Friday, March 29, 2024

Zoë Kravitz On Her Greatest Challenge: ‘Accepting Black Identity’

Zoe+Kravitz

*It’s truly fascinating when biracial individuals discover, or should we say “accept” their Blackness. That moment they receive a reality check from the very people they consider genetically superior, or more relatable, to Blackness is quite curious.

Actress/singer Zoë Kravitz has revealed the struggles she’s had landing roles because of her “urban” genetics.

In the August issue of Nylon magazine, Kravitz described how she tried to audition for a small part in the Christopher Nolan-directed “The Dark Knight Rises.”

“They told me that I couldn’t get an audition for a small role they were casting because they weren’t ‘going urban,'” she said. “It was like, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ I have to play the role like, ‘Yo, what’s up, Batman? What’s going on wit chu?'”

On her identity as the biracial daughter of stars Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz, the actress said she has only recently begun to identify more with her blackness. She said growing up attending a predominantly white school made her feel as though she was “just as white” as her classmates.

“I identified with white culture, and I wanted to fit in,” she told Nylon. “I didn’t identify with black culture, like, I didn’t like Tyler Perry movies, and I wasn’t into hip-hop music.

“Unfortunately that is what’s fed through the media. That’s what people see. That’s what I saw,” Kravitz added. The actress says she has since gained more perspective on being black, and realizes that black culture is “so much deeper than that.”

Introductions to important black actors and musicians helped Kravitz change her perspective on black identity. “I got older and listened to A Tribe Called Quest and watched films with Sidney Poitier, and heard Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. I had to un-brainwash myself. It’s my mission, especially as an actress.”

She has parents who some consider Black, others consider bi-racial, yet, based on her own comments, it would appear neither parent instilled in her just a teaspoon of Black pride. The poor chile viewed Black culture as nothing more than Tyler Perry in a dress and Lil Wanye sippin’ syrup in his skinny jeans. Sad.

Although, there are many who would agree that Black culture is dead, so why throw shade at Zoë’s upbringing/education? Still, we do hope she spends her free time staying busy with lessons on Black history, ya know, that which they don’t teach you in school (well, maybe once a month). If she digs deep enough she’ll find intoxicating reads about Black culture before it was destroyed and rewritten by the lucrative slave trade.  We have no doubt that she will find such lessons empowering.

Kravitz is currently filming “Allegiant: Part 1,” the next installment in the “Insurgent” movie franchise.

Read the full interview on Nylon.com.

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