A Film of Stone

I’ve long admired Stone for being what Helen Caldicott called “an escapee from the white, male, killer race.” I was appalled to read what I hope is a misquote: “Tom (Cruise) is very shy, but the girl (playing a prostitute) was excellent, free with her body in a Latin way that made it easier for an uptight Anglo.”

The insensitivity of that remark is shocking, something one might expect from the old, white boy, patriarchal network, but not from Stone. Not only is the statement blatantly racist and sexist, it is untrue. Prostitutes of every race, sex and sexual orientation may be “free with their bodies” but that does not translate into a sweeping generalization about Latin women’s sexual attitudes.

BRIDGET OVERTON

West Hollywood