Hollywood can be an emerald city of sorts (see: Wizard of Oz). The allure those nine letters project is intoxicating enough to convince anyone that they belong. But this yellow brick road is paved with the ting of an agenda that fails to consider the disservice it costs to the history they wish to bleach in search of the next big Hollywood hit.
The recent scandal involving Colombiana star Zoe Saldana being pursued to play Nina Simone in a biopic of her life fulfills the above claim all too well. Simone’s features were haunting yet striking – the long yet wide bridge of her nose, her aggressive eyes and velvety dark skin. When she sings the deep, dark bellowing of her notes travel deep through every cave of your body; you can feel her words. If her voice through my iPhone headphones is any indication of what it would sound like for a concert hall, distinct is not a fair enough deduction.
As a certified casting director, how do you explain choosing Saldana for the role of a woman who she bares no resemblance to? The point of casting for a biopic is to choose an actor that most closely resembles the subject being featured, not just physically but mentally. Saldana is not only too light to play Simone, but is too delicate in appearance; there is nothing neither distinct nor striking about her features when compared to Simone. She would not be convincing for the role at all, and fans of Simone cannot look at her and see “Nina.” Hence, the petition drawn up by fans of the deceased artist that has already garnered 3,000 signatures.
The largest charge being made against Hollywood in the case of Saldana’s casting and many other situations similar to it is that it reeks of revisionism. Hollywood seems to take its purpose of showcasing fiction too far, exploiting moments in history to fit their narcissistic, almighty dollar agenda.
Cleopatra was its most outrageous moment of revisionism to date, in my opinion. Why would a woman with porcelain skin and blue eyes portray an African hero and leader? Nothing about Elizabeth Taylor screams African queen – not even a friendship with Michael Jackson back then would have excused this blatant colorism.
The casting decisions being made in the name of continuing the idea that movies can only sell if a white, or close enough, woman is playing in it is why we are raising generations of children with no true role models. Young black girls are lacking role models in the media because we refuse to put successful black women in positions of mainstream success. They do not see people that look like them playing historical figures, so we, in turn, are convincing them that their skin tone is not worthy of fulfilling that role.
It should not take directors such as Spike Lee to make sound casting decisions when highlighting some of the great figures of black history. It should be a universal understanding established amongst the psyche of Hollywood as a whole that it is a form of racism when one blatantly chooses a light-skin actress over a darker one.
Color complexity issues are a toxic consequence of slavery that we are still paying for today, but black history is American history. We are just as part of the fabric of this country as The Beach Boys or Sunday night football. To alter key components to our history to make it more aesthetically appealing is the most un-American act of all; our history is too black to white out.