Zoe Kravitz

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Zoe Kravitz
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G-Man
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2992 }

Posted: Tue 16 Jan 2007 16:24 Post subject:

mixedmom wrote:

This has nothing to do with Zoe Kravitz but I must ask, is Jennifer Beals' role in "The L Word" a default white role or is race a total non issue. I've never seen the show. (Maybe Zoe will audition for a part? Laughing

)

Beals' character in the series is biracial. She and Pam Grier had the same father played by the late Ossie Davis.

Though her race isn't central part of her character, Beals' character’s race does crop up from time to time, as well as racial issues in general. This season especially so since Beals’ character has separated from her white partner who has been tempted back to heterosexuality and theirs is now a heated custody battle between the two over the biracial child the white partner conceived with the sperm of a black artist friend of the Beals character.

The Beals character is playing the race card claiming that a white, now heterosexual woman cannot possibly know how to raise a biracial child. The Beals character is positioning herself as the appropriate or “natural” parent for the child she didn’t conceive.

You can check out past episodes of the "L Word" on Netflix or you local video/dvd store.

gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Wed 07 Feb 2007 19:29 Post subject:

mixedmom wrote:

odocoileus wrote:

Didn't see Gothika. I know it was a star vehicle, but was Berry's character in that film situated in a black American social and cultural context? That's usually what's done when a project is intended for a black identified star as opposed to the default white star. Sometimes a black American writer is brought in to make the dialogue in the script more "black", sort of like the black English vernacular accented bonafides you referenced in another thread.

Jennifer Beals has in fact been cast in "white" roles, but not front and center enough for my taste. I was dissapointed to see her cast as the tragic mulatto in Devil In a Blue Dress. Why not cast, say, and Italian American actress in that role, and cast Beals as say, a Mafia wife?

Eurasians usually count as white, as Melanie noted on another thread. No one thinks of Keanau Reeves or Jennifer Tilly as non white.

)

I think the focus is mostly on being female and and attracted to other women. Pam Greir is her sister(1/2 sister) on the show... so I guess that is the closest to an ethnic connection on the show.

gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Wed 07 Feb 2007 19:43 Post subject:

odocoileus wrote:

I recall the controversy over Bonet's role in Angel Heart. She did a nude scene, and later on she admitted that she and Mickey Rourke actually had sex on camera. This was a conflict with her supposedly wholesome image in her role on the Cosby show.

I didn't hear about any death threats, but death threats are routine for any actor on a hit show who takes any controversial position.

I also recall that the black American reaction to Bonet and the other biracial actress on the Cosby show was complex. Some black Americans said that they were obviously mixed, not "black" enough to be playing daughters in a black family.

of course, but many said the Cosby show reflected their lives social and visually.

It's clear now that the Cosby show was the height of Bonet's career. Even though she didn't identify as black, she was seen by white Americans in the entertainment industry as black,

Yeah, Lisa did/does identity as black

She has another child by a multiracial/black Yoga instructor in California

so she didn't get the roles she would have been a natural for. No role as one of Jerry's girlfriends on Seinfeld, no role on Friends, no roles in mainstream studio movies. She was good in High Fidelity where she was one of John Cusack's love interests.

I would like to see biracial actresses cast in "white" roles without apology or explanation, but people in the industry are generally afraid that the white audience will react negatively.

gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Wed 07 Feb 2007 19:45 Post subject: Re: Zoe Kravitz

mixedmom wrote:

I was a big fan of the Cosby show in the mid to late 1980's. I remember when Lisa Bonet was pregnant with her daughter. Zoe's 18th birthday was December 1, 2006. It's hard to believe that she's already 18. It looks as if she's following in her mother's footsteps.

Wow, she is fine, it's interesting, that being raised in such a 'wear it natural' hippie world, she seems to have gone the other other way to chich and glam. Her hair is naturally on the kinky side.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2368789/

She's in 2 movies that come out in 2007.

The Brave One (2007) (filming) .... Chloe
No Reservations (2007) (post-production) .... The babysitter

http://fadedyouth.blogspot.com/2006/12/zoe-kravitz-does-jalouse_14.html

Thursday, December 14, 2006

ZOE KRAVITZ DOES 'JALOUSE'

Lenny Kravitz's little girl Zoe shows she's an old rock n roll soul in a young girls body as she graces the cover of French fashion mag Jalouse . She may grow up to be like daddy after all.

What do you think? Does she look like her mother?

gemini072
Moderator

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Wed 07 Feb 2007 19:53 Post subject:

leosprycat wrote:

Phil345 wrote:

Quote:

"Then you turn around and say you doubt that I'm being truthful. Then you move on to saying that I'm "definitely misconstruing something".

I just said I doubted it. The part I thought you were misconstruing was specifically her conflict with cosby and the show, and the reasons for her being fired (moved to "A different world").

....anyway If I came off as being confrontational, I apologize; its really not that serious. I meant to politely disagree.

I still think the alleged issue over her multi-racial identity is being exaggerated. Lisa Bonet, was under alot of critisism during that period........for her wild lifestyle, which belied the wholesome Cosby family image.

No problem, Sir, you certainly have every right in the world to disagree.
And Phil, I think you've done so in a very agreeable manner (smile). I'm
honored to be able to meet you. By the way, Mr. Phil, I am sincere when
I speak of the respect I have for you, because I do. Maybe if Lisa had felt
more accepted and less alone, she wouldn't have felt the need to rebel.
Can anyone honestly believe that her choice back then to self-identify as
a multiracial was looked at kindly by those by whom she was surrounded? Smile

On the Cosby show, diversity was very much an issue, there were a few shows that dealt with persons mixed heritage. I remember one specifically of Theo's 'teacher' and the kids having Dr. Huxtuble guess her ethnic background. She looked european. Bill Cosby has a favorable opinion of multiracial identity as well...

Leo Y. "Ireland" Abdulmalik

Last edited by gemini072 on Tue 19 May 2009 15:56; edited 1 time in total

mixedmom
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 782 }

Posted: Thu 08 Feb 2007 14:50 Post subject:

gemini072 wrote:

She has another child by a multiracial/black Yoga instructor in California

Lisa Bonet has a son with Yoga instructor, Brian Kest but where did you get the information that he's black or multiracial/black?

I can't find the source right now but I was reading about Lisa Bonet and the article mentioned that Lisa had a son with a white yoga instructor. I can't find anything about Kest's ethnicity.

Dragon Horse
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Joined: 07 Feb 2007
{Posts: 1829 }
Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva

Posted: Thu 08 Feb 2007 18:40 Post subject: She is also Jewish...being her mother is a Jew, because her

What about the fact that she is 100% Jewish...

gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 01:04 Post subject:

mixedmom wrote:

gemini072 wrote:

She has another child by a multiracial/black Yoga instructor in California

Lisa Bonet has a son with Yoga instructor, Brian Kest but where did you get the information that he's black or multiracial/black?

I can't find the source right now but I was reading about Lisa Bonet and the article mentioned that Lisa had a son with a white yoga instructor. I can't find anything about Kest's ethnicity.

On another mulatto group i'm in someone actually emailed him and he gave the response that he is multiracial (with black ancestry) I'll see if I can find it.

gemini072
Moderator

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 01:07 Post subject: Re: She is also Jewish...being her mother is a Jew, because her

Dragon Horse wrote:

What about the fact that she is 100% Jewish... Smile

Her name is now Liliquoi(Probably not the right spelling) Moon... I doubt Lisa Practices Judaism

A little Native a bit more Rasta and much more Hippie

Powell
Guru
Guru

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2461 }

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 01:49 Post subject: Beals and the L Word

G-Man wrote:

mixedmom wrote:

)

Beals' character in the series is biracial. She and Pam Grier had the same father played by the late Ossie Davis.

Beals used her influence to get the character rewritten as biracial. It was not originally so.

Though her race isn't central part of her character, Beals' character’s race does crop up from time to time, as well as racial issues in general. This season especially so since Beals’ character has separated from her white partner who has been tempted back to heterosexuality and theirs is now a heated custody battle between the two over the biracial child the white partner conceived with the sperm of a black artist friend of the Beals character.

Where is the white mother of Beals' character? I don't usually watch the show, but I have only heard of her black father (played by the latel Ossie Davis) and her half-sister (played by Pam Grier).

The Beals character is playing the race card claiming that a white, now heterosexual woman cannot possibly know how to raise a biracial child. The Beals character is positioning herself as the appropriate or “natural” parent for the child she didn’t conceive.

If the lesbian couple were truly trying to have a child that the two of them could have produced together (if they had been opposite sexes), then the sperm donor should have been biracial (like Beals' character) not black. Of course, then the kid would look white and it would be harder to convince the audience that there is something unnatural about a mother raising her own child.

You can check out past episodes of the "L Word" on Netflix or you local video/dvd store.

OTHER
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Joined: 14 Sep 2007
{Posts: 958 }
Location: Florida

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 11:03 Post subject:

odocoileus wrote:

I think of Keanu Reeves as non-white. Confused

What's Jennifer Tilly mixed with?

OTHER
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Joined: 14 Sep 2007
{Posts: 958 }
Location: Florida

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 11:07 Post subject:

mixedmom wrote:

odocoileus wrote:

)

Jennifer Beals' character "Bette" is mixed/black&white/biracial/mulatto on the show!!! It is most definitely a front and center issue as Pam Grier plays her sister AND when Bette and her white girlfriend wanted to have a baby, they chose to have a black man as the father because Bette wanted a biracial child since she is biracial.

Yeah, Jennifer Beals and Vin Diesel are my heroes. I admire them the way leosprycat admires Lisa Bonet. Jennifer Beals and Vin Diesel could have never mentioned that they weren't just white and most people wouldn't have even blinked.

DucorpsToo
Mentor
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
{Posts: 223 }
Location: Southern California

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 12:30 Post subject:

If memory serves me correctly, I believe that Jennifer Tilly (sister is Meg Tilly) is half Chinese. Source here .

G-Man
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2992 }

Posted: Thu 15 Nov 2007 15:25 Post subject: Re: Beals and the L Word

Powell wrote:

G-Man wrote:

mixedmom wrote:

)

Mmm..I did not know that...Was the character supposed to be white originally?

Quote:

Though her race isn't central part of her character, Beals' character’s race does crop up from time to time, as well as racial issues in general. This season especially so since Beals’ character has separated from her white partner who has been tempted back to heterosexuality and theirs is now a heated custody battle between the two over the biracial child the white partner conceived with the sperm of a black artist friend of the Beals character.

Where is the white mother of Beals' character? I don't usually watch the show, but I have only heard of her black father (played by the latel Ossie Davis) and her half-sister (played by Pam Grier).

If memory serves, she's supposed to be dead. I might be wrong though.

gemini072
Moderator

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 16:02 Post subject:

Quote:

Holy crap that's Maxwell in that picture!!! Like his frames. What ever happened to him?

Are they involved with each other? He's a little too old for her.

Since her parents are Kravitz and Bonet (now Moon), I wonder how messed up in the head she is.

gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 16:15 Post subject:

Last edited by gemini072 on Tue 19 May 2009 16:30; edited 1 time in total

gemini072
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 16:20 Post subject:

gemini072
Moderator

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2942 }

Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 16:44 Post subject:

odocoileus wrote:

I recall the controversy over Bonet's role in Angel Heart. She did a nude scene, and later on she admitted that she and Mickey Rourke actually had sex on camera. This was a conflict with her supposedly wholesome image in her role on the Cosby show.

I didn't hear about any death threats, but death threats are routine for any actor on a hit show who takes any controversial position.

I also recall that the black American reaction to Bonet and the other biracial actress on the Cosby show was complex. Some black Americans said that they were obviously mixed, not "black" enough to be playing daughters in a black family.

It's clear now that the Cosby show was the height of Bonet's career. Even though she didn't identify as black, she was seen by white Americans in the entertainment industry as black, so she didn't get the roles she would have been a natural for. No role as one of Jerry's girlfriends on Seinfeld, no role on Friends, no roles in mainstream studio movies. She was good in High Fidelity where she was one of John Cusack's love interests.

I would like to see biracial actresses cast in "white" roles without apology or explanation, but people in the industry are generally afraid that the white audience will react negatively.

Dragon Horse
SuperMentor

Joined: 07 Feb 2007
{Posts: 1829 }
Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva

Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 17:02 Post subject:

odocoileus wrote:

As far as Eurasians it depends on how they look.

Devon Aoki has never been cast as white.

Russell Wong has never been cast as white.

China Chow has never been cast as white.

Lou Diamond Phillips has never been cast as white, but not Asian either to my knowledge, usually Mestizo Chicano type. Smile

I think that Americans are queued to look for any "black African feature" and regard it as white.

If someone's eyes are small (a common Asian feature) and their nose is not flat, they are within the typical skin color range of a white American (many Amerasians are since East and some Southeast Asians are often no darker than Southern Europeans) they can often just pass.

G-Man
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Joined: 27 Nov 2004
{Posts: 2992 }

Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 17:13 Post subject:

[quote="gemini072"]

Quote:

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