack like a duck…aren’t you a Filipino duck? I wonder if I am taking this too personally. On most days, my self-esteem already lingers on the basement level of Loehman’s. What are the producers of Medium trying to tell me? Is being Filipino something to be ashamed of? Would it be so horrible to set the scene in the Philippines rather than Indonesia? What is the big deal?
