Whitewashing has become increasingly prevalent in modern entertainment, and Hollywood continues to cast Caucasian actors in minority roles. This pattern of casting encourages cultural appropriation, and also prevents ethnically diverse actors from becoming established in the film industry. The term “show business” in reference to Hollywood is extremely applicable; studios are so concerned with the “business” aspect that they often employ celebrities for the sole purpose of capitalizing on their individual success and turning a profit for their own companies. Recently, Cameron Crowe’s film “Aloha” has received a lot of backlash in regarding its ethnocentric and financially motivated casting, specifically of Emma Stone in the role of an Asian-American
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In the true nature of “taking” aspects of a nation and appropriating it without having done substantial research, the actress spouts out words like “mana” and “Menehune” to describe powerful spirits and provides a weak definition for each before moving on to a flirtatious conversation with fellow lead Bradley Cooper. This marring of the sanctity of the Hawaiian language, even in the title of the film, perpetuates the colonialist system of exploiting culture and using it to gain capital by attracting an audience with its foreignness. Cultural difference acts as an “antidote to a perceived absence of spirituality, vitality, or erotic pleasure” (67) in peoples’ regular surroundings, and director and screenwriter Cameron Crowe attempted to profit from a society that “seeks to deny how segregated it is” (68) by inserting these spiritual terms to feign a “desire for the Other” (68) that suggests racial equality. However, the authenticity of the “Otherness” is compromised because of Stone’s genealogy, and her whiteness in the role is an unintentional yet effective tactic to make spectators feel comfortable with being attracted to something “exotic”. Therefore, audiences are allowed the opportunity to casually participate in the culture and ignore the repercussions of appropriation, they “[adopt]” the rhetoric of multiculturalism without …show more content…
Cultural appropriation includes a sense of entitlement and is seen as an act of “free will” (68) to these supporters; they do not understand that the Hawaiian community is so harsh in its critique because they have to prioritize culture preservation amongst so many stereotypes that have arisen as a result of how they are represented in films. Moreover, they are not impeding on freedom of expression because censorship is a state act and cannot be carried out by individuals and communities. Those who dismiss the inaccuracy of Emma Stone playing Allison Ng and state that it is plausible for Hawaiians to have dominant European features are overlooking the fact that the issue of Emma Stone is not only in her Caucasian traits, but also because her ethnicity is of great significance to the plot; in a particular moment near the end, Cooper destroys a satellite that contained a secret nuclear payload simply because he sees how upset Stone’s character is about him lying to the Hawaiians and disgracing the sacredness of the sky. Although some may argue that the cameo of a real Hawaiian village “king” named “Bumpy” Pu‘uhonua Kanahele in the movie is enough to compensate for the lack of Hawaiian supporting characters, they fail to acknowledge that this appearance coexists with Stone’s blatantly dishonest portrayal
In the true nature of “taking” aspects of a nation and appropriating it without having done substantial research, the actress spouts out words like “mana” and “Menehune” to describe powerful spirits and provides a weak definition for each before moving on to a flirtatious conversation with fellow lead Bradley Cooper. This marring of the sanctity of the Hawaiian language, even in the title of the film, perpetuates the colonialist system of exploiting culture and using it to gain capital by attracting an audience with its foreignness. Cultural difference acts as an “antidote to a perceived absence of spirituality, vitality, or erotic pleasure” (67) in peoples’ regular surroundings, and director and screenwriter Cameron Crowe attempted to profit from a society that “seeks to deny how segregated it is” (68) by inserting these spiritual terms to feign a “desire for the Other” (68) that suggests racial equality. However, the authenticity of the “Otherness” is compromised because of Stone’s genealogy, and her whiteness in the role is an unintentional yet effective tactic to make spectators feel comfortable with being attracted to something “exotic”. Therefore, audiences are allowed the opportunity to casually participate in the culture and ignore the repercussions of appropriation, they “[adopt]” the rhetoric of multiculturalism without …show more content…
Cultural appropriation includes a sense of entitlement and is seen as an act of “free will” (68) to these supporters; they do not understand that the Hawaiian community is so harsh in its critique because they have to prioritize culture preservation amongst so many stereotypes that have arisen as a result of how they are represented in films. Moreover, they are not impeding on freedom of expression because censorship is a state act and cannot be carried out by individuals and communities. Those who dismiss the inaccuracy of Emma Stone playing Allison Ng and state that it is plausible for Hawaiians to have dominant European features are overlooking the fact that the issue of Emma Stone is not only in her Caucasian traits, but also because her ethnicity is of great significance to the plot; in a particular moment near the end, Cooper destroys a satellite that contained a secret nuclear payload simply because he sees how upset Stone’s character is about him lying to the Hawaiians and disgracing the sacredness of the sky. Although some may argue that the cameo of a real Hawaiian village “king” named “Bumpy” Pu‘uhonua Kanahele in the movie is enough to compensate for the lack of Hawaiian supporting characters, they fail to acknowledge that this appearance coexists with Stone’s blatantly dishonest portrayal