Cameron Crowe: ‘Aloha’ Criticized By Some Natives, Crowe Accused Of Insulting Hawaiian Culture

Cameron Crowe directed and produced Aloha, a story about a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) who returns to Hawaii, reconnects with an old flame, and falls in love with another women — his Air Force watchdog. The comedy-drama-romance film also features Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bil Murray, John Krasinski, and Alec Baldwin, whom are all Caucasian actors. According to Mail Online, at least one Asian-American group has a problem with the misrepresentation of Hawaiian culture, because most of the state is made up of ethnically diverse people.

“Caucasians only make up 30 percent of the population [of Hawaii], but from watching this film, you’d think they made up 99 percent,” Guy Aoki, head and co-founder of MANAA said in a statement. “[The film] uses Hawaii for its exotic backdrop, but goes out of its way to exclude the very people who live there. It’s an insult to the diverse culture and fabric of Hawaii,” he added.

Cameron Crowe’s Aloha is just one of many movies filmed in Hawaii. The Descendants, 50 First Dates, Blue Crush, and Pearl Harbor also used Hawaii as a backdrop to their story lines. While many of these movies (especially 50 First Dates) do have a bit of culture shown through, the state of Hawaii and its people seem to take a back burner to the respective movie plots.

According to USA Today, the concern is that Aloha doesn’t provide its audience with a genuine connection to the people of Hawaii. This is something that is really bothering a lot of natives.

“If you have a romantic comedy about the military in Hawaii… but a title that says ‘Aloha,’ I can only guess that they’ll bastardize the word. They’re taking our sacred word… and they’re going to make a lot of money off of it,” said Walter Ritte, a native Hawaiian activist.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, there are plenty of native Hawaiians who see no problem with the film Aloha. Many natives actually worked behind the scenes on the film, and, for some, that’s plenty of inclusion.

“If you look at what aloha means, how can it be bad no matter how it’s used? I think Hawaii is the best place in the world. And the reason is aloha,” said TV and radio personality Kimo Kahoano.

Do you think Cameron Crowe was being insensitive to Hawaiians when he cast the actors? Do you think that movies filmed in different parts of the country and the world should reflect different cultures out of respect?

[Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images]