Apparently, white is the color of the season—at least if you’re judging by the May cover of Essence it is. Hollywood’s movers and shakers Ava DuVernay, Shonda Rhimes, Mara Brock Akil, Issa Rae and Debbie Allen all appear on the magazine’s Game Changers issue rocking winter white ensembles. Inside, they dish on sexuality and diversity in television and film.
Shonda Rhimes on why women of color making waves in Hollywood is not a trend:
“It’s an economic fact. There are more people of color than ever before…When the shows start doing bigger numbers than what they think are going to be their top ten shows, it becomes really hard to suggest that it’s a trend.”
Ava DuVernay on the need for more diversity behind the camera:
“Of course that has to happen […] but it is more about people working autonomously, independently, to create their own structures, mechanisms, companies, outlets. Look at you, Issa—nobody was giving you anything, so you created your own work and your own platform and your own way to distribute.”
Debbie Allen on seeing progress and hope in regard to diversity in Hollywood:
“I look at it as an opportunity. It is wide open and for the taking. When I first started, there were no women in the room, there were no Black people in the room.”
Mara Brock Akil on showcasing Black women’s sex lives:
“I’ve been relentless [about discussing sexuality] since Girlfriends… My feeling about sexuality and showing a consenting adult having sex is that it’s so empowering “Because if you are making the choice, you then have to be responsible for the choice. I think that message is conveyed to the audience. You’re not just there for the convenience of a man, you are there because you want it. It creates an opportunity—well, hopefully—for the young lady watching or the other women watching to understand you have a say in this.”
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