View All Students
Leonora Martelly
Leonora Martelly
Jay Dixon
Session 22
Time: 4:00-6:30pm
Chapter 13
· In this chapter the initial assignment is to create a sportscast for my local station including their call letters. I have to use their slogan like Fox Sports AM 810 and use my name in the report. It should be either: 60 or: 90 seconds. In all the assignment is to write 4 Sportscast: 2 sixty and 2 ninety second sports forecast. Also create a show with material to cover 1 hour.
· Tea Time Tuesday:
1. (Lelo)Nina Simone Backlash:
As Hollywood faces growing scrutiny over the industry’s diversity practices, the casting of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone in an upcoming biopic has brought a lot of backlash to Zoe Saldana and criticism to the producers of the biopic. Now much of the backlash has to do with Simone's place in history. Simone, who died in 2003 at 70, combined blues, folk and jazz and blues to deliver her sultry style. She was also known for her bombastic, defiant persona as a fixture of the 1960s civil rights movement. She composed songs that addressed racist treatment of African-Americans. She wrote "Mississippi Goddam" after the killing of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, while her single "Four Women" described the experiences of four women of different skin tones. The controversy plays into broader discussions about diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash" biopics, especially when they involve people of color, by casting actors who conform to white and European beauty standards. Very few people are supporting Zoe Saldana and many people are sending shade her way but one person who stood his ground in support of Zoe was Talib Kwali. A fan tweeted and asked his thoughts about the casting, seeing how he’s a well-known Nina Simone fan. He replied to the tweet and said, “Zoe is a fantastic actress. But this is an incredibly difficult role. I reserve judgment until I see it.”This of course added to the ongoing debate of Saldana wearing makeup to make herself darker for the role. Talib is not worried about the makeup, but more so the acting within the film. In fact he used Denzel’s role as Malcolm X to prove his point. He went on to say, “Malcolm X was light skinned with red hair. He looked nothing like Denzel. At all. That’s why it’s called acting. Let’s see what Zoe got.”
(Jess) So another fan tweeted; “fans were more concerned with Saldana’s “black face” for the role and not so much her acting skills”. Talib responded to that by saying, “A black person can’t wear black face idiot.” He then went on to provide his followers with the example of Kerry Washington and Forest Whitaker wearing darker makeup for their roles in “The Last King of Scotland.” The twitter debate moved on to Talib personally knowing Simone Kelly, the daughter of Nina Simone, and supporting her recent statements defending Saldana against the backlash. She said, “It’s unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture. “It’s clear she brought her best to this project, but unfortunately she’s being attacked when she’s not responsible for any of the writing or the lies.”
(Lelo) Talib then continued his debate and pointed out, although there are plenty of actresses that resemble Nina Simone, with the same complexion. The project is more so about the acting, which is what he plans to judge Saldana off of.
àFor me it’s like:1) Should it be Zoe receiving this back lash and 2) Is this a question of exclusion, the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash” films or is it more so with all that’s going on, the African American community is in a sensitive mental space?
I want to let you sit with that as we go into a clip of Zoe Saldana’s response, then we’ll come back and discuss this
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxrzq_zidRM
{C}· {C}Lelo: Reintroduce show and the clip: refer back to question:
1) Should it be Zoe receiving this back lash and
2)Is this a question of exclusion, the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash” films or is it more so with all that’s going on, the African American community is in a sensitive mental space?
Lelo opinion to insert for question 1: I don’t think that Zoe Saldana should be the person to blame or to receive the entire back lash that she is receiving. However, the prosthetics used to make her look like Nina Simone should have been crafted better. The way she looked in the trailer alone made me sad, to be honest it was weird and ugly. Whether or not you thought Nina Simone was beautiful in your eyes, in my eyes she was. In the trailer she just looked weird, her nose, makeup, skin… for me its like were the producers like yeah we got it and really depicted Nina’s African American attributes as such… and if so why are we just bashing zoe? Now labeling her darkening her skin as a “black face” appearance to me is just messy and I wouldn’t label it as such. I think its moreso they casted her against a type and went too far to try and make her fit it. I shift the blame onto the studio rather than Saldana. I personally don’t think she did anything wrong. If I were in her shoes and admired Nina Simone the way I hear she does I would have said yes 2. Not to mention in the trailer released Zoe put her foot heart mind and soul into that role.
Lelo Opinion for 2insert: Is this a question of exclusion, the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash” films or is it more so with all that’s going on, the African American community is in a sensitive mental space? There just aren’t enough quality roles in Hollywood for non white actors and Hollywood has a nasty tendency to cast white actors in non white roles or take stories about non white cultures and center them around white protagonist. Like seriously tom cruise for “ The last Sammuri”, Christian Bale and Joe Egerton in “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, Emma Stone in “Aloha” and Gerald Butler “Gods of Egypt” It’s almost like Hollywood executives have never seen anyone from Egypt.
Hot Tottie
1. Chile, did y’all hear that the “World’s Most Wanted Man” aka El Chapo was roaming around California streets!? Yeah and that’s not the only thing, he came by not once but twice!!!
Leonora Martelly
Jay Dixon
Session 22
Time: 4:00-6:30pm
Chapter 13
- In this chapter the initial assignment is to create a sportscast for my local station including their call letters. I have to use their slogan like Fox Sports AM 810 and use my name in the report. It should be either: 60 or: 90 seconds. In all the assignment is to write 4 Sportscast: 2 sixty and 2 ninety second sports forecast. Also create a show with material to cover 1 hour.
- Tea Time Tuesday:
1. (Lelo)Nina Simone Backlash:
As Hollywood faces growing scrutiny over the industry’s diversity practices, the casting of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone in an upcoming biopic has brought a lot of backlash to Zoe Saldana and criticism to the producers of the biopic. Now much of the backlash has to do with Simone's place in history. Simone, who died in 2003 at 70, combined blues, folk and jazz and blues to deliver her sultry style. She was also known for her bombastic, defiant persona as a fixture of the 1960s civil rights movement. She composed songs that addressed racist treatment of African-Americans. She wrote "Mississippi Goddam" after the killing of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, while her single "Four Women" described the experiences of four women of different skin tones. The controversy plays into broader discussions about diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash" biopics, especially when they involve people of color, by casting actors who conform to white and European beauty standards. Very few people are supporting Zoe Saldana and many people are sending shade her way but one person who stood his ground in support of Zoe was Talib Kwali. A fan tweeted and asked his thoughts about the casting, seeing how he’s a well-known Nina Simone fan. He replied to the tweet and said, “Zoe is a fantastic actress. But this is an incredibly difficult role. I reserve judgment until I see it.”This of course added to the ongoing debate of Saldana wearing makeup to make herself darker for the role. Talib is not worried about the makeup, but more so the acting within the film. In fact he used Denzel’s role as Malcolm X to prove his point. He went on to say, “Malcolm X was light skinned with red hair. He looked nothing like Denzel. At all. That’s why it’s called acting. Let’s see what Zoe got.”
(Jess) So another fan tweeted; “fans were more concerned with Saldana’s “black face” for the role and not so much her acting skills”. Talib responded to that by saying, “A black person can’t wear black face idiot.” He then went on to provide his followers with the example of Kerry Washington and Forest Whitaker wearing darker makeup for their roles in “The Last King of Scotland.” The twitter debate moved on to Talib personally knowing Simone Kelly, the daughter of Nina Simone, and supporting her recent statements defending Saldana against the backlash. She said, “It’s unfortunate that Zoe Saldana is being attacked so viciously when she is someone who is part of a larger picture. “It’s clear she brought her best to this project, but unfortunately she’s being attacked when she’s not responsible for any of the writing or the lies.”
(Lelo) Talib then continued his debate and pointed out, although there are plenty of actresses that resemble Nina Simone, with the same complexion. The project is more so about the acting, which is what he plans to judge Saldana off of.
àFor me it’s like:1) Should it be Zoe receiving this back lash and 2) Is this a question of exclusion, the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash” films or is it more so with all that’s going on, the African American community is in a sensitive mental space?
I want to let you sit with that as we go into a clip of Zoe Saldana’s response, then we’ll come back and discuss this
Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxrzq_zidRM
- Lelo: Reintroduce show and the clip: refer back to question:
1) Should it be Zoe receiving this back lash and
2)Is this a question of exclusion, the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash” films or is it more so with all that’s going on, the African American community is in a sensitive mental space?
Lelo opinion to insert for question 1: I don’t think that Zoe Saldana should be the person to blame or to receive the entire back lash that she is receiving. However, the prosthetics used to make her look like Nina Simone should have been crafted better. The way she looked in the trailer alone made me sad, to be honest it was weird and ugly. Whether or not you thought Nina Simone was beautiful in your eyes, in my eyes she was. In the trailer she just looked weird, her nose, makeup, skin… for me its like were the producers like yeah we got it and really depicted Nina’s African American attributes as such… and if so why are we just bashing zoe? Now labeling her darkening her skin as a “black face” appearance to me is just messy and I wouldn’t label it as such. I think its moreso they casted her against a type and went too far to try and make her fit it. I shift the blame onto the studio rather than Saldana. I personally don’t think she did anything wrong. If I were in her shoes and admired Nina Simone the way I hear she does I would have said yes 2. Not to mention in the trailer released Zoe put her foot heart mind and soul into that role.
Lelo Opinion for 2insert: Is this a question of exclusion, the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the tendency to "whitewash” films or is it more so with all that’s going on, the African American community is in a sensitive mental space? There just aren’t enough quality roles in Hollywood for non white actors and Hollywood has a nasty tendency to cast white actors in non white roles or take stories about non white cultures and center them around white protagonist. Like seriously tom cruise for “ The last Sammuri”, Christian Bale and Joe Egerton in “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, Emma Stone in “Aloha” and Gerald Butler “Gods of Egypt” It’s almost like Hollywood executives have never seen anyone from Egypt.
Hot Tottie
1. Chile, did y’all hear that the “World’s Most Wanted Man” aka El Chapo was roaming around California streets!? Yeah and that’s not the only thing, he came by not once but twice!!!
According to the LA Times, El Chapo’s daughter, Rosa Isela Guzman Ortiz, is spilling tea to the Guardian and she’s saying that her father paid off Mexican politicians for protection. She says that both visits were to California to see family… say whet!? Ortiz, provided multiple receipts to prove that she was indeed El Chapo’s daughter, which included a birth certificate. It is unknown the specific times El Chapo was in the U.S. but it is still scary regardless. El Chapo is currently fighting extradition after being recaptured in February.
According to the LA Times, El Chapo’s daughter, Rosa Isela Guzman Ortiz, is spilling tea to the Guardian and she’s saying that her father paid off Mexican politicians for protection. She says that both visits were to California to see family… say whet!? Ortiz, provided multiple receipts to prove that she was indeed El Chapo’s daughter, which included a birth certificate. It is unknown the specific times El Chapo was in the U.S. but it is still scary regardless. El Chapo is currently fighting extradition after being recaptured in February.
