HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPEVINE: OUR NEW ABNORMAL
Let’s make one thing perfectly clear first. I’m happy for the likes of Dolly de Leon and Chai Fonacier to have been given such pivotal roles in the international films Triangle of Sadness and Nocebo. I’m happy for the recognition they’ve enjoyed – and especially for Dolly and her Best Supporting Actress nominations for the Ruben Östlund film. Work in prestigious global films for Filipino actresses and actors is always a blessing I’ll recognize; and it’s doubly of importance to me when it’s a Filipino-produced film that gets universal recognition and praise, as that then goes beyond the stellar work of a single Filipino thespian in a cast.
But I can’t help but have a feeling of ambivalence when I read about the roles these Filipino actresses and actors are given. How there’s still an element of type-casting, of racial profiling going on. And yes, while I do accept the roles do mirror reality, we all know that said mirroring is only part of the total reality. I’m reminded of films coming out of the UK and/or France in the late 1970’s and 80’s, and how if there was a young Swedish girl, 99 percent of the time, she would be an “au pair” – the nanny for the toddlers and young children of some aristocratic or upper-class family. And while yes, a number of young Swedish girls took this route to earn money, it’s not like all young Swedish women of that era were au pairs.
In Triangle, Dolly plays a member of the housekeeping and toilet-cleaning staff of a luxury cruise ship; and let’s face it, the contingent of Filipinos are on the lowest rung of the service staff – the ones interacting with the guests are all white-faced. And while the role Dolly took on has a wonderful arc the moment, they’re marooned on what they think is a deserted island, I still felt the sting of this is how foreign audiences would perceive or categorize Filipinos.
DOLLY DE LEON in Triangle of Sadness, where as a member of the toilet-cleaning staff on a luxury cruise ship, she reverses roles and lords it over the marooned survivors when the ship encounters an accident.
In Nocebo, filmed in Ireland, Chai Fonacier applies as a domestic/nanny to the family of a fashion designer who was involved with sweat shops here in Asia. There’s something mysterious about Fonacier’s character, and she is the fulcrum for much of what happens in this psychological drama disguised as a horror suspense film. But here again, it’s the lower rung of the service industry; and as with Dolly’s role, those jobs that most Europeans would no longer take on.
So yes, I am peeved by this form of type-casting by Hollywood and the film industry of the West. When have you watched a film where the maid, caregiver, or street cleaner in a European or American city came from Thailand, Singapore, or Vietnam? In Crazy Rich Asians, you had the revelation that the patriarch of a Singaporean family seeking shelter in a posh London hotel, actually owned the hotel – and the revelation comes after the manager is rude to the Asian family.
IN A SCENE from Nocebo, Chai Fonacier answers the call to be a nanny/domestic for the family of an Irish children’s wear fashion designer.
A 2020 novel by Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown, chronicles how this racial profiling has been going on for Chinese-Americans for decades in the American film and television industry. It’s a hilarious novel; but there are hard, biting and bitter truths underlying the humor. I loved how Yu has his main character construct a hierarchy of bit roles for the Chinese-Americans working on a TV show – in ascending order, from Generic Asian Man to Background Oriental Making a Weird Face, to Disgraced Son, and the pinnacle of Kung Fu Guy. With Kung Fu Guy, you’ll actually have seconds of air time with the camera trained on you.
And given that this racial profiling is a hard wall to tear down, I’ll salute South Korea, and what they’ve achieved – presenting Korea on its own terms. Across genres, over time, and with impeccable marketing savvy, they’ve turned the tables on the world by producing their own content, and successfully showcasing the diversity of Korea. From films such as Parasite, Train to Busan, Minari, and Decision to Leave, and TV series such as Close Landing to You and Squid Game, there’s no stopping the juggernaut cultural and artistic impact of this one country. And let’s not forget BTS, and how the pop group represents $3.9 billion of revenue for the South Korean economy yearly.
Let’s also recognize that this is no overnight phenomenon, but something that South Korea worked on for decades, polishing the formula with all its diversity, until they got their outstanding success stories. Oldboy was a 2003 film that the USA picked up the rights for, and had Spike Lee direct. In TV, we’ll remember Jewel in the Palace from that same year. In music, Rain was your first-generation K-Pop Star, Wonder Girls and their hit song Nobody was 2008, and PSY’s Gangnam Style broke in 2012.
It’s a process, one that’s painstakingly built up over the years, and I’m sure there are misses and failures along the way; but there’s also the concerted effort and dedication to come up with the right formula for success. So instead of whining about Korean output, or living in denial by just claiming we’re better; let's galvanize and use the small gains of Dolly and Chai to further Philippine artistic content in the global arena.