Sienna Taus | Student Life Editor
February 27, 2024
Bob Marley, king of reggae music, a legend in the music industry left behind his legacy at the age of 36 as he passed because of cancer. The family of Bob Marley co-produced a movie that shows the lifestyle of Bob after he gained some attention from the public and shows how he balanced the violence taking place in Jamaica with the future of his music career with his band.
Some criticism of the movie is that it skipped over important moments both in Jamaica’s history and significant moments in Bob’s real life. The flashbacks throughout the movie lack depth to provide a decent explanation for Bob’s childhood. They imply that he had an absent father, although the movie never addresses Bob’s failures as a father and husband. As he had eleven children, only three with his wife and band mate, Rita Marley, and six other children were from affairs. Senior, Mason Henderson claims “I wished they were to have made the Bob Marley movie into a series on Netflix because they could have gone in more detail and capture his story better.”
Although there was some faults in the movie, it still displayed some beautiful acting done by Kingsley Ben-Adir, who played Bob Marley and especially Lashana Lynch, who played his wife. Senior, Andre Jones said “It seemed like the movie explained the stories behind a lot of his most popular songs, which was cool to see on the big screens.” They showed how they struggled as a couple and family with the constant violence that took place in Jamaica, specifically with the shooting intended to kill Bob which seriously injured Rita instead. The movie did show how the couple struggled with jealousy, brief mentions of unfaithfulness, and other common fights among most couples. This shown how they were just like everyone else, even with fame and money, they still struggled just like everyone else.
The movie captures moments of Bob’s life in the spotlight, but fails to give the audience any insight on who Bob was as an individual. Not to say it was a bad movie, just felt underdeveloped in some aspects. Bob Marley is a music legend that used his fame and voice to spread social justice, human rights, peace, love, and unity. He and his music will never be forgotten and he is adored worldwide.
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