MTV’s “Maui Fever” a Bunch of Crock

Now I know I didn’t need an insider who is actually from Maui to tell me that the cast of MTV’s Maui Fever aren’t really Maui locals, since the entire cast is 100% caucasian. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but they aren’t even originally FROM MAUI! What I found out from the insider was that only ONE of the cast members is actually from Maui and is a semi-pro surfer (pretty much the only guy who has local friends on the show), while the rest of the cast moved to Maui only a year ago.

To me, the show is basically a Laguna Beach type of cast who moved over to Maui to film a show. So what’s going on? Do they think that hiring only good looking caucasians is the only way to draw an audience? If MTV wanted to stay true to the culture and people of Maui, then they need to cast Maui locals. For goodness sake, none of the cast members even have a local accent (aka pidgin)! And the way they talk reminds me of surfer dudes who reside in California, and DEFINITELY NOT from Hawaii. Just because they live there doesn’t mean they understand the cultures of Hawaii. And if you’ve ever visited Hawaii, the population is very diverse. There are mixes of all types of nationalities. To only portray caucasians for the entire cast is not only disrespectful, but highly inaccurate.

Petitions against the show have come up, such as the Cancel Maui Fever Petition, as well as websites such as Stop the Fever. The hate even goes as far as myspace, where Stop the Fever has also created their own Myspace page to spread the news of the inaccuracies depicted in Maui Fever. Stop the Fever has even listed all the e-mails, phone numbers, and addresses of all the sponsors of the show. And with a total of 11,079 petition signatures, you can see there are a lot of people, especially the local Hawaii people, who take offense to the fake and Hollywood-like portrayal of Maui and its people and culture.

Sure, the show probably attracts a large audience. They follow a recipe that is very similar to Laguna Beach which was a huge success. There are good looking people, love triangles, and drama. Those are all aspects that make a good show, especially for people in the teenage demographic. But to expose the nation to complete inaccuracies of what Hawaii is, what Hawaii represents, and who Hawaii people are, is just plain disrespectful.

We can accept some inaccuracies here and there, because some exaggerations can make a show more interesting, but Maui Fever has definitely gone too far. MTV either has to research a lot more into the Hawaii culture before airing a show on one of the islands, or not have a show at all. At least cast some real Maui locals…sheesh.