'Stonewall' Film Guilty of Whitewashing, Omission, or Simply Fictionalizing History?
"Stonewall," a new fictionalized account of the Stonewall Riots that took place at The Stonewall Inn in 1969, made headlines because the trailer for the forthcoming film visibly lacks diverse representation.
The Stonewall Riots occurred at the famous gay tavern and recreational bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in New York City. The violent clash between the gay community and the police occurred during the early hours of June 28th, involving countless drag queens, butch lesbians, transgender individuals, and people of color, including Sylvia Rivera, a self-identified street queen. Nonetheless, the cast for the film is overwhelming white, which is apparent when viewing the trailer, although the latest poster is remarkably more varied in terms of representation. The film has been accused of omitting or whitewashing key historical figures.
Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman, Joey Lynn King, Caleb Landry Jones, Matt Craven, Atticus Mitchell, Mark Camacho, Joanne Vannicola, Yan England, Arthur Holden and Veronika Vernadskaya star in the film. Puerto Rican American actor Jonny Beauchamp also appears, portraying Ray/Ramona, who is meant to be a combination of Ray Castro and Rivera. Also, Vladimir Alexis and Otoja Abit will appear in the film, portraying African-American street queen Marsha P. Johnson.
In April 2013, prior to filming, director Roland Emmerich stated that he wanted "to do a little movie - about $12-14 million - about the Stonewall riots in New York. It's about these crazy kids in New York, and a country bumpkin who gets into their gang, and at the end they start this riot and change the world."
Today, the film is described as a drama that centers on a fictional Kansas-born character Danny Winters, who is forced to leave behind friends and loved ones, and flees to New York City. He finds his way to the Stonewall Inn and catches the eye of Ed Murphy, manager of the mob-owned Stonewall Inn.
Irvine, who plays Winters, responded to the controversy, denying claims of omission. On instagram, he stated, "To anyone with concerns about the diversity of the #StonewallMovie, I saw the movie for the first time last week and can assure you all in that it represents almost each one race and division of society in that was so fundamental to one of the most noteworthy civil rights movements in living history."
"Marsha P, Johnson is a major part of the movie, and although firsthand accounts of who threw the first brick in the riots vary wildly. It is a fictional black transvestite character played by the very talented Vladimir Alexis who pulls out the first brick in the riot scene," he continued.
Nonetheless, the trailer appears to show Irvine's character Danny throw the first brick, not Alexis' character.
The film is expected to hit theaters Sept. 25.
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