IANA Blog- February 2024

Happy February and Happy Black History Month,

I wanted to switch it up a little bit and talk about a film I saw this February. I went to watch Bob Marley: One Love, a biopic about the legendary Reggae artist, singer and songwriter Bob Marley. As a huge Bob Marley fan, and especially since Bob Marley’s birthday is this month, this was one of the films I wanted to see, especially considering I never thought a film about Bob Marley would ever be made, especially considering the troubles about a Bob Marley film even being thought of. I literally spent my day listening to Bob Marley songs until the premiere.

After finally watching the film, I wanted to give my thoughts on it…and I’m probably gonna spoil some parts of the film, so if you have not watched the film and want to…you should probably stop reading and go watch it…and also, this is my opinion, obviously.

…Cool…

…as I said, spoilers ahead…

So, after watching the film in theaters, I found it to be alright. A little formulaic like most biopics about singers, but it was still watchable. I didn’t think it was as bad as some critics were saying it was. The best part of the movie is the soundtrack. Hearing some classics from Bob Marley and the Wailers like “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Exodus,” and “War,” put a smile on my face…and of course, the popular mainstream classics like “Jamming,” “One Love,” and “Three Little Birds,” had me smirking. 

Marley was portrayed by actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who isn’t Jamaican, but is of Trinidadian descent and half English. I saw him in the film One Night in Miami, where he portrayed Malcolm X, so I was kinda excited to see what he could do. I thought he was pretty good with what he could do as Marley, although his voice was too deep to sound like him and was obviously taller than him. Rita Marley, Bob’s wife and legendary Reggae singer herself was portrayed by actress Lashana Lynch. I thought she would be perfect for the role, especially since she is British Jamaican, and I saw her in The Woman King, which I really liked. She did a really good job as Rita. I thought she out-acted Kingsley at times. 

It was also great seeing clips of the actual Bob Marley near the end of the film, doing what he does best and that’s bringing people together with his music and bringing together rival Jamaican politicians Michael Manley and Edward Seaga for his One Love Peace Concert, and one of my favorite clips where he talks about how he doesn’t care about being a “rich” man and also the mention of him being able to perform in Zimbabwe before his passing.

Those were some of the things that I liked about the film. Here are some problems I had with the film.

The film barely covered Marley’s advocacy for Pan-Africanism. He was a Pan-Africanist and believed in the unity of all Africans, which was due to his Rastafari beliefs. He literally made songs about Africa like “Africa Unite,” and “Zimbabwe,” which were from Bob’s most militant album, Survival, which, in my opinion, is underrated and is just as great of an album as Burnin’ and Exodus. That album wasn’t even mentioned in the film. There were mentions of Marley wanting to go to Africa and perform there, but that was about it. The movie could have covered more on how Bob got into Rastafari. They did show a flashback scene, but that was about it.. Marley’s militant side also could’ve been portrayed better. Yes he was about peace, love and unity, but he was also militant and was very strong about his political and social beliefs.

Another problem I had was how Chris Blackwell was portrayed in the film. Chris Blackwell was Marley’s record producer and the founder of Island Records and throughout the film, he was shown as a good guy, like he couldn’t do anything wrong. He definitely ain’t no saint, considering he made money off of some of the greatest Reggae artists and is one of the reasons why Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the Wailers.

Speaking of, here is the biggest problem I had with the film…Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer were barely in the film. They were part of a flashback scene, but that was about it. You cannot tell a story or make a movie about Bob Marley and not include Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. Marley didn’t do it by himself, Tosh and Wailer played a huge role in the success of The Wailers. Like I said, they left in 1973 after Chris Blackwell continued to disrespect them. They were able to have successful careers and were more militant compared to Marley, but I still think of what would happen if Tosh and Wailer stayed with the Wailers.

I understand that the filmmaker was trying to show the greatness of Bob Marley, but I think the film could have more impact, had the problems I mentioned would not have appeared, but I wasn’t surprised at the omissions or what scenes would be depicted, because that’s Hollywood…but still disappointed. I saw a review on the film that said that the movie like everyone else turned Bob Marley into a dorm room poster, which honestly is a perfect explanation for the problems I had with not just the movie, but how people see Bob Marley, and how they co-opt him like they co-opt Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr…and I’m not innocent either, I’m guilty as well, when I was younger, I automatically thought of marijuana and straight “vibes” whenever I thought about Bob Marley or any other reggae musician but I didn’t think of his militant side or his Pan-African side or how reggae music had its roots in Africa. I remember I purposely wore my Bob Marley shirt on 4/20 one time just to see people’s reactions…and it definitely disappoints me that so many people co-opt Bob Marley as some pothead mascot that will kumbaya with everyone and overplay songs like “One Love,” “Jamming” or “Three Little Birds,” but will ignore songs like “Burnin and Lootin” or “Top Rankin.”  They probably ignore the fact that he was nearly assassinated in 1976 for his social and political beliefs. Marley spoke truth through his songs and made socially conscious reggae music, and was one of the greatest political musicians to ever live, and I hope that people remember Bob Marley for who he is, not just the co-opted version we always see of him. Not only do people co-opt of Bob Marley, but reggae music and the Rastafari movement. I always think that they could do the same thing with African artists, luckily I don’t think they could co-opt Fela Kuti’s image or Miriam Makeba’s image if they tried.

I’ll say this, maybe because I saw a documentary Marley, which I think does a way better job of portraying Marley, but then again, of course it’s a documentary, but I do remember when Kwame Ture reviewed the Malcolm X film and said that instead of using the film to learn about Malcolm X, that viewers who don’t know anything about Malcolm X should use this movie to “go out” to learn about Malcolm X, so I’ll say the same thing about Bob Marley: One Love, you shouldn’t use this film to learn about Bob Marley, you should use this film to “go out” and learn about Bob Marley…or just go watch the documentary. I also recommend watching Peter Tosh’s documentary Peter Tosh: Stepping Razor Red X, because like I said, Tosh was more militant and was blatant and just as political and conscious with his music.

With that said, I give it a 7.5 out of 10. It’s still worth watching, and is still inspirational in a way, but could have been better.