How the culture is changing, why it’s changing, when or if it will change again are questions people in Hollywood should be asking themselves right now. New generations are coming of age in a world that is not politically correct enough for them and Hollywood should be prepared for this. There will be a lot more policing of casting choices and Twitter activism that push towards a more diverse and full spectrum depiction of the human experience. Though white people maintain a slim majority in both the American population and ticket buyers that is changing fast.
So when Cameron Crowe innocently based a character in Aloha on a real-life red-headed islander who doesn’t look the least bit Hawaiian it sent a shitstorm through social networks shaming him for that “racist” decision. Does anyone really think Cameron Crowe is a racist? I don’t think so. I hope not. But does it illustrate how little people want to accept the continual Hollywood whitewashing of minorities? Yes. Again, Hollywood is on notice.
Crowe offered this apology on his site:
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 actually know the writer Lisa See quite well. Her paternal great-grandfather was Chinese yet so much of what she writes about is the Chinese experience both in China and here in the US. She has red hair and doesn’t look Asian. So for me it wouldn’t be hard to swallow Emma Stone as a character named Allison Ng. On the other hand, I do understand the continual complaints of Hollywood’s choice to always cast a white person in place of any character of color and this would have been an opportunity to actually hire an Asian actor.
Add to that the ongoing depiction of Hawaii on film with stories about only white characters. Sure, that ensures they make more money but it also ensures a shitstorm of controversy. So it just depends on what they want to do with the many opportunities to have it both ways — cast a bunch of white actors, make money, while also paying closer attention to the ways they obliterate or erase minorities in film overall, and suffer the inevitable backlash. My two cents.
