Tuesday, May 24, 2022
  • Advertise with us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions
Dailynews journal
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bizarre
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • General Knowledge
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
  • Society
  • Technology
  • Weird Stuffs
  • Home
  • Bizarre
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • General Knowledge
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
  • Society
  • Technology
  • Weird Stuffs
No Result
View All Result
Dailynews journal
No Result
View All Result

‘In The Heights’ Director Has Disappointing Response To ‘Whitewashing’ Criticisms

READ ALSO

Isaiah Lee, Accused Dave Chappelle Attacker, Explains Why He Tackled Comedian

Top 10 ’90s Songs You Didn’t Realize Were So Heartbreaking

After a yearlong delay due to the pandemic, “In the Heights” opened in theaters last week to near-universal praise from critics, many of whom hailed it as a cinematic celebration of Latinx culture.

The movie, based on the 2008 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, has nonetheless drawn a fair amount of online backlash for its glaring lack of Afro-Latinx representation. The cast features many light-skinned and white-passing actors, including Anthony Ramos and Leslie Grace — and many see the film as a less-than-accurate depiction of New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, where it takes place. The film’s only Black principal character, Benny, is played by Corey Hawkins, a non-Latino actor. 

Speaking to The Root’s Felice León in a video interview last week, director Jon M. Chu touched on accusations that the film had been “whitewashed.” 

“I think that was something we talked about and I needed to be educated about, of course,” Chu said. “In the end, when we were looking at the cast, we tried to get the people that were best for those roles.” 

“I think that’s a really good conversation to have, something that we should all be talking about,” he added. 

Catch the interview below: 

Later in the interview, actor Melissa Barrera noted that “a lot of darker-skinned people” had turned up at auditions ― an observation that made the film’s lack of diversity even more eyebrow-raising. 

León pushed back when Barrera and Chu pointed to the presence of darker-skinned dancers in the film’s ensemble scenes. 

“Those are roles that, historically, we’ve been able to fill,” said the journalist, who is a Black New Yorker of Cuban descent. “We’ve been able to be the dancers, we’ve been able to be in the hair salons and, you know, this and that. But, like, a lead? That’s the breakthrough.” 

Chu acquiesced somewhat, saying he hoped “In the Heights” would encourage “more people to tell more stories and get out there and do it right then.” 

“We’re not going to get everything right in a movie,” he said. 

After footage of the interview appeared online, many on social media expressed their disappointment with Chu’s comments.  

“We’re not gonna get everything right in a movie” is not a good enough answer when talking about representation, especially coming from another Person of Color with the power to get things right. It’s the same excuse white people use, and it’s doubly insulting coming from POC.

— Black Women’s Lives Matter. Carolyn Hinds (@CarrieCnh12) June 13, 2021

Yikes. Did no one do any media training with this cast and crew?

— roxane gay (@rgay) June 13, 2021

“Did you not see the dancers?!” What kind of response is that?!?!

— Valerie Complex (@ValerieComplex) June 13, 2021

It isn’t the first time that Chu’s work has been accused of colorism. “Crazy Rich Asians,” a 2018 film he directed, was seen as a milestone for Asian representation, but it also proved to be polarizing for its emphasis on characters of East Asian descent. 

Miranda did not speak to The Root, but he addressed concerns that “In the Heights” highlighted only light-skinned Latinx people in an interview with Vox published last week. 

“It’s unfair to put any kind of undue burden of representation on ‘In the Heights,’” he said. “There are so many millions of stories — there’s a song in ‘Heights’ called ‘Hundreds of Stories,’ but there’s millions of stories — from the cultural specificities of the Puerto Rican American experience, the Dominican American experience, the Cuban American experience, and we couldn’t get our arms around all of that.”

RELATED…

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter

Related Posts

Isaiah Lee, Accused Dave Chappelle Attacker, Explains Why He Tackled Comedian
Entertainment

Isaiah Lee, Accused Dave Chappelle Attacker, Explains Why He Tackled Comedian

Top 10 ’90s Songs You Didn’t Realize Were So Heartbreaking
Entertainment

Top 10 ’90s Songs You Didn’t Realize Were So Heartbreaking

Pete Davidson Gets Surprisingly Sentimental In His ‘SNL’ Farewell
Entertainment

Pete Davidson Gets Surprisingly Sentimental In His ‘SNL’ Farewell

10 Real Historical Events That Inspired ‘Game of Thrones’
Entertainment

10 Real Historical Events That Inspired ‘Game of Thrones’

Johnny Depp’s Slow Burnout
Entertainment

Johnny Depp’s Slow Burnout

Top 10 Dumbest Products on Shark Tank
Entertainment

Top 10 Dumbest Products on Shark Tank

Next Post
Top 10 Kits You Can Buy To Survive Any Situation

Top 10 Kits You Can Buy To Survive Any Situation

Trending

Hundreds Of People Named Josh Converge On Nebraska Park For Pool Noodle Battle

Hundreds Of People Named Josh Converge On Nebraska Park For Pool Noodle Battle

Isaiah Lee, Accused Dave Chappelle Attacker, Explains Why He Tackled Comedian

Isaiah Lee, Accused Dave Chappelle Attacker, Explains Why He Tackled Comedian

Top 10 ’90s Songs You Didn’t Realize Were So Heartbreaking

Top 10 ’90s Songs You Didn’t Realize Were So Heartbreaking

Top 10 Mysteries, Cold Cases & Puzzles That Were Finally Solved

Top 10 Mysteries, Cold Cases & Puzzles That Were Finally Solved

Florida Man Arrested After Repeatedly Asking 911 To Arrest Joe Biden

Florida Man Arrested After Repeatedly Asking 911 To Arrest Joe Biden

10 Things You Might Not Know About Julia Child

10 Things You Might Not Know About Julia Child

Pete Davidson Gets Surprisingly Sentimental In His ‘SNL’ Farewell

Pete Davidson Gets Surprisingly Sentimental In His ‘SNL’ Farewell

10 Real Historical Events That Inspired ‘Game of Thrones’

10 Real Historical Events That Inspired ‘Game of Thrones’

10 Things You May Not Know About Mythical Creatures

10 Things You May Not Know About Mythical Creatures

Florida Killer Clown Trial Delayed Again — For A Sixth Time

Florida Killer Clown Trial Delayed Again — For A Sixth Time

  • Advertise with us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2021 Copyrights - All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bizarre
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • General Knowledge
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
  • Society
  • Technology
  • Weird Stuffs

© 2021 Copyrights - All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT