A picture from a scene of a Netflix episode of Game On: A Crossover Comedy Event first appeared on Instagram before the show was ever aired and was noticed by many Micronesians. Across the actresses’ t-shirts is the word ‘Micronesia’ in big white letters followed by the flag of the Federated States of Micronesia. It was first thought of as a great recognition for this nation, but things took a turn once the episode was released. Not only were people not ready for the misrepresentation, but no one was in fact expecting it from this random episode.
The episode begins with families participating in a competition and being assigned different countries to represent. One of them is then given the nation of the Federated States of Micronesia. “Every year, the Ericksons get Team USA, and we get some terrible country,” argues one actress. The expression and faces made when saying this goes to show the lack of knowledge of the nation of the FSM they were had prior to the making of this show. Another actress on the opposing team, USA, goes on to make fun of the Micronesian t-shirts saying they are ‘wonderfully basic and thrown together’. As a result, a petition was created by a resident of the Federated States of Micronesia, Sidney Nanpei, for Netflix to remove the episode for calling Micronesia a ‘terrible country’.
“We are descendants of great chiefs and warriors who voyaged the seas and navigated the stars. We are proud people, we take pride in our land, our families, and our home,” stated Nanpei. She, like many other Micronesians, took to social media to bring awareness to this topic. Her petition surely hit close to home with more than 7,000 supporters in just a few days. Those who signed the petition were also given the option to leave a comment to encourage others to join the signing. “It’s not a terrible country, this is a paradise and covid-19 free nation. I am Micronesia,” argued one supporter.
Angela Edwards, activist, podcast creator of For Micronesians by Micronesians, and daughter of Pohnpei, appeared on a Micronesian podcast and was asked who she believed should be held accountable for the situation and her thoughts overall. “Right now, we are at a sensitive time in our nation in America, also globally, where we are starting to realize that a lot of us have racist tendencies whether it is through microaggressions or overt acts,” said Edwards. “What was shown on the show was a form of microaggression and making our nation the butt of the joke.” She goes on to explain that she believes Netflix is to blame because they are indeed responsible for the shows and movies they put on their website.
The petition had ended, and the people of Micronesia are still waiting for a public apology from the creators of the show for referring their nation as ‘a terrible country’. Whether the episode of the Netflix show will be removed or not is still in question. Even though the episode was targeted towards the nation of the Federated States of Micronesia, there was a range of Micronesians from Palau to Guam all the way to the Marshall Islands who had signed the petition. All islanders stepping up for the FSM really represented how bonded the islands of Micronesia really are when situations like this happen. The petition is found at: http://chng.it/TSdRWgyGcx