For me, this blog about the choice to cast Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone is spot on. It is not a matter of how good/bad of an actress she is. It is the fact that Nina's "blackness" was inherently tied to her music. She said so herself on many occasions. She was a dark skinned woman who was NOT afforded any of the privilege that Ms. Saldana has undoubtedly experienced in her life.
Nina was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement and sang songs like "Mississippi Goddamn" and "Backlash Blues" that helped define an era.
The maker of the movie claims it is more loosely based on Nina's life...it's not a bio-pic, blah, blah. Well you know what? You should've created a FICTIONAL character and not disgraced the High Priestess, Ms. Simone by using the parts of her life's story that are convenient for you and discarding arguably the most important one- her blackness!
How one can claim to "love and honour" Nina while in black face and a prosthetic nose, is truly beyond me. You know I don't rant like this often, but it had to be said! I am not looking for a debate- just expressing my honest opinion. So please don't write about how politically incorrect I'm being or how this is "reverse- racism" to Zoe,as it's is not about Zoe, it is about Nina. Please. Don't. Go. There.
To read the blog that inspired my rant click:
http://www.ninasimone.com/2013/02/zoe-kind-of-somewhat-not-really-responds/
Nina was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement and sang songs like "Mississippi Goddamn" and "Backlash Blues" that helped define an era.
The maker of the movie claims it is more loosely based on Nina's life...it's not a bio-pic, blah, blah. Well you know what? You should've created a FICTIONAL character and not disgraced the High Priestess, Ms. Simone by using the parts of her life's story that are convenient for you and discarding arguably the most important one- her blackness!
How one can claim to "love and honour" Nina while in black face and a prosthetic nose, is truly beyond me. You know I don't rant like this often, but it had to be said! I am not looking for a debate- just expressing my honest opinion. So please don't write about how politically incorrect I'm being or how this is "reverse- racism" to Zoe,as it's is not about Zoe, it is about Nina. Please. Don't. Go. There.
To read the blog that inspired my rant click:
http://www.ninasimone.com/2013/02/zoe-kind-of-somewhat-not-really-responds/