Filipinos as jihadists? Online protest against film is on

The Filipino a suicide bomber? It’s like Chinese people portraying the Corleone cronies in “The Godfather.”

There may be tiny pockets of Muslim separatists in the South, but Filipino people have never been known to be jihadists. This unfortunate detail is cinematically faulty.

But in “Act of Valor,” a film about the much-heralded Navy SEALS, the storyline revolves around “a plot to destroy a handful of American cities using state-of-the-art bomb vests strapped to lowly Filipinos,” according to a Boston.com review. The SEALS elite unit is best remembered for the masterful way they took down Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan hideout. The Al-Qaeda leader was killed during the operation.

The film’s actors are real SEALS troopers who portray their heroism in real life, but the principal characters are played by screen stars like Alex Veadov and Roselyn Sanchez. The directors are Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh.

There is now a petition calling for an end to the stereotyping of Filipinos as terrorists in American movies. Filipinos said the film is “malicious” and “distorts” their image as God-loving people.

“We condemn the portrayal of Filipinos as evil fanatics and jihadists who hate Americans in the film ‘An Act of Valor.’ The extremely negative stereotyping of Filipinos especially in a film about terrorism is beyond disingenuous and may in fact prove dangerous to Filipinos around the world. We demand corrective measures and a formal apology to the Filipino people from the filmmaker, the producer and the owner of (the film),” says the petition which has gathered about 30 signatures at presstime.

One of the supporters, immigration lawyer Merit Salud, said “stereotyping reinforces intolerance and sustains discrimination of all types.”

“Act of Valor” was in theaters in February.



2 Comments

  1. […] “Act of Valor” was in theaters in February. — The FilAm […]

  2. RobDH wrote:

    I agree. It is unconscionable. Philippinos are the most peace loving, gentle, and the friendliest race of people I have ever known. I will sign the pet ion.
    From an American that has made the Philippines my new home.

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