& Nina Simone
There has been a lot of controversy concerning Zoe Saldana taking on the role of the famous singer, Nina Simone in the recent biopic "Nina." The issue goes into the fact that she went under an appearance change in order to look like the singer, which involved her donning "blackface," and undergoing prosthetic changes. Is this a choice of bravery and resilience by an actress, who is trying to portrays a woman who held those same qualities? Is it a move by Hollywood to strike controversy at the wall and see what sticks? It is just a bad choice, in an industry where we people of color should overlook any movie made about us...so others can be made?
It is anyone's guess as to why other candidates were not chosen (maybe they saw the making of a bad script), or why another actress with closer roots to the singer were not an option (Zoe was born Dominican - Zoe Yadira Saldana-Nazario), as Nina was American born. While this is an industry which can barely approve a decent black movie in major release, and we should be grateful for this bone, it is still a sign that Hollywood would seem to manipulate the cards in their favor, by allowing an actor to undergo a skin change to fit a role - in other words, "Blackfacing." And if you didn't know...Joseph Finnes is slated to play Michael Jackson in a British Television Comedy, so perhaps Blackface - while not being recognized universally, is still felt worldwide because of the digital world we live in. Is another country responsible for how the world views what we would consider racist? We will leave that for another blog...
Hollywood has always pushed the boundaries of racism, because it is what those in power can do. Until such a backlash causes them to hurt in their wallet, they will always deem themselves the right to try. The Nina project had been on the shelf for 3 years, before Zoe was approached (and she waited a year to decide). This was more of a money project than one for dedication of its subject. There are two other documentaries out there: "What Happened, Miss Simone" - Netflix, and "The Amazing Nina Simone," by Jeff L. Lieberman, that feel more passionate; but creating the first biopic of the icon only made sense...money sense that is.
On the subject of Hollywood and Blackface, which can be dated back to the early years of film, where Amos & Andy showed us white actors donning black makeup to portray black roles, so they wouldn't have to pay a black actor. While today, that would be very taboo, Hollywood still does this with other races, because the backlash (caused mostly because of the history of slavery), isn't as loud.
Mickey Rooney donned "Yellowface," as an Asian in "Breakfast with Tiffany,"; Katherine Hepburn in "Dragon Seed," ; and Tilda Swinden in the upcoming (2016) release of Doctor Strange. The bells of racism don't ring as loud for them, not because Asians don't share our history, or because they aren't American, but mostly because they were not depicting iconic or historic figures, particularly of a race who's history has been hidden for so long.
We celebrate when a black actor plays a white role that was originally scripted for a white actor: Quvenzhane Wallis - Annie; Whitney/Brandy - Cinderella, Morgan Freeman - The Shawshank Redemption, The entire cast of The Wiz, and Whoopie Goldberg - Ghost. But these roles are left to interpretation, and the characters are fantasy.
The flip side of that, is when white plays black: Lawrence Olivier - Othello, Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder, and Chante Mallard (who didn't even bother with blackface, blue eyes and all) - Stuck. All with minor backlash, because of the grand performances of it's white actors, the audience they would bring, and in Downey's case, a film that actual was a parody of itself, recognizing its Blackface, and calling it out in the open. Imagine...if in the Nina movie, another actor came up to her and pressed a finger into her skin, revealing the lightness underneath, and it became a movie about an obsessed fan, who had fashioned her life out of the iconic singer's down to the last detail...and was simply playing it out (Hollywood...are you listening!)?
Click Here - See What India Arie has to say about it all...
Most movies, especially those primarily produced by whites for blacks, are made with crossover appeal in mind. This causes casting issues because a white fan base is often broader than a black one, especially when the lead actor is a black actress. Steven Spielberg saw this with The Color Purple, which had great reviews and appeal, but still lost when it came to the Academy Awards. Not many female actresses can bring in a sizable audience by Hollywood standards: Angela Bassett, Whoopie Goldberg, Queen Latifa, Halle Berry, and perhaps even Oprah can claim such audience appeal, because they have had a long career proving it.
Zoe Saldana, while widely known, has only starred in a handful of films, most notably: Avatar and Star Trek (ironically, the latter she played the role of a woman who was also darker - the former, more bluer). She needs a breakthrough role to bank on her already wide appeal, but playing an iconic/historic figure can bring any actor under scrutiny: John Cusack - Richard Nixon in The Butler, Madonna - Eva Peron in Evita; and Richard Patterson - Salvador Dali in Little Ashes.
Perhaps her dramatic chops, instead of her action-star chops should have been worked on before taking this role. She is a great actress, but audiences may not be able to get past the makeup to see the performance, and maybe Nina should have remained on the shelf...just one more year.
As for Hollywood, we do have a voice in what we see on screen, and who we want to see. Our dollars speak louder than our voices, each and every time (Madea isn't on screen because of its dramatic overtures).
...or maybe we can just get Meryl Streep to play everyone, she seems to be doing a great job so far.
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