Remember when Zoe Kravitz was denied an audition for a minor role in “The Dark Knight Rises” because casting wasn’t “going urban”? That’s just one egregious example of Hollywood racism — we’re sure the up-and-coming actress has had many similar experiences. Still, she’s far from resigned when it comes to her industry’s lack of inclusivity.
The “Mad Max: Fury Road” star has launched a creative collective with on-camera and off-camera talent, including writers, directors and cinematographers. The group meets weekly to write a scripts that are more representative of the world we live in than the overwhelmingly white fare Hollywood produces.
In a recent interview Kravitz stated that she refuses to accept roles that reinforce stereotypical images of black women. “It’s our responsibility to say ‘I’m not going to take the same role over and over again,’” she said. “We have the power to break the stereotypes by writing our own things and by saying no to the same thing over and over again.”
Kravtiz “love[s] the fact that there’s such an open dialogue right now about women in Hollywood and black women and black men in Hollywood and everything in between” but urged, “Now it’s about us bringing the change.” She elaborated, “We started the dialogue but I don’t expect any man to write a script that speaks for me. I don’t expect any man to write a script for me. I think we need to do that.”
“If we want to be represented properly in Hollywood, let’s represent ourselves properly in Hollywood,” Kravitz concluded.
Kravitz stars in “The Divergent Series: Allegiant,” in theaters now.
