My identity is a superpower — not an obstacle | America Ferrera

Hollywood needs to stop resisting what the world actually looks like, says actor, director and activist America Ferrera. Tracing the contours of her career, she calls for more authentic representation of different cultures in media — and a shift in how we tell our stories. "Presence creates possibility," she says. "Who we see thriving in the world teaches us how to see ourselves, how to think about our own value, how to dream about our futures."

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46 Comments on My identity is a superpower — not an obstacle | America Ferrera

    • @Kitty Michelle haha, you think the Left still use words as per the dictionary definition. How cute. Identify to the woke SJW’s now means , which victim group(s) you are in or which oppressor group(s) you are a part of. That is what this talk is about, if you watched it you would know.

    • You clearly didn’t watch the video, a sign that the character where this comment came from is in question (or plain bot based.)

      Xenophobia is so ingrained within our culture that to see the color of someone’s skin, the spread of their nose, the placement of their cheekbones, thickness of lips, any accent divulging from the norm is to believe the ‘character of the individual’ is worthless. There is no seeing the truth but rationalizing the subconscious hate. Until one is willing to see that they view others through a skewed filter, they will never acknowledge that they have indeed failed to see an individual. Identity is a part of every individual, and to ignore it is also to fail to see the human before you.

    • Both matter, actually. It’s a bit reductive to suggest individuals “move beyond” acknowledging the fact that they do, in a society that refuses to.

      It seems that because this (very real) fact of life in “post-racial” American society does not apply to you specifically, you’ve missed the entire point of Ms. Ferrera’s speech: Certain people’s identity is addressed (and exploited) when they pursure opportunity and this impedes their ability to be seen objectively.

  1. *Identity IS an OBSTACLE – attachment to it, makes a person rigid and not open minded*
    Being driven by EGO and concepts that it creates.

    • Yeah, I don’t really like the characterization of things as “super powers” – people use that about all kinds of things. Just because something is really compelling or interesting or neat doesn’t mean it’s super. I’ve heard our immune system referred to as a super power… no – it’s just biology; just a fact of our existence.

    • Huh speak for yourself, I can fend off any woman on Earth only by returning a smile with a smile of my own creation. I might not be able to save the world but I can save myself from ever getting my heart torn apart again.

  2. Remember that time a famous Black guy gave a speech about wanting all of us to judge one another by the content of our character?

    Yeah, we failed him.

    • Ohh.. that black guy which FBI have sound recordings of – while he laughs of the sight of a pastor friend of him raping one of his parishioners. That black guy which had approx 40 extramarital affairs. That black guy who was a plagiarist – copying other peoples thoughts and word to use in his most famous speeches and more. Oh… yeah. That black guy.  Anyhow – the advice or rule is vice – so he got something right even if he probably stole it from someone else.

  3. Gross. Imagine thinking, in today’s West – where identity is more important than skill & experience – that you aren’t very much in the opposite position you were in when you started acting

  4. What’s funny is that the people that denied her were Hollywood liberals. You know, the ones that claim to be so tolerant and humanitarian.

  5. i hope to see more beautiful white people in my movies. telling stories about our beautiful history of conquest, struggle, peace and ingenuity that changed the world.

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