World

BBC producers defiant over racist slur

by jayr_patron | October 9, 2008 at 12:07 am

232 views | 17 Recommendations | 4 comments

From the United States' "Desperate Housewives" to UK's "Harry and Paul", TV productions can't seem to have enough of the global Filipino worker.

Early this week, officials and civic groups have issued statements condemning the show and its producers and demanding apology from the BBC.

The production company behind a BBC comedy sketch that provoked outrage in the Philippines for being racist said Tuesday that the show was "absurd" and should not be taken seriously.

The Philippine justice minister and the ambassador to Britain have demanded a public apology from the British broadcaster for the sketch, which shows a character urging another to "mate" with a Filipino maid.

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mchawk

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 00:40 on October 9th, 2008

jayr_patron, I like this story. It's good stuff.

This is like saying Basil Fawlty's "don't mention the war" scene is insulting to Germans, or Python's "spam, spam, spam" is insulting to Norwegians. When did absurdist satire ever get taken for more than it's meant to be?

I think the ambassador needs to take a deep breath.

jayr_patron

at 00:52 on October 9th, 2008

Not that I don't value my being a Filipino, but you're right in that it should not be taken for more than it's meant to be...a satire.

People can be over-sensitive sometimes. And I can't blame them, especially here in the Philippines where individuals and groups take to great lengths to change the image of the Filipina (Filipino woman), seen by many as mail-to-order brides, domestic helpers, etc.

On the bigger perspective, we're all the same.