Mark Angos addresses "Bagani" bronzing controversy
22 Feb – ABS-CBN's Star Creatives head writer Mark Angos recently addressed the bronzing controversy surrounding the upcoming Kapamilya fantasy drama, "Bagani", saying that there should never be an issue about skin colour.
As reported on Inquirer, the backlash against the drama sparked recently by netizens, including actress Chai Fonacier, who questioned the need of the show, which is supposedly about a pre-colonial Philippines, to cast European looking stars like Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil and have them covered in bronzer to make them look like they have brown skin.
Fonacier posted, "Don't brown face to serve majority of a population that are naturally brown skinned. To condescend on your own kind this way and scream PINOY PRIDE in your station IDs AND call them "family" is blatantly stupid and insulting."
Soberano had since responded to the criticism, saying that she is Filipino through and through, amid netizens comments saying that it was not the issue of whether she is Filipino or not, but that she does not look the part.
Angos finally addressed the issue two days ago, writing on Twitter that "Bagani" is set in a fictional alternative world with elements of Filipino mythology, and not pre-colonial like people thought.
"It is not historical, hence, it is not a portrayal of sinaunang tao or a particular historical period or event," he added.
As to why they still decided to make the actors' skin darker if that's the case, Angos said that the script noted that the people were brown because the dirt and sand that stuck to the skin, and that they made it as part of their identity.
"Colourism is real and we as a society must continue to have a nuanced discussion of it. But to use it as a bullet to demonize Filipinos who have mixed heritage is disingenuous, and frankly, disgusting," he added.
