Zoe Saldana Getting Clowned For Trying To Play Nina Simone
Grizzly
Home Run Hitter
"The Life And Times Of Nina Simone" starring Renee Zellwegershyt we lucky they gave it to Zoe Zaldana.
Hollywood so fukked they would've gave this role to Jennier Lawrence if they could
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Speak that truth! What I would also like to add is that many blk a themselves have been brainwashed, so producers are trolling to make it more palatable to blks who have been indoctrinated by white beauty standards as well and thus are threatened by people who look TOO BLACK.A whole lot of willful ignorance in this thread. Y'all gotta be trolling to be deliberately missing the point this hard
Uhura is a FICTIONAL fukkING CHARACTER, Nina Simone was a real person whose Black womanhood was a major part of her life, music, and activism. Zoe did actually resemble the original actress that played Uhura, both of them are Black women with features on the smaller end of the spectrum (thinner lips/straighter nose, etc) which means they fit into a Eurocentric standard of beauty despite being brown-skinned. See also: Iman, who was told she was beautiful because she looked like a "white woman dipped in chocolate:" Iman Recalls Being Offended By Former Essence Editor
Nina Simone did NOT have those type of features, she had a broad nose and big lips, and it's very obvious when you do the side by side comparison of Zoe and Nina that Zoe was miscast.
They darkened her skin with makeup and put a prosthetic nose on her rather than just hire an actual darker skinned, broad nosed actress, people are allowed to have a problem with that. And Zoe is no GREAT actress here, if they believed in her acting talent that much they wouldn't have even attempted to make those physical alterations. Considering Nina's life work and activism revolved around her treatment due to her physical features, it IS important to get that aspect right in her life story. Casting Zoe, a familiar face (even slathered in makeup with a fake nose, we still know that's Zoe), moves Nina's Blackness and her activism into a place where it is more palatable for white consumers.
We continue to erase darker skinned Black people with dishonest portrayals that subconsciously send the message Blackness is only acceptable the closer it gets to Eurocentric standards of beauty.
Casting Zoe (a Black woman who still benefits from smaller, Eurocentric features like a straight nose and thinner lips) makes Nina’s Blackness - and by default, her activism - more palatable for consumption. It makes Nina’s fight more palatable and digestible to the white audience. It prevents them from being made uncomfortable by seeing actual dark skin, wide noses, and kinky hair onscreen– instead, we’re shown makeup, prosthetics, and a wig. Zoe is the face of Nina and, to a lesser extent, Black Activism, from the White Gaze: mass produced, palatable, and processed.
And it’s not about saying Zoe is not Black enough to play Nina, but about the fact that dark-skinned actresses are seen as TOO BLACK, and do not fit into a Eurocentric standard of beauty- even for the portrayal of an artist and activist whose life’s work was based on her dark-skinned Black womanhood.
Y'all gotta stop with the nonsense.
You're right Nina is Blacker than all of these ACTUAL Africans... Nina doesnt even have high cheekbones like most REAL Africans yet is peak Blackness?
Yall are dumb as fukk wallahi
You're right Nina is Blacker than all of these ACTUAL Africans... Nina doesnt even have high cheekbones like most REAL Africans yet is peak Blackness?
Yall are dumb as fukk wallahi
Thats how I feel when I see people say "Nina had BLACKER features" when 95% of Africa doesn't look like her
Did I ask you?Thats how I feel when I see people say "Nina had BLACKER features" when 95% of Africa doesn't look like her
but you cared enough to tell me. What made you think I care?I don't care what you may or may not have asked
nope its nothing like that actually. Your talking to me about your feelings like a little bytch and I never asked you for that.Just like you cared enough to quote me dumb nikka
Elle Driver
Veteran
A whole lot of willful ignorance in this thread. Y'all gotta be trolling to be deliberately missing the point this hard
Uhura is a FICTIONAL fukkING CHARACTER, Nina Simone was a real person whose Black womanhood was a major part of her life, music, and activism. Zoe did actually resemble the original actress that played Uhura, both of them are Black women with features on the smaller end of the spectrum (thinner lips/straighter nose, etc) which means they fit into a Eurocentric standard of beauty despite being brown-skinned. See also: Iman, who was told she was beautiful because she looked like a "white woman dipped in chocolate:" Iman Recalls Being Offended By Former Essence Editor
Nina Simone did NOT have those type of features, she had a broad nose and big lips, and it's very obvious when you do the side by side comparison of Zoe and Nina that Zoe was miscast.
They darkened her skin with makeup and put a prosthetic nose on her rather than just hire an actual darker skinned, broad nosed actress, people are allowed to have a problem with that. And Zoe is no GREAT actress here, if they believed in her acting talent that much they wouldn't have even attempted to make those physical alterations. Considering Nina's life work and activism revolved around her treatment due to her physical features, it IS important to get that aspect right in her life story. Casting Zoe, a familiar face (even slathered in makeup with a fake nose, we still know that's Zoe), moves Nina's Blackness and her activism into a place where it is more palatable for white consumers.
We continue to erase darker skinned Black people with dishonest portrayals that subconsciously send the message Blackness is only acceptable the closer it gets to Eurocentric standards of beauty.
Casting Zoe (a Black woman who still benefits from smaller, Eurocentric features like a straight nose and thinner lips) makes Nina’s Blackness - and by default, her activism - more palatable for consumption. It makes Nina’s fight more palatable and digestible to the white audience. It prevents them from being made uncomfortable by seeing actual dark skin, wide noses, and kinky hair onscreen– instead, we’re shown makeup, prosthetics, and a wig. Zoe is the face of Nina and, to a lesser extent, Black Activism, from the White Gaze: mass produced, palatable, and processed.
And it’s not about saying Zoe is not Black enough to play Nina, but about the fact that dark-skinned actresses are seen as TOO BLACK, and do not fit into a Eurocentric standard of beauty- even for the portrayal of an artist and activist whose life’s work was based on her dark-skinned Black womanhood.
Y'all gotta stop with the nonsense.
Zoe has Eurocentric features? Thin lips and straighter nose? Are you even looking at the damn picture you posted? Zoe herself has a broad fukkin nose.
Even the quote you had of Iman was misquoted, it was the editor of an Essence who was a black woman that said Iman wasn't black enough and was only regarded as beautiful because she looked like a white woman dipped in chocolate.
Which is the same shyt you're doing to Zoe, who btw came up with this damn movie herself. There was no one else who could be cast, she went and did it on her own. It's a movie produced by her.
Cat piss martini
Veteran
i'm not gonna blindly shyt on the
movie because she may nail it....
as for the prosthetics jamie foxx
wore them in ray....
black people: we need black movies to win oscars
with females playing more than slaves or the help.
hollywood: we have a great biopic about the the great nina
simone starring zoe saldana.
black people: she has good hair and is too light skinned.
The Coli always inspires me to read a damn book.
movie because she may nail it....
as for the prosthetics jamie foxx
wore them in ray....
black people: we need black movies to win oscars
with females playing more than slaves or the help.
hollywood: we have a great biopic about the the great nina
simone starring zoe saldana.
black people: she has good hair and is too light skinned.
The Coli always inspires me to read a damn book.
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Zoe has Eurocentric features? Thin lips and straighter nose? Are you even looking at the damn picture you posted? Zoe herself has a broad fukkin nose.
Even the quote you had of Iman was misquoted, it was the editor of an Essence who was a black woman that said Iman wasn't black enough and was only regarded as beautiful because she looked like a white woman dipped in chocolate.
They really think Nina is what all "pure Africans" look like
Elle Driver
Veteran
They really think Nina is what all "pure Africans" look like
This is the problem I have in real life. Colorism and featurism is a real issue, but where do you draw the line? Is there only one form of blackness and if you don't fit that you have privilege or something, like you're erasing other black women? It's some stupid ass shyt. Zoe herself has a broad nose are you kidding me? If you ain't gonna be mad if Kerry Washington were to play her, then you can't be mad at Zoe. Kerry has less broad features than both and actually Kerry's mother is mixed race. She's more directly mixed than Zoe.
