A month or so ago, I enjoyed one of my favorite days of every school year as a high school principal:
Scholarship interviews for outstanding seniors!
Imagine a day spent hearing the stories of young people who have overcome and achieved, whose journeys have taken them all over, who have earned accolades while carrying heavy loads, whose smiles outshine the sorrows of life, and whose dreams make you dream again.
If you're imagining being inspired, uplifted, sharing laughter and shedding tears, then yes, you've got it.
It's an amazing day, and a privilege to be a part of.
Our most recent round of scholarship interviews included one of our Theater all-stars, whose record spoke for itself. This is someone you would readily hire for any job in any organization, and someone I'm confident we will see on the stage or screen someday.
But the thing I remember most from her interview was her comment about the series Falcon & the Winter Soldier.
Our committee was so accustomed to seeing this student command the stage with confidence, that it was surprising to hear that she had grown up wondering whether there could be a future in acting for her, because she didn't see people who looked like her on TV or in movies.
But then she saw Falcon & the Winter Soldier, and there was actor Erin Kellyman on the screen in a major role, and suddenly this high school Theater star in central Texas saw her dream in a different way, as something that can really happen, and something she must and will pursue.
All because of seeing one actor in one show.
My family has enjoyed the first two episodes of Ms. Marvel, and we really wish the whole season had dropped at once so we could just binge it. :-)
Our younger son shared with us that there has been some online criticism of Ms. Marvel, claims that its Muslim protagonist and her family are merely representation for representation's sake, just some kind of disingenuous gesture to score some kind of diversity points.
I have zero sense of how to judge the quality of a TV production, but here's what I will say about this criticism:
The first thing I thought of when I heard it was our scholarship winner's comment about the impact it made on her to see someone who looked like her cast in a serious role in a major production.
It was so important, it made it into a short conversation with a scholarship interview panel.
It meant everything to her.
And it's not like we're in the 1950's anymore. It's 2022, and it still matters.
I grew up watching Sesame Street and integrated sports, and it still matters. (Though I'm old enough to remember it being rare to see a black NFL quarterback...)
I refuse to be swayed by cynical responses to expanding representation of people in popular media.
To me, it comes down to the fact that since every example of representation matters a great deal to someone, it deserves our most open-minded, good-faith reception, even if it's not an example of representation we had ever thought about before, even if we don't like the show, and even if, perhaps especially if, we hear voices casting doubt on the sincerity or validity or appropriateness of the representation in question.
Lack of representation has never been a point of hurt for me; I've seen people like me in popular culture my entire life, and have never doubted that I belong in this society. It didn't come naturally to understand that there are lots of people who don't share that experience, and it's past time to embrace the need for every person to share that fundamental feeling of belonging that often comes through seeing people who look like you accepted and featured in popular culture and positions of leadership.
Go, Ms. Marvel!
