Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, Sofia Carson defend Netflix's 'Purple Hearts' post-backlash
What's the story
Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum's Hollywood film Purple Hearts was released on Netflix on July 29. It has been applauded for the intense chemistry between leads Sofia Carson and Nicholas Galitzine. The demonstration of marine officers' lives has also emerged as a major attraction. However, critics have pulled it up for its "racist" and "misogynistic" overtones. Now, Carson and Allen Rosenbaum have defended the film.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Purple Hearts has joined the busy league of Netflix's book-to-film adaptations, alongside Bird Box and The Gray Man. It draws its plot from its namesake novel by Tess Wakefield and is centered around the fake marriages prevalent in the US military. The title refers to the Purple Heart medal awarded to military members in the US who are either injured or martyred on duty.
Allegations
Film allegedly presented military personnel negatively
The film has been attacked for "reducing the female character to a prop" whose only motive is to "give up her morals for a man." Moreover, in another "racist" scene, a character raises a toast and says, "This one is to life, love and hunting down some goddamn Arabs, baby!" Critics have now said that it's a problematic and negative representation of military men.
Twitter Post
Here's one such tweet critiquing the film
the way purple hearts isn't even sublte but blatantly anti arab anti hispanic racist misogynistic AND pro military propaganda but ppl are frothing at the mouth bc 🥺enemies to lovers🥺 YEAH THEY'RE ENEMIES BCS HE'S A PRO GUN CONSERVATIVE SOLDIER AND SHE'S A LATINA LIBERAL
— ・ (@murderersmaze) August 2, 2022
Clarification
'Characters are flawed, this was intentional,' clarified the director
Allen Rosenbaum, while conversing with Variety, batted for her work. She called the characters "flawed" and explained that the two protagonists "had been bred to hate each other." "They are flawed at the beginning and that was intentional. In order for the red heart and the blue heart to kind of turn purple, you have to have them be kind of extreme," she added.
Quote
'We wanted to represent both sides accurately,' said Carson
Carson, who is also the film's executive producer, echoed the director's thoughts. The singer-actor said, "Through the power of love, they learn to lead with empathy and compassion and love each other and turn into this beautiful shade of purple. We wanted to represent both sides as accurately as possible." The Descendants actor also expressed gratitude for the positive reviews from across the globe.
Information
All you need to know about 'Purple Hearts'
The film has proved to be a bonafide success on the streaming platform and has been viewed for over 100M hours already. Moreover, it's in the top 10 movies section in several countries. It is centered around a struggling singer Cassie (Carson) and Luke, a Marine (Galitzine), who enter a contract marriage for personal benefits. However, after a consequential incident, their lives get transformed.