Since Cameron Crowe’s Aloha made it to theaters, the reactions haven’t been soooo great. In fact, the movie stands at a measly 18% on Rotten Tomatoes–a well-noted website that rates movie and TV shows based on the published opinions of hundreds of critics. You can bet the wave of awful reviews and buzz knocked down Aloha some notches. So much so that it came in 6th place at the box office during opening weekend.
Sorry, Crowe, but the people have spoken and they’re not too happy about the casting of Emma Stone as Allison Ng. And with all the criticism flying around, Crowe takes to his personal blog, TheUncool, to respond:
“Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng. I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice. As far back as 2007, Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud ¼ Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one. A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii. Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets. The character was based on a real-life, red-headed local who did just that.
I am grateful for the dialogue. And from the many voices, loud and small, I have learned something very inspiring. So many of us are hungry for stories with more racial diversity, more truth in representation, and I am anxious to help tell those stories in the future.”
At least, it’s become a lesson learned for the Academy Award winning director. We hope that Crowe, as well as other Hollywood directors, will finally bring diversity onto the big screen and see the importance of representation.
Featured image courtesy of www.smh.com.au.
