The military love story trope is an age-old one. We’ve had Atonement, Pearl Harbour and Dear John, to name a few, and Purple Hearts fits into the canon of “he goes off to war and leaves her behind” films that many people enjoy. However, the genre itself is more recently the target of criticism, contrasted with the real-world warfare and combat that many countries worldwide are having to face every day.

Purple Hearts has not only been called out for its “military propaganda” on Twitter and TikTok but one line, in particular, has garnered a lot of backlash. In the film, one of the characters makes a toast to “hunting down some goddamn Arabs baby”. When Cassie criticises the marine for his choice of words, she’s ridiculed for being sensitive and is subsequently made to feel embarrassed for raising it. Also, there’s an underlying element of sexism when the men around her dismiss her viewpoint, with Luke telling her to sit down after being told to “get your girl” by his friend.

Another scene that has made viewers uncomfortable is when one of Luke’s military friends says to Cassie: “So we’re good enough to fight for your ass, but not good enough to touch it?”

Netflix’s Purple Hearts: cast and director defend the new film but what are the controversies behind it?