Bob Marley: One Love has now been the number-one movie in the world for two weekends in a row. My family, boyfriend, and I had the privilege of seeing the film on Sunday, Feb. 18. I say “privilege” because I have never witnessed such a well-done biopic. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green and son of Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley created such an informative and entertaining look into Marley’s career. It’s no wonder the movie is doing so well at the box office.
It wasn’t a movie that focused on Marley’s hardships growing up or a bunch of filler to make the audience sad. The movie honed in on the power of his music and his effect on politics in Jamaica. The audience was shown The Wailers’ travels through Europe and America and the challenges they faced as artists from a country in the Caribbean.
I remember watching an HGTV program that took place in Jamaica when I was younger, and the main thing discussed about the island’s culture was Bob Marley himself. I learned so much about him as an icon from this little show and was shocked to hear how young he died.
Going into the film, I felt I knew everything about him there was to know. I grew up with his music playing. I knew most of his discography, I knew he passed away from skin cancer at the age of 36, and I knew he had countless talented descendants. I had no idea I could learn so much more within the first 20 minutes of the movie.
His work within Jamaica’s politics and advocacy for performing in Africa was something I had not seen or heard in mainstream media. My parents who played him for me since I was born knew the influence he had and his ideals, but not the exact work he did in Jamaica by bringing together two severely rivaling political parties. One of my favorite musical artists whom I always looked up to became even more of a role model to me after seeing Kinglsey Ben-Adir portray the things I had no idea about.
I was quite weepy towards the end of the movie since I knew what was coming and so was my dad. What can I say, I am my father’s child. I remember the rest of our viewing party was picking on us for it. Maybe I’m just a sensitive person, but I believe it was because of how well done the film was. I got to watch the man who I grew up listening to with my parents as if I were someone close to him in the 1970s. It felt like an honor that this story was able to be shared with me, the people closest to me, and the entire world.