Portrayal or betrayal of Bob Marley?
THE EDITOR, Madam:
I HAVE not yet seen the Bob Marley movie, ‘Bob Marley: One Love’. However, the reviews thus far have been favourable, including those in reference to the portrayal of the Jamaican accents of the Britain-born actors Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch, who portrayed Bob and Rita, respectively.
That said, I can’t shake off the feeling that the role of Bob Marley, the world’s most famous, respected and revered reggae singer and, arguably, the most famous Jamaican who ever lived, should have been played by a Jamaican.
The movie ‘Ray’, a biopic about the life of legendary rhythm and blues singer, the late Ray Charles, was sublimely played by Americaborn actor Jamie Foxx. The movie ‘Get On Up’, a biopic of the late, great American singer James Brown, was wonderfully played by Americaborn actor, the late Chadwick Boseman. The movie ‘ What’s Love Got To Do With It’, a biopic about the late singing superstar Tina Turner, was brilliantly portrayed by America-born actress Angela Bassett.
Of course, a strong counter argument can be made. For example, in the movies ‘Gandhi’ and ‘The Iron Lady’, the lead roles of the late India-born anti-colonial nationalist Mahatma Gandhi, and the late British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, were played to perfection by Britain-born actor Ben Kingsley and America-born actress Meryl Streep, respectively. Notably, both Kingsley and Streep won Academy Awards for their outstanding performances in those above-mentioned roles.
And yes, the movie ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ was financed and produced by a major Hollywood studio and, as such, they call the shots.
However, there are critical questions that should have been asked and answered during the casting of the role of Bob Marley for ‘Bob Marley: One Love’, namely, why couldn’t a Jamaican have been cast in the role of Bob Marley? Would doing so not have made the movie more authentic?
Last, in casting the role of the Reggae King, the final critical question that should have been asked and answered is: What, through the eyes of those who knew him best, would Bob have wanted, regarding how and by whom he was portrayed in a film about his life?