Taking the Colour out of the Icon: Thoughts on 'Blackface' and the lack of diversity in the

The recent release of the trailer for Cynthia Morth's new biopic Nina, based on the life and music of the legendary Nina Simone, has been causing quite a controversy on the internet recently. In fact, people are quite (and understandbly) angry at the choice to cast Zoe Saldana, an American actress of Dominican and Puerto Rican origin, as the iconic black Nina. To create more of a physical resemblance between Simone and Saldana, the trailer shows that they've had to apply a heavy layer of dark make-up and a nose prosthetic on Saldana, which is why the incident is being referred to by some as a contemporary case of 'blackface'. The anger surrounding the trailer comes after a period of controversy surrounding the lack of diversity in the Hollywood entertainment industry; the 2016 Oscars were boycotted by numerous African-American actors and film-makers (including Will Smith and Spike Lee) after its second year nominating only white actors/actresses for the four top categories. The Oscars became representative of a wider trend within Hollywood where minority actors, actresses, and film-makers are given little opportunity and positive representation in television and film. According to the 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report by the Bunche Institute, despite making up 40% of the US population and in 2013 making up 51% of movie-goers, minorities still continue to be massively underrepresented in film and TV, with only minorities only making up 16% of lead roles in film and 6.5% of lead roles in television. Within this context where minorities are given few opportunities in film and television, it is understandable that many are disappointed as the choice to cast Saldana as one of the most iconic black singers of all time. In this short piece, I would like to explore more of the issues surrounding the casting of Saldana and the overall lack of diversity in entertainment industries, whilst also providing a brief history of what is being meant by 'blackface' in this context.

To the right, photo of the legendary Nina Simone and to the left a photo of Zoe Saldana, the actress chosen to play Simone in the 2016 Cynthia Morth biopic.

For those who may not be familiar with the term, 'Blackface' refers to the historical and problematic use of black make-up by non-white actors playing or depicting black roles. Gaining ground as an American theatrical practice in the 1830s, blackface was commonly used by whites to represent, mock, and promote negative stereotypes of African-Americans such as 'Jim Crow' or the 'Jezebel/Wench'. After being an important part of U.S Theatre practices for over 100 years, the mid-20th century and civil rights movement changed the attitudes towards race, racism, and the use of 'blackface'. Yet despite the now widely-accepted view that the use of 'blackface' only proliferates negative stereotypes, there are also many contemporary examples of white actors using make-up to play minority roles in film, theatre, and television. From Julianne Hough dressing up as Uzo Aduba's character 'Crazy Eyes' from Orange is the New Black, to Ashton Kutcher playing an indian man for a Popchips and to college students dressing up as police-shot Trayvon Martin and to now the case of Saldana playing the iconic Simone, it is clear that the legacy of a practice whose roots lay in slavery, the oppression of blacks, and hateful discrimmination persists to this day. No wonder that for many, choosing to apply 'Blackface' make-up to Saldana so she can play Simone, is nothing but added insult to the injury of oppression, discrimmination, and lack of opportunities that still plague minorities globally. Regardless of the intent behind an act of blackface (whether it is intentionally racist or for 'comical' Halloween-costume purposes), it is impossible (and undesirable) to detach blackface from the history of oppression that accompanies it. In a 2012 Huffington Post essay, chair of Washington state University's department of critical culture, gender, and race studies said the following, "Blackface is never a neutral form of entertainment, but an incredibly loaded site for the production of damaging stereotypes...the same stereotypes that undergird individual and state violence, American racism, and a centuries worth of injustice." Even if unintentionally, blackface promotes the idea that minorities are inferior and that it is acceptable to make a mockery of them for the sake of white entertainment.

Above: Collage of different past and contemporary cases of 'Blackface' in Entertainment industries (including Halloween costumes of Kanye West or Trayvon Martin, Ashton Kutcher as an indian man for Popchips, and Julianne Hough as 'Crazy Eyes' from Orange is the new Black)

The other issue which the casting of Saldana as Nina highlights, beyond proliferating a painful history of blackface for African-Americans in US history, is how it represents another form of discrimination that still affects blacks and other minorities today, that is the lack of equal and positive representation in the global media-sphere. As mentioned previously, the Oscars have sparked a global debate and conversation around the lack of diversity in film and television. After being the first African-American woman to receive an Emmy for her role in 'How To Get Away with Murder', actress Viola Davis used her victory speech to highlight one of the key issues of the conversation: "the only thing that seperates women of colour from anyone else is opportunity" she says, "you cannot win an emmy for roles that are simply not there". Davis is not wrong - there are little opportunities for black actors and actresses in the US, especially for roles that don't just proliferate antiquated stereotypes but that create positive, empowered representations. In a background where not enough roles are available for actors of colour, no wonder the casting of Saldana as one of the most iconic and powerful black singers of all time has led to extreme disappointment in the African-American community. This is not to negate that Saldana is herself a woman of colour, not to make any critique on her ability to act the role or personal decisions; rather, the issue lies with the fact that this was a 'missed opportunity' to give the role to an actress who probably rarely has the opportunity to play such a legendary woman. It is also important to understand a bit more about Nina Simone, and what she represents not only musically but to the U.S black community. Beyond being one of the most influential jazz singers of the 20th century, Simone also represents through life, music, and activism the embodiement of 'unapologetic blackness' and being proud (not ashamed) of being black and politically involved. Simone also had an influential role in the 1960s Civil Rights movement, taking a more revolutionary 'hands-on' approach to equality and spoke at numerous civil rights rallies (including the Selma to Montgomery march). The point here is that Simone was herself 'unapologetically black' and proud of her roots as a dark-skinned black woman and for this reason she has become a strong, powerful icon for African-Americans (and everyone else really). Had she not passed away in 2003, would Simone herself have been okay with Saldana playing her or would she have seen this as a way of 'whitewashing' her character? Nina's family themselves have rejected and criticized the casting of Saldana in the film; her daughter told the NY Times at the time of Saldana's casting that "My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise, this is not the best choice". They've also asked that music and film venues put on their own tributes for Nina on the day of the film's release which shows how the film has perhaps (without even being released yet) failed to properly understand and represent the legacy of Nina Simone, in all its true and unapologetic blackness.

Above: Clip from an interview of Nina Simone where she discusses the role of 'blackness' in her music - Released by the Estate of Nina Simone

There is a certain tragic irony to the diversity-spectrum of the global Hollywood entertainment industry: when hacked Sony emails revealed the possibility of Idris Elba playing the traditionally white character James Bond, the twitter-sphere was outraged and poured with racist opinions, but yet it is deemed acceptable by a L.A-casting director to choose a light-skinned mixed woman to play one of the most iconic (real) black singers and women of all time. In all ways possible, a film which could have been an important opportunity to promote Simone's message for black pride and the power of her music has been transformed into a contemporary 'black(er)face' appropriation of the role of Nina Simone. Personally, I will be following the Simone's family recommendations to make my own tribute to Simone on the day of the release as opposed to paying 10$ to assess whether Saldana's acting might be enough to move past the nose prosthetic and smeared dark makeup she has on the whole film. For many, included myself, Nina Simone is one of the most beautiful and soul-wrenching voices to have ever existed and it is sad that the chance to represent her power as an dark-skinned African-American woman has been ignored, and like the rest of Hollywood, 'whitewashed'.

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