How The Dark- vs. Light-Skin Debate Misses The Point About Black Women And The Media

I get that Zoe Saldana is quite a bit lighter than Nina Simone, but when did she suddenly become “light skinned?”

“… we have so much work to do to get our stories spread. We need to build
a media infrastructure as formidable as Hollywood’s that can distribute
these stories and support those at the margins who are telling and
creating them.”

Wow. Easier said than done. It’s like you’re blaming black people for not already having their own Hollywood. Okay, yeah let’s do it!

You know most of the people who’d want this don’t have the power or money to acquire it and those who do don’t care because they already have power and money. Black people are already struggling to put their own stories out there, using sites like youtube or other media outlets that can be accessed without first needing billions of dollars and man power to create your own media infrastructure. Except no one’s watching them because no one’s promoting them or paying attention to them. So how about promoting them instead of saying ‘you know black people, you should totally just make your own hollywood k? get to it!’ Jesus.

I feel as if the author here is really young or really believes that we live in that colorblind meritocracy that people on the right claim that we do.
It is really facile to suggest that there aren’t more black projects b/c black people AREN’T attempting to write, produce, direct, and raise money for films. They clout that blacks BEHIND the scenes have is pretty limited unless they want to show coonery and buffonery on the part of black people.
Meanwhile, a white actor or actress or director who has a breakout star is given a LOT of power to greenlight projects or placed in a starring role.

My issue with this casting is that Zoe Saldana is in no way the kind of talent that should have this role. It’s as ridiculous as Beyonce as Etta James (okay, not quite as ridiculous, b/c Zoe can ACT, but she is not an actor’s actor).

Denzel Washington is much darker than Malcolm X (who was very fair) but he’s an actor’s actor who made you forget that (b/c even the dyed red hair was odd looking on him). She just isn’t a mature actress who can really inhabit a role and make you forget who she is playing. But she has become the go to black actress these days. There are just actresses that I feel have more skill and depth who could really inhabit this role, and this isn’t the kind of movie that is supposed to be the next Iron Man in terms of ticket sales so it is a shame that they didn’t use one of those long working, rarely seen women (Tyra Ferrell, N’Bushe Wright for example). This is a role for the kind of person who could be on the stage…maybe even and Audra McDonald (although would this role require shaving of the head?)

But let’s not act like lighter (yes, I agree that Zoe is not very light nor European looking the way everyone claims, she is just Hollywood skinny) actresses don’t get roles with considerably less talent, esp. when headlining or esp. when they are supposed to play someone’s love interest. I’m bothered by the fact that brown and ebony skinned women are rarely seen as anyone that any man would want to touch, but that is a post for another day.

If you aren’t going for a physical match, which can be hard, at least go for someone who can make you forget (although when you get both, it is magical, like Julianne Moore in Game Changer as a recent example).

Not makeup…just hairdye and glasses. They didn’t do anything to his skin b/c no way was his dark skin ever going to look like Malcolm X’s light skin.
He’s just such a good actor that you didn’t notice that they look nothing alike. Which is why a really good actor should get roles like this. Zoe Salada is not at that level. She’s no Paula Patton, but this requires some Viola Davis/Angela Bassett acting.

Hmm…I don’t think the dichotomy presented here is very fair or accurate. There are black creatives trying to own their stories, but by and large they have nowhere near the capital of their peers. (The main exception is, of course, Tyler Perry.) Just because most black filmmakers and writers haven’t gotten to that point of ownership doesn’t mean their criticisms should be seen as illegitimate or tarnished. And even if we did own more studios, etc., that wouldn’t automatically prevent inaccurate or distorted representations of black people from being produced. Critiquing the distortions of mainstream media and working to own our own creative outlets go hand in hand.

Oh, and by the way, criticizing the casting of this film is not the same as hating on Zoe Saldana. Most of the criticism I’ve seen has been aimed at the makers of the film, not her.

I agree completely. Zoe,as much as I like her, is not in my mind a Nina Simone type. A certain degree of depth and psychological mindedness should be expected of such role. On the other hand her being a light-skinned woman should not be held against her or be seen as another instance of colorism. I personally don’t know enough about what goes into these decisions. What do you guys think of Lauren Hill?

Thanks for your comment — I’d actually meant to showcase Nina’s voice/talent/power behind her music. Important to clarify that it wasn’t written by her (or made famous by her), certainly. I admittedly moved through that as I was attempting to talk frankly about how I came to know her. It actually was through that cover. But that wasn’t the main part of my piece so I didn’t spend time on it. Thanks for clarifying though.

re: Zoe Saldana, that she grew up in New York doesn’t negate her Dominican heritage/or that she calls herself black. She’s given afrolatinas visibility by her unwavering affirmation of both her blackness and latina heritage. So I wouldn’t see it as erasing — but certainly, the folk who’ve been saying things like “Zoe should go sit her Dominican ass down” do. There’s a lot of xenophobia at play here in my opinion. Thanks for raising this issue though. Race vs. Ethnicity aren’t as talked about often.

I absolutely agree with you. Owning our stories won’t remove colorism / racism in Hollywood. Call me a pessimist — I don’t think that’s ever going away. So, as with any abusive relationship, I’m leaving and starting life anew. I proudly put my dollar where my mouth is — I pay to see indie flicks, I review independent films, I am currently only purchasing and reading books by the Diaspora etc. In so doing, i’m supporting the artists that are trying to make it on their own terms, I’m supporting our own stories.

I disagree with your read of my article — that it presented a dichotomy. This sentence: “our focus shouldn’t be JUST on the depiction of one character” obviously suggests that we need more than JUST the empowerment of black filmmaking professionals. Criticism is important, but it shouldn’t occupy our minds 100% of the time is what I was saying.

RIGHT!? I actually did mean to include AFFRM in this republishing but the piece ran earlier. I plan to do a part 2 of this conversation on my blog and highlight AFFRM, and other amazing initiatives we should be supporting (in addition to calling out the racist/colorist behavior). Thanks for your comment shouting them out! If you know anyone there, do let them know I’m a huge fan and would love to interview them!

You are presenting a dichotomy, though: “Criticism is important, but it shouldn’t occupy our minds 100% of the time is what I was saying.” You’re assuming that the critics are only focused on criticism and not involved in efforts to take ownership over their work. Yet several of the people I know who have questioned the casting are very much involved in black artistic organizations that have the goals you outline as their agenda. Your whole post relies on a false notion: that because these people are putting some effort into a critique of this film project, they’re not expending effort on other initiatives.

AMEN.

I agree that I don’t think it has to be an either/or
situation in terms of criticism vs. media creation. Cultivating “a strong
network of black writers, producers, and studios” is a big undertaking, but
it’s necessary to have that kind of infrastructure in order for these stories
to be heard by more than just a modest audience. The casting issues, the
authorship issues, none of it will ever stop unless there are people at the top
who care.

I will say that I think it’s worth noting the number
of different levels at which change is required in order for these voices to be
heard. I work for a multicultural publisher and we often discuss how in book
publishing there is an astonishing number of people who have their hands in
things: authors, agents, editors, designers, sales reps, booksellers, reviewers,
readers. And that’s book publishing, which is small beans compared to Hollywood in terms of $$.

The question is whether existing media channels can
be better integrated so these stories and artists don’t drop through the
cracks, or whether it’s necessary to actually start from scratch: new studios,
new networks, new everything. Part of me wishes that weren’t necessary, because it’ll make things more segregated than they already are. But Hollywood is
such a stiff old institution that it’s hard to see any real change happening anytime soon.

Marvelous, far reaching article.

I am going to be thinking and feeling about the storytellers, who tells the stories, the story owners, who owns the story, and the story and how it all intersects and interacts.

I posted a link of this on my lj, I am “normaltrouble” over there.
Food for thought. A whole day’s worth of meals, in fact.

(disclaimer: I am a white middle aged woman, btw)

It’s ironically relative, because as a hispanic actress, she would be considered way too dark for many hispanic roles, in a hispanic production, so she’s in a position where she can’t win with anybody…

@nicthommi:disqus

Why do you think Saldana isn’t a good choice for this role? From what I’ve seen of her work, she seems to like doing roles that tend to be demanding and challenging, and not just the lightweight/flower vase type of roles. Based on what I’ve seen of her over the years, I think she IS a good actress who tries to bring something more to the roles she’s able to get,especially after seeing her in THE LOSERS, in which she plays a hardcore fighting hitwoman and in COLOMBIANA, where she proved she can do action roles/carry a film (even though it wasn’t that successful, but,honestly, that was more the fault of the director and screenwriter, who simply settled for doing a generic by-the-numbers action flick, rather than doing something unique and different.). I admit, I like her, and this would be a great chance for her to really stretch her acting muscles. It dosen’t sound like you’re actually seen any of her films at all,or you wouldn’t be stating that she has no talent,plus she’s been in the acting game over a decade—long enough to gain that same talent. And she kicked ass in AVATAR, the movie that made her enough of a name to get picked for this project.

Also, she isn’t light-skinned at all—that’s just a picture of her with WAY too much light—she’s as dark brown as I am, and a natural beauty on top of that. For people wondering why she’s claiming Latina heritage, her dad’s Puerto Rican, her mom’s black Dominican—I read in an interview she did that after her parents got divorced, her mother moved the family from New York (where she was born and raised) back to the DR (Dominican Republic) where she spent most of her teenage years. She has also said in MORE than one interview that she’s proud of BOTH her black and Latin heritage period. Here’s a quote from the IMDB site from one of her interviews on that subject:

“When I go to the D.R., the press in Santo Domingo always asks, “¿Qué te
consideras, dominicana o americana?” (What do you consider yourself,
Dominican or American?) I don’t understand it, and it’s the same people
asking the same question. So I say, time and time again, “Yo soy una
mujer negra.” (“I am a black woman.”) [They go,] “Oh, no, tú eres
trigueñita.” (“Oh no, you are ‘dark skinned’”) I’m like, “No! Let’s get
it straight, yo soy una mujer negra.” (“I am a black woman.”)”

I also came across another quote from Saldana on another site amongst a slide show on Afro-Latinos,saying that she didn’t like how some Latinos wanted to play up their European and Indio heritage, but totally disparaged their African heritage—she said that Latinos should embrace ALL their heritages, not just the white/Indio ones. I totally agree with her on that one.

In a nutshell, the woman knows EXACTLY who and what she is—a black American Latina—and she’s made it clear that she is very proud of being one. Seems like it’s .I find it funny how white Latinos don’t EVER receive any static for claiming that they’re both white AND Latino—no one ever says to them that they can’t be both,since white is the coveted color,due to institutional racism, but let a black person claim both black and Latino heritage, and people scream & holler that they’re trying to be something they’re not, as if there is NO possible way somebody could be both. Hell, all you need is one black (or two) parent and a Latina/o parent to get together and have a black Latino child—it ain’t that hard to figure out. Also, she was just on the cover of ESSENCE Magazine—if she didn’t want to be ID’d as black, why the hell would she even be on the cover in the first place? Check her IMDB page–it’s a HUGE issue for a lot of people who can’t grasp that a person can be black and Latino at the same time, because we’re rarely been taught anything about the history of black people on the South American continent, and don’t know jack about it. That’s why I always recommend the Henry Louis Gates doc BLACK IN LATIN AMERICA, but for what I’ve read on the net, some folks have issues with that doc,too.

Hope that settles it—I also hope that Saldana will be able to use her influence as a now-known name to make sure that her portrayal of Simone is an accurate and faithful one.

Many years ago I heard author Barbara Neely say that she would be afraid of selling the rights to her mystery series to Hollywood because it would be important to her to see someone who looked like her dark-skinned, thick protagonist on screen. It is not unreasonable to wish for a diversity of representations of black people in the media, and to mourn the fact that, to crib Simone, “Peaches” and “Saffronia” are always on screen and not “Aunt Sarah.” I like Zoe Saldana a lot, but the reality is that people do like for biopics to have people who can make themselves have some resemblance to the people they play. Otherwise it can be distracting, and here, for a variety of both aesthetic and political reasons, disappointing. And I think it is not just about phenotype or color here, but presence. I’ve probably watched every movie she’s been in, and I don’t know that she can pull this off, and that’s a fair critique. As for this article, it is INCREDIBLY dismissive of the realities of how hard it has been for black people to produce things in the industry, and to not acknowledge that critique is often half the battle of getting a foot in the door is is not being fair to the many people who have been working hard. There is a great deal of writing out there. A great deal of art.

This to me is not about authentic blackness. This is about can she carry off the spirit of the woman who sang Strange Fruit? Can she convey her life correctly and that does take knowledge about history and intimate knowledge of being discriminated against due to black folks/minorites and the world’s problems with dark skinned people and how that – how she had to overcome that big issue not only in the world but in the culture she was a part of. Let’s not pretend that we don’t know about the paper bag tests that blacks did with each other like light skin made you more worthy. To pretend that those of dark skin STILL do not catch it within and without our culture is dishonest. If she can be Nina Simone – get into that character and BE her, I don’t, for the record, care where she comes from. In the same way that Jennifer Hudson played Winnie Mandela, if she is qualified and she can let her do so. Let’s also not pretend though that the creation of others who are mulatto, light skinned or have features that are not clearly identified as black don’t get preference in Hollywood. Exiticism is real and it plays out on screens and in real life all of the time with many minorities. Dark skinned actresses are not the norm on the TV screen unless they play certain roles. Seeing that AA women of dark skin DID participate in the Civil Rights movement and are rarely given a chance to shine on screen, I do understand the desire fo some to see them on the screen when they are generally not portrayed as glamorous or creative like they have the RIGHT to do so – like their talent is their own and it is beautiful and should be exhibited as close to the truth as possible too.
A lot of folks are placed in roles that the really do not fit but it is easier for the mainstream audience to see them in a certain setting. Alfre Woodard and her weight gain to play the part of a maid who by the way is active and cleans all day and she is also walking back and forth to the bus etc. so the idea that she was not in better shape as the maid in the movie ” The Help” immediately comes to mind. I don’t mind that folks from other parts of the disapora playing each other in movies – pretty much our histories are in step with each other so we prolly will have the depth and knowledge base to play the historical parts. Another truth is, where we are from DOES color how we feel about certain things though, so let’s not pretend that isn’t true either. I just don’t want folks to pretend that there are NOT other things at work here. This is the heart of the issue and it is more than just she is light skinned/ brown skinned not dark like Nina Simone. Other – many other things are at work here and Hollywood took the road they usually take and folks are tired of it. Not of Zoe, but Hollywood’s usual choice to pretend people of certain color and shade did not and do not contribute to the world in any productive way.

She hasn’t acted in a while and is pretty troubled but I think that if she was stable, it is probably a role she could inhabit and own. I like Lorraine Touissant as well, for the quality of her speaking voice and her acting.

I meant exoticism

@nicthommi:disqus

I wouldn’t call myself a “superfan” of Saldana or anything like that—I’ve just noticed her work over the years enough to notice that she can act,and seems to do some interesting work beyond the typical “flower vase” roles someone with her striking looks would normally be shoehorned into. I assumed that you hadn’t seen her work only because you didn’t specify what you had seen her in that convinced you she wouldn’t be good enough for this role,that’s all. So, no it wasn’t some big inaccurate,unnecessary leap to make on my part,because again, you hadn’t provided any specific examples or evidence to show why she isn’t a good fit for the role.

I do agree,though,that it was Nina Simone’s distinctive look ( for the 1960′s) that was an integral part of her musical and social impact as an entertainer. And, yeah, it would have been interesting if the filmmaker had actually gotten an actress who physically resembled her, and I’m sure that there are such actresses. I agree with that last half of your statement,definitely.

Sorry, I am not going to keep my mouth shut about colorism in Hollywood. Yes, ultimately we need more control over our own stories, but we can work on that while still critiquing the film and television programming that white-wash and light-wash characters. I like Zoe Saldana and I think she is a good actress, but while I would not consider her light skinned she does not represent physically the kind of black woman Nina was. Nina had dark skin, nappy hair, and features no one would question coming straight from Africa (as in no racial ambiguity there). It would be nice to see a black woman who isn’t viewed as “exotic” or pallatable because of their potentially mixed race background in the role. I don’t think most people were questioning Zoe’s claim to “blackness” when critiquing this choice but why they couldn’t even pick a dark skinned actress who doesn’t fit into that “exotic” meme to play a dark skinned, kinky hair-having, broad-featured, curvy woman. Also, I think some of the annoyance (at least for me) came from the fact that the casting folks seemed to go with a shallow pick, a black female actress with cross-over appeal that is relatively well known and popular. They probably thought they were doing something progressive by not casting Beyonce in this role. It reminds me of the casting of Frieda Pinto in Miral as the titular Palestinian woman. It was obvious they were playing off the success of Slumdog Millionaire and so the brown Pinto was cast to play brown Arab Miral. Guess all of us brown folks look the same!

I do agree that quite often in Hollywood, brown people are interchangeable; but Freida Pinto does have a striking facial resemblance to the author of the semi-autobiographical novel Miral.

As Spectra states we live in a racialised world and I cannot imagine that the choice of Zoe Saldana was based on her acting talent / or not. If one looks at the media and I include the Black media, its not hard to imagine a time when dark-skinned Black women will be erased altogether. And even when they are present we end up with stupid comments about hair and the next minute you find women walking around with waist length weave ons- the message being if you are ‘unfortunate’ enough to be a dark-skinned Black woman just make sure you choose a weave for your hair.

Back to the film. Whilst I completely agree with Spectra’s point on the need for ownership of “infrastructure and content that portrays our lived experiences….” Again we go back to the same old same old discussion on ‘telling our stories” and the call to acting on this, nothing new here. But I don’t think this is because Black women, LGBTI. Africans … don’t get this point – on the contrary I believe more and more Black, Queer and Africans are making films than ever before – for sure not enough but it is happening. Take for example the bi-annual Pan-African film [FESPACO] festival in Burkina Faso, which began in 1969! Take a look at the excellent documentary films being made by Black women. OK we may not have such a great presence in the mainstream film industry but I don’t even see that as a measure of the quality or quantity of Black filmmakers as so much rubbish is being produced there anyway.

Back to Nina Simone – I have every song she ever made and had the privilege of seeing her at London’s Ronnie Scott Jazz club in 84/85 [not sure which] not a week goes by without her voice entering in my life. and from everything I have read and now know about this film, I doubt I will ever watch it. Bio pics are never easy or really satisfactory, I would rather watch a documentary but I do think the depiction of the character and accuracy of the story are important otherwise what is the point of a bio pic? By the way there is an excellent documentary on Nina with her daughter which I watched years ago. I can’t remember any details of the film and have been searching for it so if anyone reading this knows anything please share.