zoe saldana as nina simone...mm-mm

I finally saw the pictures of Zoe Saldana made up to play the role of Nina Simone.  I'd stayed away from the story and accompanying images, thinking everyone probably needed to relax a bit, and open their minds; thinking that this, like most other headlines, would calmly fade away once folks found the next thing to get upset about.  But Saldana's recent reaction to the backlash that came after she was announced as Mary J. Blige's replacement in the film, brought the story back through my Reader along with this particularly jarring image:

             photo:Coqueran/FameFlynet Pictures; Michael Putland/Getty Images

 My eyes can't believe that this is the best way to bring a likeness of Nina Simone to the screen.  It's unsettling, because  if you know Nina Simone's story and understand her impact, you know that her appearance, her dark skin, her natural hair, her broad features,  all of how she looked can not be separated from how her story is told.  We can love and respect Zoe Saldana all we want but we can't hide (especially not with these pictures floating around) that her being cast in this role is like a mirror being held up to a society (or a Hollywood) that still isn't ready to really see Nina Simone.

I feel bad (but only a little) for Ms. Saldana as she is the colorism poster girl in the middle of all this brouhaha, and she's being called upon to speak about it.  To be fair, we haven't even seen the film yet and she's pretty much under attack.  But she handles herself, as always, with poise and grace:

(via Clutch)



Far be it for me to try and tell her who she is, or what Nina Simone means to her, but as far as I'm concerned, Uptown Magazine is spot on:

"Casting someone to play Nina Simone who does not look like Nina Simone greatly dilutes her story and undermines her strength.  Had Zoe been born back then, she and Nina would have had very different life experiences because of the way they look.  Nina couldn’t pass.  She didn’t have the societal advantage of light skin or fine hair to ease the road a little bit.  And it was the pride she took in that that made her such a subversive figure.  She didn’t try to make herself palatable to mainstream society.  She didn’t bleach her skin or get a nose job.  She was unapologetically her natural black self, in visage and in politics, and that is where her power lied." (Uptown)

What do you think?  Will you be seeing this film?