Simone's Struggle in an Oppressive Society

Something that struck me about What Happened, Miss Simone? was the ability for someone like Nina Simone to maintain a steady career throughout all her life-shocking events. There were multiple prominent issues that should have ended her career early had she been any less dedicated. Firstly was the issue of an abusive husband. Not only did they not separate after the abuse, but he continued to manage her career as a pianist and performer, which must have been incredibly difficult and probably lead to a lot of the violent lash outs she demonstrated as she got older. Additionally, the question of whether to prioritize commercial success or a focus on one's own morals would be a difficult one. Certainly, as the documentary pointed out, taking such a strong stance on the civil rights movement may have made her a lot less 'in demand' for producers looking towards a broader, whiter audience. I also feel like the documentary was able to touch on issues of intersectionality - being a black woman, Nina Simone was put in gender roles as well as race roles. While I felt that race was a much more prevalent topic in the film, I think issues such as domestic abuse are key points in which gender became somewhat of a wall that Simone had to struggle against. Ultimately, I felt the film did a great job of showing just how driven Simone was to accomplishing her goals - not only as a pianist, but as an activist as well.

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