The last scene - Bessie (2015) Discussion

[–] Vodkie 9 years ago

They left a few things out, Like her death, what happened to the kid, ETC

It felt kinda like the Whitney Houston LifeTime movie. Like they decided not to explore the death and just chose a certain cut off point in the person's life

"What is it with you babies and poop?" - Angelica Pickles

reply

[–] ldm-mcdonald 9 years ago

I'm glad the movie ended that way without the death. It would've been too anticlimactic.

reply

[–] fredm74 9 years ago

I would have much preferred they showed the car accident that led to her demise. Having her and Richard looking to the sunset was anticlimatic.

reply

[–] ldm-mcdonald 9 years ago

Not really. The whole movie mainly focuses on the intense personality of Bessie Smith due to her being a needy person. She became depressed because every person in her life disappointed her: Jack Gee disappointed her, Lucille disappointed her, and Viola disappointed her. The movie ended on a note where Bessie believes there is hope for her to pull herself together and thinking Richard would give her the hope that she wanted and wouldn't disappoint her. Yes, there's her death afterwards, but the ending concludes her in a happy and hopeful state rather than in a depressed state.

reply

[–] TinaKimo 9 years ago

Yes and I'm glad they left it out. Does anyone know what happened to Bessie Mom and her son? Jack Gee needed to be shot! I heard Bessie's fans were raising money for her tombstone and Jack Gee took it. Years later, Janice Joplin purchased a tombstone for Bessie. Janice died not too long after doing such a wonderful thing. All around sad. Did enjoy the movie.



reply

[–] coldnaps 9 years ago

Unfortunately, the whole film was kind of anticlimactic. Especially the ending. They didn't need to get graphic...maybe just show the car driving off.

reply

[–] SataiDelen 9 years ago

I'm not sure how I feel about them leaving her death out. On the one hand, I wish they'd at least dealt with it, even if not going into the finite details about it. Yet on the other hand, I see why people would prefer the way it did end; on a ray of hope. I don't feel the ending was anti-climatic in any way, I was just surprised when it cut out the way it did. And considering I don't usually like changes like this being made, not feeling let down or that this ending was anti-climatic is quite a first for me.

Overall, this was a very well-done movie, and I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about Bessie Smith beyond what I'd read about her online.

The only thing about this movie/her life which truly saddened me, was how Jack took Jack Jr. away like that. I realize she was sick on drugs/alcohol, but having him taken from her tore her apart. Frankly though, Viola's involvement in that bothered me a hell of a lot more than Jack actually doing what he did. However, Viola just really seemed like an angry, bitter, vindictive woman who was just desperate to drag Bessie down any way she could.

EMOTICONS ARE BACK! YAY!   

reply

[–] Pamactress 9 years ago

The word is "anticlimactic," not "anti-climatic."

reply

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] missvassy 9 years ago

"Yellow" or "high yellow" is a term for a light or very light skinned black person. In those days, if someone had very "white" features, they might be able to pass for white and escape the discrimination that darker skinned blacks. A lot of blacks resented this and considered ones who passed for white as traitors to their race.

As is common today, in Bessie's time, most entertainment promoters preferences lighter skinned blacks as they had a better "look." They also were more accepted by white audiences when attempting to cross over; they were black enough to be a novelty but white enough to not look like the person serving them or cleaning their house. Bessie was darker skinned than many of these artist and was passed up for more "commercial" artists like Ethel Waters (this was sort of glossed over in the film).

Also, Bessie wasn't mad at Jack Gee just for including the new, lighter girl in the chorus. The main reason she was angry was because the girl was his lover and she was jealous.

Overall I thought the movie was good but I do agree that the plot seemed to be missing some key points and some clarity.

reply

[–] GravityCakes 9 years ago

Yes, excellent explanation missvassy -- I was thinking too that in the days of slavery "high yellow" (meaning nearly "passable" as white) slaves could be sold for the highest amounts of money, as they would be the household servants and "ladies in waiting" to the wife of a wealthy plantation owner -- as was the case with Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

This meant that a system of tremendous cruelty kept being perpetuated, black women being raped by the white overseers and plantation owners, and these women were most likely to have their "high yellow" children sold away, and then those female children were in turn subjected to the same horrific sexual abuse. And then later (and as is still the case) lighter-skinned blacks tend to be the "crossover" successes as they are considered more marketable for white audiences. Bessie's act in this scene, and her life, was a rebellion against this history.

"Hearts and kidneys are tinker toys! I am talking about the central nervous system!"

reply

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] necoleman 9 years ago

I am formerly known as HillieBoliday.....Member since May 2006.

RealityStarlett....great commentary! Also to add an interesting note about Ethel Waters (aka "Sweet Mama Stringbean"). As a child, she grew up in the streets of Harlem, running errands for some of the local gangsters, the 'working girls,' and she had her own street gang. She was a formidable Diva in every sense of the word! She was very protective of her territory as a star, and felt quite threatened by newcomers such as Lena Horne and Billie Holiday. She was quite vocal to ANYONE who did not recognize or respect her as a star. I found some similarities between Her and Bessie as women and entertainers quite interesting!

"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"

reply

[–] studio_raat 9 years ago

I do think they should have showed her tragic death too. It kinda sums up how she lived her life on the edge. It's not like this was fiction, the death and her legacy, should have been included in this movie. But I really did enjoy it and the acting performances

reply

[–] Angie_MJ 9 years ago

I think 'passing for white' was another group onto itself. Just having lighter skin did not mean you passed for white (few could even with biracial parents), you were just a light skinned negroe because everything else about you gave away your ethnicity. The issue isn't the passings, its the preference. Even today, people believe fairer skin people from groups of color (not just african americans) are smarter and more beautiful due to just this complexion. You consider the situation then, and if someone were to get hired in the music or theater circuits, they would be lighter. Going to work in households of white owners would preference a lighter skin for certain jobs or at all in some households. It was this preference that pissed off people of the time. If these preferences lead to better job opportunities, then african americans of the time also got to watch their peers progress in life, not starve, move out of poverty or be subjected to less of it, send their kids off to school longer, etc. etc because they were light skinned. It may have escalated the tension if those with lighter skin wore it as a bade of honor or considered themselves to better than african americans as a result. Also, keep in mind in the scenario of Bessie, it followed her being rejected from the stage and having a paper bag held to her to tell her she's too black after everything else. They essentially said even if you had everything else we were looking for, we'll never put your too black self on a stage anywhere because no one wants to see someone as dark as you. So she unleashed all of that on the women who showed up.

 Instagram: Ms_Angie00 

reply

[–] kayeinspire 9 years ago

realitystarlet

Great commentary indeed! I love reading posts such as yours!

:-) Peace

reply

[–] rrodriguezcpa 9 years ago

In the very beginning of the movie, when Bessie was auctioning/trying to break into the business, she was subjected to "the brown paper bag test"; which she failed for being too dark - as you need to be lighter than a brown paper bag for acceptance. So later on in the movie, when she was putting together her show, she used the brown paper bag test in reverse. She was empowering herself and others for being "darker than a brown paper bag".

She also discussed the light vs darker skin issue w/her girlfriend, Lucy, and at the meeting w/the light skinned executives at Black Swan Label, who preferred Ethel Waters. It was the 20's/30's, during Jim Crow.

reply

[–] Kariann1964 9 years ago

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of Bessie Smith being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum. She was inducted in 1989, as an "Early Influence" along with The Ink Spots and the Soul Stirrers. These are artists whose music profoundly affected rock and roll; had an impact on the evolution of rock and roll; and inspired rock's leading artists. Ma Rainey was inducted in 1990.

I really enjoyed this film; however, I would rather have had a two part (4 hours) miniseries which focused more on her early life and also her later years. I would like to have heard what was said about her during the RRHoF Induction. Queen Latifa deserves an Emmy nomination.

reply

[–] Kariann1964 9 years ago

Now, this is more like it...

Bessie Smith earned the title of “Empress of the Blues” by virtue of her forceful vocal delivery and command of the genre. Her singing displayed a soulfully phrased, boldly delivered and nearly definitive grasp of the blues. In addition, she was an all-around entertainer who danced, acted and performed comedy routines with her touring company. She was the highest-paid black performer of her day and arguably reached a level of success greater than that of any African-American entertainer before her.

http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith/bio/

reply

[–] movieinsider411 9 years ago

I agree. That's what ruined the movie for me. That they never show her reunited with her son like she did in real life. It's like she acted like she's going to clean up so she'd be well enough to see her son but then they don't show him again. Well, at least it eases me to know that she did eventually.

reply

[–] Born_Tomorrow 9 years ago

I think the movie should have ended with the car accident. Not the full details of her death, just the car collision so that the viewers would know how and when she died but without all of the tragic details that surrounded her death (her arm being severed and her lying on the road, in shock, waiting for an ambulance that would take her to a "colored" hospital and then the second accident that followed). Then after the scene of the collision, they could have captioned the full details across the screen, informing the viewers of the events surrounding her death, without the actual scene to overshadow the movie.

All typos and misspellings courtesy of a public educational system.

reply

[–] coldnaps 9 years ago

Completely agree

reply

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]