Silence the critics. Despite audience backlash to several allegedly problematic topics in Purple Hearts, star Sofia Carson is proud of the project.
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“Why I fell in love with the film is a love story, but it’s much more than that,” the 29-year-old Descendants star told Variety in an interview published Thursday, August 12. “It is two hearts, one red, one blue, two worlds apart, who have been raised to truly hate each other. Through the power of love, they learn to lead with empathy and compassion and one- fall in love with another and turn into this beautiful shade of purple.”
Carson stars as Cassie Salazar in the Netflix film, which premiered last month on the streaming giant. In the picture, the Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionist alum plays an aspiring musician who struggles to pay for his type 1 diabetes medication. To help cover the cost of insulin, Cassie agrees to marry a Marine (Nicholas Galitzin) for her health insurance plan and military spouse monetary stipend.
While Purple Hearts was initially billed as a romance between a more liberal woman and a conservative man trapped in a fake dating scheme, it soon received criticism from critics. Many viewers were concerned about the film’s misogynistic and racist undertones. (At one point, one of the 27-year-old Cinderella actor’s fellow soldiers even shouts, “This is for life, some billion to love and hunt, baby!”)
One social media user criticized its plot earlier this month, tweeting, “The way Purple Hearts isn’t too subtle [sic] but anti-Arab anti-Hispanic racist and pro-military propaganda, but ppl mouth to bc enemies.” Foaming from his mouth.” , “Yeah they’re the enemy bcs he’s a pro gun conservative soldier and he’s a latina liberal.”
Another Twitter user added: “Purple Hearts isn’t a romance, it’s a horror movie because I literally can’t think of anything more terrifying than marrying a military dude to afford my insulin.”
Despite the film’s disappointment, Purple Hearts has remained in Netflix’s top 10 shows since its premiere. For his part, Carson has swiftly defended the production amid criticism.
“We wanted to represent both sides as accurately as possible,” the Feel the Beat star, who also served as an executive producer on the film, told the outlet. “I think what I’ve learned to do as an artist is isolate myself from all of them and just listen to what the world is feeling and reacting with the film. It’s so beautifully It has been tremendous and so many people have seen or felt this film. That’s all we can wish for as filmmakers and actors.”
The director of Purple Hearts, Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, also shut down the backlash.
“They are flawed in the beginning and it was intentional,” the New York native told Variety in August. “For a red heart and a blue heart to turn purple, you have to make them kind of extreme. Some of the people they surround themselves with are even more flawed than they are. Both of them have been neglected by the system; She is hurt in a war that does not seem to end and she is slipping through the cracks of the healthcare system. ,
She continued: “I hope that anyone who offends this in any way understands that our intentions are very pure, and that is because we think people need to grow and become more generous. Is required.”
The film has been praised for its accurate portrayal of type 1 diabetes. Carson told The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, August 13, “As we were learning more and more about type 1 diabetes and how it was developing, we learned that it is clearly over-represented in film and on TV and in the media. Has been done.” The insulin crisis in this country and the health care crisis in this country has to be talked about, how there are countless girls and men and women like Cassie who literally can’t afford the insulin that they need to survive.
The actress added: “I learned a lot about what it means to have type 1 diabetes, what my daily life would look like. We even had a doctor on set who helped me with insulin pumps, injections and low-blood-sugar attacks. But taught me how to work.