‘Blatant racism’: Hong Kong TV series ‘Barrack O’Karma 1968’ receives flak for actor wearing brownface

The concept of ‘Asianfishing’, wherein individuals of non-Asian descent use makeup, clothing or other means to appear East Asian, is not new in the entertainment industry. For long, it has been used to stereotype a particular section of society. A few months ago, Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma was called out for sporting a ‘brownface’ for her character in the film Chakda Xpress.
And now, a Hong Kong TV series is facing backlash over the use of ‘brownface’ after one of its actors darkened her skin with makeup for her role as a Filipina domestic worker. For the unversed, ‘brownface’ is referred to as makeup done to darken one’s face and other exposed skin to imitate the skin tone of an ethnic or racial group.
“I am transforming into another person,” actor Franchesca Wong, who appears in the show Barrack O’Karma 1968 with visibly darker skin, said in a Twitter video as she applied makeup. “I am sun-tanning right now.”

After the episode aired on Tuesday, several people took to social media to call out the casting of a Hong Kong actor over an actual Filipino to play the character, and for blatantly reinforcing the negative stereotypes associated with Asians.
“The Hong Kong media is raving about the performance of a local actress painting her face dark to play the role of a Filipina in a TVB series. I didn’t watch the show (not planning to) but this just feels so wrong. Why does this still ex in this day and age?,” Vivienne Chow, a journal wrote on Twitter.

The Hong Kong media is raving the performance of a local actress painting her face dark to play the role of a Filipina in a TVB series. I didn’t watch the show (not planning to) but this just feels so wrong. Why does this still ex in this day and age? pic.twitter.com/nRo169Kmy0
— Vivienne Chow (@VivienneChow) April 12, 2022
Many people expressed their displeasure over the ‘brownface’ in the comment section of the actor’s Instagram post.

“How are some people so blind to blatant racism lmao. Really disappointing,” a user wrote.
Another user commented: “Disappointing to see so many of my own unable to acknowledge the problem of brown facing, stereotyping, and the overwhelming amount of casual racism.”
“If you’re going to represent a marginalised population that is subject to systemic racism, you need to do better (ie represent them with dignity and respect). Not this brown face stereotype. This is just embarrassing and outdated for HK TV industry and anyone involved,” another comment read.
Raly Tejada, the Philippines’ Consul General in Hong Kong, expressed his concerns in a Facebook post and wrote, “The show is downright ignorant, insensitive and totally disgusting. It cannot be denied that the portrayal of the Filipino helper and use of brownface reinforces negative stereotypes that characterize the ‘Ban Mui’ – an offensive Cantonese slang.”

“Recent world events should have taught TVB that it is unacceptable to assign a corresponding social value to a particular race. You have no right to mock and ridicule people based on their race and ethnicity,” he added.

After receiving flak, TVB defended the show’s storyline and called it “simply a dramatic story-plot based on creativity”.
“TVB has always strived to provide top-notch entertainment experience for our viewers and we wish to emphasize that it was never our intention to show disrespect or to discriminate against any nationality in any of our programmes. We would like to express our concern to anyone who might be affected in this matter,” the broadcaster told CNN.
📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!