Topline<\/p>\n
An upcoming movie adaptation of the classic novel \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d is stirring controversy online months before its release, as some fans of the book have lamented Jacob Elordi\u2019s casting as a character who some scholars say is not white, as well as the erotic marketing some have criticized as overly sexual. <\/p>\n
Jacob Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff has stirred controversy, as some scholars and fans of the novel say the character is portrayed as nonwhite in the book. (Photo by Marilla Sicilia\/Archivio Marilla Sicilia\/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Mondadori Portfolio via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
The trailer for \u201cWuthering Heights,\u201d helmed by \u201cSaltburn\u201d director Emerald Fennell and starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie, premiered Wednesday, quickly sparking online discourse and drawing criticism from fans of the book who fear the adaptation will be unfaithful.<\/p>\n
The movie is an adaptation of Emily Bront\u00eb\u2019s 1847 novel, considered a classic of Gothic literature, which follows the Earnshaw and Linton families in late 18th century England, particularly the Earnshaw\u2019s foster son Heathcliff, who falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw but later descends into cruelty and bitterness.<\/p>\n
Fans of the novel have highlighted apparent inconsistencies between the novel and Fennell\u2019s adaptation\u2014Robbie, who plays Catherine Earnshaw, is twice the age as the book\u2019s teenage protagonist.<\/p>\n
Some have also lamented Elordi\u2019s casting as Heathcliff and accused Fennell of \u201cwhitewashing\u201d Bront\u00eb\u2019s novel, as the book suggests the character may not be white and at one point describes him as \u201cdark-skinned,\u201d though Heathcliff\u2019s exact ethnic origin is unclear and debated by scholars.<\/p>\n
The movie\u2019s marketing has also drawn some criticism for appearing overly erotic, which some fans fear may dilute other themes in the book like violence and cruelty, social class, race and ethnicity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWuthering Heights\u201d opens in theaters in February.<\/p>\n
Chief Critics<\/p>\n
The \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d trailer immediately sparked plenty of critical comments on social media. In one post<\/a> on X that garnered 53,000 likes, a user accused Fennell of \u201cbleaching the class and racial otherness out of wuthering heights to sell a horny whitewashed romance.\u201d Another user<\/a>, who garnered 33,000 likes, said \u201cemily bronte is rising from her grave as we speak because why did they turn wuthering heights into fifty shades of heathcliff and cathy.\u201d Another user<\/a> said the film studio is marketing the movie \u201clike it’s some dark romance booktok book adaptation,\u201d referring to BookTok, a community of users on TikTok who read and create content about novels, which are often romance. Some users also recirculated a clip<\/a> of Tina Fey on the iHeartRadio \u201cLas Culturistas\u201d podcast to criticize the film\u2019s erotic tone, in which Fey joked Fennell\u2019s movies \u201ctake a sexually violent turn, and you have to pretend to be surprised by that turn.\u201d<\/p>\n Is Heathcliff Portrayed As White In The Novel?<\/p>\n Heathcliff\u2019s portrayal by a white actor is one of the primary controversies surrounding Fennell\u2019s film, and although his exact ethnic origin is left ambiguous in the novel, some scholars believe he was not meant to be portrayed as white. In Bront\u00eb\u2019s novel, Heathcliff is described as a \u201cdark-skinned gipsy\u201d with \u201cblack eyes,\u201d \u201cas dark as if it came from the devil,\u201d and in one scene, a character remarks: \u201cWho knows but your father was Emperor of China, and your mother an Indian queen.\u201d Michael Stewart, director of the U.K.-based Bront\u00eb Writing Center, told The Telegraph<\/a> he feels \u201cquite strongly that Emily\u2019s intention was that he was either black or mixed-race and there are lots of clues in the text to suggest that.\u201d Claire O\u2019Callaghan, a Bront\u00eb scholar who is the editor-in-chief of the academic journal Bront\u00eb Studies, told The Telegraph she feels Fennell casting a white man \u201coverlooks the ambiguity that\u2019s there, and therefore kind of overlooks the readings that Emily Bront\u00eb is pointing to that are as rich as anything else.\u201d O\u2019Callaghan noted Heathcliff is treated as an outsider and subject to abuse early in the book, which can be read as racist abuse: \u201cPart of the horror of that first part of the book is that Emily Bront\u00eb shows the kind of abuse of the outsider.\u201d Some scholars have theorized<\/a> Heathcliff may have been mixed race, Black, Irish or Roma.<\/p>\n How Have Audiences Reacted At Test Screenings?<\/p>\n \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d reportedly debuted<\/a> at a test screening for audiences in Dallas last month, which garnered mixed reviews. One attendee reportedly called the movie \u201caggressively provocative and tonally abrasive,\u201d describing scenes of \u201cclinical masturbation,\u201d sex scenes featuring bondage and less emotional complexity than the source novel. An attendee reportedly<\/a> called it a \u201cdeliberately unromantic take on Bront\u00eb\u2019s novel.\u201d<\/p>\n How Have The Cast And Crew Responded To Criticism?<\/p>\n