I have some exciting news, folks: I’m getting an MFA in TV writing.
My mission: To change the way women’s stories are depicted in popular culture.
I did a lot of soul searching after the election last year and realized that:
- I must urgently devote my life to making sure this never happens again, and yet
- I am just not a community organizer.
I am, however, a storyteller. And when I think of how a show like Will & Grace was able to change mainstream beliefs about homosexuality, for example, I am inspired to create shows that change mainstream beliefs about women.
I fervently believe that if we had a less sexist popular culture, then 53 percent of white women would not have voted for a known, pussy-grabbing sexual predator.
They would not have chalked his disgusting and demeaning descriptions of women up to “boys will be boys.”
They would have demanded better.
Nothing changes hearts and minds like the stories we feed ourselves every night, when the weight of the world is too much and we just want to escape.
But here’s the rub: These stories we escape into? They end up shaping ourviews of the very world from which we seek refuge.
The stories we tell matter.
The stories we tell about women matter.
It’s not just TV writers or other “official” storytellers who have the power to shape these stories. In 2017, thanks to the Internet and social media, we all have the ability to act as a media company of one. To tell our own stories, to amplify other stories we believe in.
I have an announcement about this coming soon — an opportunity to amplify women’s stories.
For now, ask yourself: What stories am I telling? Are they the ones I want to tell?
Back to the script I’m working on…
– Amanda
P.S. Between school and work and parenting, I’ll probably be blogging less — about once a month. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss a post. You can also keep in touch with me on Twitter :).
Original photo of the seven dwarves, sans text, courtesy of Ricky Brigante on Flickr.
