Due to the "Desperate Housewives" incident, NaFFAA leaders are continuing to engage the network in opening doors and developing Filipino talent – in front and behind the camera.
Shortly after ABC apologized and deleted the offensive scene from the premiere episode – which were the only two demands in the Kevin Nadal-initiated petition – the senior vice president for diversity offered to undertake a special outreach program to increase opportunities for Filipinos who are interested in pursuing careers in television (writers, directors, producers, actors, execs, interns) and want access to direct information about ABC's many talent development programs. We agreed to schedule the first meeting on February or March next year in Los Angeles and New York.
As part of this relationship-building dialogue, we met last week with Steve McPherson himself – the president of ABC primetime entertainment – in his Burbank office. Arranged by Karen Narasaki, president of the Asian American Justice Center, the meeting included NaFFAA Vice Chair Rozita Lee, NaFFAA Exec. Director Doy Heredia and Dr. Fred Quevedo, representing the Association of Philippine Practicing Physicians.
McPherson acknowledged that the DH clip was "a terrible mistake" and "should not have happened." He assured us that scriptwriter Marc Cherry and their Standards and Practices Department, "and everyone who needed to be talked to were talked to," so that such jokes would not happen again.
Dr. Quevedo spoke about the vital role Philippine medical professionals play in this country, that 80 percent of doctors and nurses in the nation's hospitals are Filipinos. "But we don't see ourselves reflected on the screen," Quevedo said. Like "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy." In addition to being chief surgeons and head nurses, they are also experts on various fields of medicine. They can be called upon, for instance, on national news shows to comment on contemporary issues. On this, McPherson requested us to submit a data base of Filipino talents and expertise. "We're always looking at the same ten people all the time," he explained, referring to a relatively small pool of talent, mostly white. "We want more diversity, and the key is knowledge more than access."
To this end, he committed to working with NAFAA to develop an outreach brochure for ABC/Disney programs (funded by the company) specifically targeting the FilAm community, and to get the word out through NaFFAA about the network's various diversity programs.
McPherson also expressed interest in learning more about the Filipino veterans issue and possibly pitching it to "Boston Legal" (a lawyer show) as a potential story line. "We can have a Filipino suing the U.S. government," he said. He requested that materials be sent to him.
More importantly, McPherson – who has been honored by the Directors Guild of America for his "outstanding commitment to and leadership in the hiring of women and ethnic minorities" – committed to continue building on the relationship with the Filipino American community.
To maintain that relationship, NAFAA is joining the APA media coalition which monitors the networks and rates their diversity programs every year. Interestingly, the Latino Media Council gave ABC an A for making big strides in the portrayal of Latinos in primetime. Narasaki, however, noted that fewer advances have been made on the screen among Asian Americans, let alone Filipinos. Clearly, our work is cut out for us not only to educate the media but to position ourselves inside the industry.
Vida Benavides, a community activist familiar with how corporate media works, puts it bluntly: "We can complain all we want to Disney/ABC and other media organizations, but if our community does not back it up with supporting and promoting the next generation of writers, authors, actors, artists, dancers, choreographers, producers and film/studio talent, then who is going to do that for us?
"We need to have programs in place to encourage the next generation of artists and writers. Lawsuits, protests, boycotts, letters, calls to the Media and meetings with networks are all vehicles for social change, but with no lasting impact. But for the long term, we need to build a relationship that would enable us to put in place those mechanisms that will ensure our presence in front and behind the camera."
Engaging corporate media – with its power to influence hearts and minds – requires that we see the big picture. More conversations, and less confrontations, are more likely to open doors and sustain relationships.
If we are truly committed to transforming the complexion not only of corporate media but American society's culture as a whole, then we have to be actively engaged in a constructive way – in the way we harness and direct our collective energy in dealing with stereotypes, insults and racial slurs.
By Jon Melegrito, writer for the International’s Public Employee magazine and AFSCME International member.
(submitted by Perry Diaz: Contact: PerryDiaz@gmail.com)