The United States Vs. Billie Holiday movie on Hulu brings a piece of Billie Holiday life that clashed with the country’s government at the time. While censoring artists might be a thing of the past here, countries around the world do this everyday in the name of sedition and religious sentiments. Art has always been an outlet for the oppressed and cracking down on the lyrics “Black bodies swingin’ in the Southernbreeze/Strange fruit hangin’ from the poplar trees?” highlighted the government’s inclination more toward suppressing voices than changing the ground reality.
What is The United States Vs. Billie Holiday About?
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday movie brings a slice of the iconic singer’s life when she was harassed by government agencies.
Racism was all over the nation and few knew that as well as Billie Holiday. As a woman born Black and poor with extremely limited options in Jim Crow America, survival, in and of itself, was a win.
Becoming the iconic Lady Day, beloved by both Black and white Americans for her talent, did not shield her. No amount of fame could save her from the punishment reserved for her refusal to stop singing “Strange Fruit.”
Unable to outrun her demons, she turned to drugs early in her life to numb the pain of her rough childhood, her unfortunate choice in men and just the price of living Black and female in America.
And the government, her government, used her weakness, her drug addiction, against her.
Fighting unfairly, Federal Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry Anslinger, who founded this country’s infamous “War on Drugs,” hired Jimmy Fletcher, a Black man, to infiltrate her jazz circles and take her down.
But their plan hit a major snag when Jimmy did the unthinkable and fell in love with her. It wasn’t enough to save her from a horrific death chained to a hospital bed surrounded by federal agents. Did the government kill Lady Day?
What is the Cast of the Hulu Billie Holiday Movie?
Andra Day stars as Billie Holiday along with Trevante Rhodes as Jimmy Fletcher, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Natasha Lyonne, Garrett Hedlund and Rob Morgan. Suzan-Lori Parks writes the story based on a chapter from Johann Hari’s book Chasing the Scream – The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs.
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
Directed By: Lee Daniels
Cast: Andra Day, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Natasha Lyonne, Garrett Hedlund and Rob Morgan
Network: Hulu
Release Date: February 26 2021
Genre: Drama
Watch this trailer and tell us if you like this adaptation of the slice of Billie Holiday’s life.
What is the Release Date of the new Billie Holiday Hulu Movie?
The United States Vs. Billie Holiday premieres on Hulu on February 26 2021.
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