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MARLEY

"The Roots of Reggae"

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What You Need To Know:

MARLEY is a brilliant but disturbing documentary about Bob Marley, the very peculiar musician who popularized reggae music. Born in 1945 in Jamaica, Marley was the son of a white businessman and a poor black woman. Treated by blacks and whites as a “half-breed,” he grew up in an appalling tin hut until his mother left him to go to America. The day he was rejected by his father, Marley wrote “Cornerstone,” a song about the rock that was rejected becoming the cornerstone. Marley was very familiar with the Bible. He considered it crucial in his Rastafarian beliefs. However, he also believed the book of Revelation called for regular marijuana smoking and Ethiopian Emperor Haile Salassie was the second coming of Jesus Christ. Marley was a prominent performer in the celebration turning Rhodesia into Zimbabwe. This ushered in Dictator Robert Mugabe’s reign of terror.

MARLEY the documentary neither bashes nor glosses over Marley. It features revealing interviews with close friends and family. The movie contains one modest obscenity, one “oh my God,” and news footage violence. It discusses Marley promiscuous lifestyle. Movieguide® advises extreme caution regarding the false religious material.

Content:

(PaPa, CC, BB, FRFRFR, L, V, S, N, A , DDD, MMM) Strong mixed pagan worldview with strong Christian, Biblical references throughout but Bob Marley was deeply involved in Rastafarianism which uses the Bible and goes off into very peculiar beliefs about Ethiopian Emperor Haile Salassie being the second coming of Jesus Christ, and Marley also committed adultery; one minor obscenity and one “Oh my God”; several scenes of violent news footage of power struggles in Jamaica; no sex on screen but a promiscuous, adulterous lifestyle is the topic of interviews; upper male nudity; some alcohol use; considerable use of marijuana including a reference to the Bible encouraging its use; and, racism, dishonest, bad role models, and avid support of African dictator Robert Mugabe.

More Detail:

MARLEY is a brilliant but disturbing documentary about Bob Marley, the very peculiar musician who helped make Reggae music popular worldwide. While informative, and even humorous at times, it exposes the highs and lows of a man driven by a very bizarre derivative of Christianity.

Bob Marley was born in 1945 in Jamaica, the son of a white businessman and a very poor black woman. Treated by both blacks and whites as a “half-breed,” he grew up in an appalling tin hut until his mother left him to go to America.

Ironically, white members of the Marley family admit in the movie that this “half-breed” rejected by his father wound up becoming the only Marley known worldwide. The day he went to visit his father, and was rejected, he wrote a song called “Cornerstone” about the rock that was rejected becoming the cornerstone. Marley was very familiar with the Bible and considered it crucial in his Rastafarian beliefs. However, he also believed the book of Revelation called for regular smoking of marijuana and that then Ethiopian Emperor Haile Salassie was the second coming of Jesus Christ, king of kings and lord of lords.

As a child Marley and his friends saw music as a path to escape the grinding poverty, and even hunger, living in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica. In the process of developing their talent, they took up the new Reggae music and gradually became very popular in Jamaica.

Marley married and had children but as his fame grew he wound up having 11 children with seven different women. His wife, managing his dressing room, has to remove the girls when he was finished with them. One of his female entourage was Miss World of 1976 Cindy Breakspeare. Their son Damian Marley is a Grammy-winning reggae musician himself.

Marley’s music has many Biblical references but with decidedly false religious twists. Marley was a prominent performer in the celebration turning Rhodesia into Zimbabwe and ushering in Dictator Robert Mugabe’s reign of terror and the total demise of one of Africa’s healthiest economies.

Another irony is that Marley’s first American concerts were attended almost exclusively by reggae loving white people. Not until he was willing to lower himself to be a lead-in singer and a concert for a less famous black singer did he start to draw black audiences in the U.S.

The documentary neither bashes nor glosses over Marley. It features interviews with close friends and “family” (including some what they called “baby mommas”). It also includes revealing and often bizarre comments from old interviews of Marley himself. Marley died at the young age of 36 from cancer. The movie contains only one modest obscenity and one “oh my God.” There are some newsreel scenes of violence in Jamaica.

MARLEY contains strong false religion but doesn’t make it look desirable. As such, it offers a lesson in the dangers of trying to believe both the Bible and wildly false teachings.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.