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EDITORIAL:
‘University’ heads teaching prejudice
There is a difference between laughing with others and laughing at others — a
subtle yet critical distinction that can easily turn harmless teasing and
pleasant humor into malicious ridicule that comes across as downright
condescending.
Producers at the TV variety show University (大學生了沒) would do well to take note
of this, judging by the show’s track record of inciting controversies that
suggest a regional prejudice against people who live anywhere other than the
nation’s capital.
Defending against the flood of denunciation from exasperated netizens over the
show’s July 13 episode — which compared the clothing, accent and bearing of
women in Taipei with that of women in the south, at the expense of the
southerners, suggesting women from the south wear makeup that has “a thick,
rural southern feel (下港味) to it” — the show’s producer -Liang Ting-hao (梁庭豪)
said that no ill will was intended and that the episode was simply allowing
participants to discuss the public’s “stereotypical image” of southern women in
a light and humorous manner.
However, as more than 60,000 netizens lent their support to the criticism
against the episode, Liang and his production team must receive the message loud
and clear that many viewers were not amused.
Indeed, how could the show hope to present its discussion “in a light and
humorous manner” when the comments that were made hurt others’ sense of
self-esteem and did so with an air of contempt?
One of the participants in the episode yesterday jumped into Greater Kaohsiung’s
Love River in a gesture that she hoped would be taken as an apology for her
comments. She had said that the difference between women in Taipei and those in
the south was that Taipei women wore NuBras and Party Bras, while women in the
south wore “old grandma lingerie.”
While the show’s producers may quietly be hoping that they can quell the
controversy by having the show’s participants apologize for their remarks, the
crux of the problem — the repeated controversies created by the show — lies in
the mindset of University’s production team itself.
First of all, the insidious prejudice was apparent from the get-go: The title of
the episode was “Here come pretty girls from southern Taiwan?!” Moreover, the
July 13 episode was not the first time the show centered an episode’s theme on a
comparison of northern and southern Taiwan. Some argued that the episodes were
ostensibly meant to mend differences, but in fact they seemed to try to drive a
wedge between the people of the north and the south.
Granted, as the show’s host Momoko Tao (陶晶瑩) mentioned, dialogue helps to
promote understanding, pave the way for reconciliation and resolve
misunderstandings.
Yet the show’s sneering, taunting and unnecessary sound effects soon alerted
viewers to the fact that the episode was enforcing unjust stereotypes rather
than eliminating them.
Some may be quick to shrug the issue off, arguing that it is just a variety show
and that there is no need to take it so seriously.
However, passive reaction from viewers has been exactly what led the show’s
producers to mistakenly believe that poking fun at people living outside Taipei
is humorous and entertaining. Before long, the nation’s youth will also look at
their classmates, friends and relatives from southern Taiwan with disdain and
scorn.
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