Emma Stone is a renowned actress known for her incredible work in the industry. Stone has appeared in some iconic films and has established herself in the industry. Her movies have often been in the spotlight, but earlier, there was her movie, which was a highlight for all sorts of negative reasons. In 2015, Stone appeared in Cameron Crowe’s film Aloha.
The film was criticized for whitewashing Hawaii. Later, during an interview, the actress reflected on the controversy.
Emma Stone’s character in a film sparked controversy
Emma Stone’s appearance in Cameron Crowe’s film Aloha faced severe backlash from the critics, who were disappointed by the casting of the film. The actress portrayed the role of an Asian-American woman, which went against the perception of the people who stay in Hawaii. People criticized the film for presenting a “whitewashed” version of Hawaii.
According to a civil rights activist, Guy Aoki, the filmmakers of Aloha have used Hawaii as the backdrop, but they have reflected on just a small portion of the country and ignored the major portion, which emphasizes the diversity of the place. He said,
“How can you educate your audience to the ‘rich history’ of Hawaii by using mostly white people and excluding the majority of the people who live there and who helped build that history?”
However, the director of the film shut down all the backlash by stating that the character of Stone was based on a real-life person who he had met personally. Later, the director also apologized if the casting of the film hurt anyone’s sentiments. Crowe said in his apology,
“I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heartfelt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.”
Later, Stone also reflected on this controversy.
Emma Stone got to know about whitewashing in Hollywood
Amidst the chaos of the Aloha controversy, Emma Stone’s character was criticized a lot. The director of the film, on his part, tried to pacify the outraged audience by justifying his idea of casting Stone as the lead protagonist. Later, Stone also opened up about the controversy and said,
“There’s a lot of conversation about how we want to see people represented on screen and what we need to change as a business to reflect the culture in a clearer way and not in an idealized way.”
In the film, Stone plays the role of a woman who is in love with a man who is much older than her. Reflecting on that, she said,
“There are some flaws in the system. My eyes have been opened in many ways this year.”
The backlash the movie received highly impacted the fate of the film at the box office, as it could only make $26 million on a budget of $52 million.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
