Myths, misfits & masks | Sana Amanat | TEDxTeen
-
0:25 - 0:30Now, I am actually going to do something
that you guys do every single day. -
0:30 - 0:34I'm going to ask you guys
to judge me right now. -
0:34 - 0:37The Bumbys were just doing it;
it's very appropriate. -
0:37 - 0:40Take a good look,
and describe me in your head. -
0:41 - 0:46Now, based on those descriptions,
how would you categorize me? -
0:46 - 0:48By my height?
-
0:48 - 0:49By my skin color?
-
0:49 - 0:51By my hair?
-
0:51 - 0:58Now, would any of those descriptions
scream comic-book editor? -
0:58 - 1:01Maybe my t-shirt, actually;
I think that might have given it away. -
1:01 - 1:02But no, probably not.
-
1:02 - 1:06I'm actually one of the few South Asian,
female comic-book editors out there. -
1:06 - 1:08I think, actually,
I might be the only one, -
1:08 - 1:12so for any of you South Asian females
interested, it's a good gig. -
1:12 - 1:13I highly recommend it.
-
1:13 - 1:15Holler at my ladies? No?
-
1:15 - 1:16All right, that's cool.
-
1:17 - 1:21Now, what I do as a comic-book editor
is I make things up. -
1:21 - 1:22I work with creators
-
1:22 - 1:26to tell the most uncanny,
amazing, sensational stories -
1:26 - 1:29about seemingly ordinary individuals
-
1:29 - 1:32who come to possess
extraordinary identities. -
1:33 - 1:35We call them superheroes.
-
1:35 - 1:37Now, when I was first asked
to speak at this event, -
1:37 - 1:41it was actually after the announcement
of a character I had co-created: -
1:41 - 1:43Ms. Marvel, the all-new Ms. Marvel,
-
1:43 - 1:47was the first Muslim American superhero
to have her own series. -
1:47 - 1:49It really was the most obvious thing
in the world in my mind. -
1:49 - 1:53I had created a character
that I could identify with. -
1:54 - 1:57And yet it was quite possibly
-
1:57 - 2:01the biggest publicity that Marvel
had seen in quite some time. -
2:02 - 2:04Parents called us,
thanking us for creating a book -
2:04 - 2:06that they could finally share
with their daughter. -
2:06 - 2:08Fans called us thanking us
-
2:08 - 2:11for creating a character
that they could finally relate to. -
2:11 - 2:14We'd clearly tapped
into something really powerful, -
2:14 - 2:18something people had been craving
for quite some time. -
2:18 - 2:23And yet it was the simplest idea,
just masked as the craziest. -
2:24 - 2:27Now, to understand
the origins of Ms. Marvel, -
2:27 - 2:29we have to take a trip
-
2:30 - 2:33to a land far, far away,
-
2:33 - 2:34[It was New Jersey]
-
2:34 - 2:35(Laughter)
-
2:35 - 2:37a long, long time ago,
-
2:37 - 2:39where - come on -
-
2:39 - 2:44where a young girl with a cowlick
and bad taste in clothes -
2:45 - 2:47never felt like she could fit in.
-
2:47 - 2:50She didn't look like
the other girls in her class, -
2:50 - 2:54couldn't eat the delicious,
delicious BLTs that they could eat. -
2:54 - 2:57She began to become fascinated with bacon.
-
2:57 - 2:58What is that delicious meat?
-
2:58 - 2:59She had no idea.
-
3:00 - 3:03Her parents weren't on the PTA.
-
3:03 - 3:06She didn't get Christmas presents.
-
3:07 - 3:11And in fact, she had to wear a t-shirt
over her bathing suit -
3:11 - 3:14every single time she swam.
-
3:14 - 3:15So clearly this girl was different.
-
3:15 - 3:17But she did have an outlet,
-
3:17 - 3:19and it wasn't her parents, who she adored,
-
3:19 - 3:22who just didn't quite understand her yet,
-
3:22 - 3:24or her three older brothers,
-
3:24 - 3:26who were too busy
with hair gel and light sabers -
3:26 - 3:27to pay any attention to her.
-
3:27 - 3:30It was something else
altogether different. -
3:30 - 3:32It was the X-Men.
-
3:32 - 3:35Yes! Yes!
-
3:35 - 3:37(Applause)
-
3:39 - 3:42The X-Men were mutants,
-
3:42 - 3:47individuals with mutated and enhanced
genes that triggered in adolescence, -
3:47 - 3:49giving them superpowers.
-
3:49 - 3:52It was the coolest thing in the world.
-
3:52 - 3:55A woman with brown skin and white hair
who can manipulate the weather, -
3:55 - 3:59a gigantic beast of a man with blue fur,
-
3:59 - 4:02a shy girl with a Southern drawl
who couldn't touch anyone. -
4:02 - 4:06So these people were
that little girl's safe place. -
4:07 - 4:11These people she understood
because they, too, were different. -
4:11 - 4:17And it also helped that they
also wore ridiculous-looking outfits. -
4:17 - 4:21I don't know, Mom, I have no idea
what you were doing in that picture. -
4:21 - 4:22I apologize.
-
4:23 - 4:27So, the X-Men embraced who they are.
-
4:28 - 4:33Adamantium claws, weird
weather-controlling habits, mutations. -
4:33 - 4:34They owned it:
-
4:34 - 4:37they knew who they were,
and they would defend it, no matter what. -
4:37 - 4:40So every Saturday morning,
-
4:40 - 4:43when this little girl used to rush
down the stairs to watch that show, -
4:43 - 4:46she felt a little less alone
-
4:46 - 4:50because they had fulfilled a need
to see herself in the world outside. -
4:50 - 4:53So, let's talk about why that need
existed in the first place. -
4:53 - 4:57Now, remember when I was asking
you guys earlier about categories? -
4:57 - 5:00Why don't you guys think about
the categories that you all belong to. -
5:00 - 5:02I'm going to do that up here for myself.
-
5:02 - 5:07So, I am a Muslim, a woman,
an American, a comic book editor, -
5:07 - 5:10a short person, a lazy person, a nerd -
-
5:10 - 5:11you can ignore that, though.
-
5:11 - 5:14Now, the strange thing
about defining yourself in this way -
5:14 - 5:17is that it simplifies who you are.
-
5:17 - 5:21How can everything that I am
be encompassed into a label? -
5:21 - 5:24Now, some of these labels
we choose for ourselves, -
5:24 - 5:28others we're born into
and others are assigned for us. -
5:28 - 5:31But regardless, all of them
come with preconceived notions - -
5:31 - 5:33assumptions and expectations -
-
5:33 - 5:34of what they mean.
-
5:34 - 5:36So if I'm Muslim,
-
5:36 - 5:39people may expect that I cover my head,
-
5:39 - 5:41that I don't associate with men,
-
5:42 - 5:44that I don't drink alcohol.
-
5:44 - 5:48Others may assume that I'm a terrorist -
-
5:48 - 5:50I'm not -
-
5:50 - 5:52that I hate Americans.
-
5:52 - 5:56Well, I'm an American,
so I certainly don't hate myself, -
5:56 - 5:57sometimes.
-
5:57 - 5:59I'm an oppressed woman.
-
5:59 - 6:02I'm way too stubborn for that.
-
6:02 - 6:05You can ask my poor parents;
they deal with it every day. -
6:05 - 6:10Now, because we allow others
to create these definitions for us, -
6:10 - 6:13we inherently accept them to be true,
-
6:13 - 6:14whether it's a conscious decision or not.
-
6:14 - 6:19So at some point, the line between
perspective and reality begins to blur. -
6:19 - 6:22When we are told by others,
constantly and incessantly, who we are, -
6:22 - 6:24when we allow others to define ourselves -
-
6:24 - 6:27whether it's the media,
our parents, our friends - -
6:27 - 6:32we begin to accept a standard of self
that is not of our own choosing. -
6:32 - 6:36We become a splintered version
of the person we are destined to be. -
6:36 - 6:39I remember in junior high school -
-
6:40 - 6:43it was actually right after
the first World Trade Center bombing, -
6:43 - 6:48and it was a very confusing time for me
for a bunch of reasons, -
6:49 - 6:52but in particular
because it was the first time -
6:52 - 6:55my religion was made
synonymous with violence -
6:55 - 6:57in such a public way.
-
6:58 - 7:00I'd walked into school the next morning,
-
7:00 - 7:03and a classmate who I'd never
actually talked to before -
7:03 - 7:04tapped me on the shoulder,
-
7:04 - 7:11and he said, "Hey, tell your people
to stop attacking us." -
7:12 - 7:15I was confused, hurt, stunned.
-
7:16 - 7:17"Us?"
-
7:17 - 7:19I thought I was "us."
-
7:19 - 7:23I certainly wasn't "them," was I?
-
7:24 - 7:26That would be the first time
-
7:26 - 7:29that I saw the way the world viewed
the category I belonged to. -
7:30 - 7:33Names like Muhammed, Ahmed, Sharif,
-
7:33 - 7:36names I had grown up with all of my life
-
7:36 - 7:42were equated with terms
like "terrorist," "hate monger," "enemy." -
7:42 - 7:47I was angry at those men who had warped
my faith into a vengeful weapon, -
7:47 - 7:52and at the same time at the media
for propagating those stereotypes. -
7:52 - 7:54I swung from self-defense to self-doubt,
-
7:54 - 7:56pride to shame.
-
7:56 - 8:00Who was I? What side was I on?
Where did I fit in? -
8:01 - 8:03I had no idea.
-
8:03 - 8:05For years, I had
constantly measured myself -
8:05 - 8:08against images
that looked nothing like me. -
8:08 - 8:13I didn't see myself in the TV,
in the classroom or in magazines. -
8:13 - 8:19And suddenly, my face was everywhere
with a big red X painted over it. -
8:20 - 8:24Why did I feel so uncertain
and insecure about my identity? -
8:27 - 8:30I'm going to throw some
social-psychological jargon out at you -
8:30 - 8:33to make myself sound really smart.
-
8:33 - 8:35There's something
called a "stereotype threat," -
8:35 - 8:38and what it says is that individuals
of a particular group -
8:38 - 8:43internalize and react to the negative
stereotypes associated with that group. -
8:43 - 8:45So because I'm so afraid
of everybody thinking -
8:45 - 8:49that all those bad things
that people say about me are true, -
8:49 - 8:51sometimes, I don't act
to the best of my abilities. -
8:51 - 8:53I underperform.
-
8:53 - 8:56Whether it's academically, socially -
-
8:56 - 8:59I was definitely
an introvert for a reason. -
9:00 - 9:05And basically what that means
is that you act against your true nature -
9:05 - 9:09because you're constantly trying
to live up to other people's expectations -
9:09 - 9:12or deny their assumptions.
-
9:12 - 9:16You mask who you truly are.
-
9:16 - 9:19So, how to we deflect these threats?
-
9:19 - 9:21Yes, you're right: with more jargon!
-
9:21 - 9:25There is something
called a "mirror-neuron theory." -
9:25 - 9:28What it means is that your brain neurons
react in the same way, -
9:28 - 9:30whether or not you
are the one doing the action. -
9:30 - 9:35So, if I'm watching you
eat a really delicious cheeseburger, -
9:35 - 9:37my brain is reacting in the same way
-
9:37 - 9:40as if I was eating that really delicious
cheeseburger myself. -
9:40 - 9:42Which is why the Food Network
-
9:42 - 9:45is quite possibly the greatest
programming of all time. -
9:45 - 9:46Only show I watch!
-
9:47 - 9:50Now, imagine if what we saw on the media
-
9:50 - 9:53reflected a positive portrayal
of the group that we belonged to. -
9:54 - 9:55How would our brains react?
-
9:55 - 9:57How would our perceptions change?
-
9:58 - 10:01That was the secret of the success
of the show "The Cosby Show," -
10:01 - 10:03the groundbreaking and intelligent sitcom
-
10:03 - 10:06that truly helped to adjust
perception of African Americans. -
10:06 - 10:08It was the first of its kind.
-
10:08 - 10:12By focusing on the comedic
trials and tribulations -
10:12 - 10:17of a successful and lovable family
that just happened to be African American, -
10:17 - 10:20it took away those
limiting qualifiers of race -
10:20 - 10:25and helped to redefine what it meant
to just be an American family, -
10:26 - 10:29all through the power of story.
-
10:31 - 10:36Now while we look to the media to bring us
the stark realities of humankind, -
10:36 - 10:40we seek stories to find
some emotional connectivity with it. -
10:40 - 10:44Stories give us a glimpse into
the inner workings of the human spirit, -
10:44 - 10:46its pitfalls and its potentials.
-
10:46 - 10:51And they stir within us a desire
to reach the excesses of our imagination. -
10:51 - 10:56They challenge us and force us to look
at one another for who we truly are -
10:56 - 10:59in the hopes of possibly
connecting our souls, -
10:59 - 11:02and for that reason, they are sacred.
-
11:02 - 11:04And at the same time,
-
11:04 - 11:07they can be the shields
against the threats to our soul, -
11:07 - 11:09threats to our identity.
-
11:09 - 11:11So what the mirror-neuron theory is saying
-
11:11 - 11:15is that it's human nature
to follow the actions of the masses. -
11:15 - 11:18We repeat and/or believe
what people tell us to believe - -
11:18 - 11:21about others and about ourselves.
-
11:21 - 11:27So why not tell stories
that are empowering and aspirational -
11:27 - 11:30and challenge us to be better?
-
11:31 - 11:32(Applause)
-
11:39 - 11:43That is exactly what superhero stories do.
-
11:46 - 11:49The history of comics is about the misfit,
-
11:49 - 11:51the unlikely hero,
-
11:51 - 11:54the ability to create greatness
where there was once doubt. -
11:55 - 11:56The unassuming Peter Parker,
-
11:56 - 11:59the wallflower who's picked on
and misunderstood, -
11:59 - 12:02gets bitten by a radioactive spider
-
12:02 - 12:08that gives him extraordinary powers
and extraordinary responsibilities. -
12:09 - 12:13Yet his path is filled with villains
who would doubt his determination, -
12:13 - 12:16who would threaten those he loves,
-
12:16 - 12:18threaten his life choices.
-
12:19 - 12:25And yet Spider-Man, being the hero
that he is, would always swing back, -
12:26 - 12:28he'd always beat the bad guy
-
12:28 - 12:31and he'd always get the girl.
-
12:31 - 12:34Or girls, in Spider-Man's case.
-
12:34 - 12:36Lots of love drama there.
-
12:38 - 12:44For 75 years, Marvel has been telling
the tale of the outcast behind the mask. -
12:44 - 12:48It's through his flaws and desires that we
connect with the heart of the character -
12:48 - 12:53so that when he emerges as a hero,
we have a real reason to champion him -
12:53 - 12:56because we understand
those struggles too, don't we? -
12:56 - 12:58And we also want to move past them.
-
12:59 - 13:03Heroes make a choice to fight injustice,
to protect the innocent, -
13:03 - 13:05to put the balance back
on the side of the good, -
13:05 - 13:08no matter how much
they sacrifice of themselves. -
13:08 - 13:12They're willing to die for it
because they've chosen who they are. -
13:12 - 13:16And they will defend it no matter what.
-
13:18 - 13:21So when that little girl
sat rapt to attention, -
13:21 - 13:24all those years ago
at her television screen, -
13:24 - 13:25watching the X-Men,
-
13:25 - 13:30it wasn't just because they had taken her
on an astonishing adventure. -
13:30 - 13:34It's because they told her
that it was okay to be different. -
13:34 - 13:36In fact, you had to fight for it.
-
13:37 - 13:39Because we all
want to be heroes, don't we? -
13:39 - 13:44And wouldn't it be amazing
if heroes looked just like us? -
13:44 - 13:50So why does a character like Kamala Khan
resonate with so many people? -
13:50 - 13:55Like the first African-American
and Latino Spider-Man, Miles Morales, -
13:55 - 13:58Kamala Khan is so much larger
than just a pop-culture icon. -
13:58 - 13:59She came together
-
13:59 - 14:03in response to that global
subconscious desire for representation -
14:03 - 14:09for those Muslim American,
bacon-sniffing, short, nerdy girls like me -
14:09 - 14:10and for anyone else,
-
14:10 - 14:15regardless of their gender,
sexuality, race, religion, -
14:15 - 14:18who just feel like misfits themselves.
-
14:18 - 14:21In the actual Ms. Marvel series,
-
14:22 - 14:26Kamala Khan is just a girl
trying to fit in. -
14:26 - 14:30She's constantly negotiating,
renegotiating who she is -
14:30 - 14:32and all of the rules that come with it.
-
14:33 - 14:34Where does she belong?
-
14:34 - 14:37She has no idea.
-
14:37 - 14:42She's still figuring out
that journey to her authentic self. -
14:42 - 14:43But all she knows
-
14:43 - 14:48is that she does not want to be limited
by the labels imposed upon her. -
14:48 - 14:53So really, Kamala Khan's story
is everyone's. -
14:54 - 14:57It's about confronting the labels
you've been assigned -
14:57 - 14:59and sculpting them and redefining them
-
14:59 - 15:05until you figure out who you truly are
and what you actually believe. -
15:06 - 15:08One of my favorite mottos -
-
15:08 - 15:12actually I have it written
on a post-it over my computer. -
15:12 - 15:14I look at it every single day,
-
15:14 - 15:17and it was said by a poet named Rumi.
-
15:18 - 15:19And it goes,
-
15:19 - 15:24"Do not be satisfied with stories,
that which has come before. -
15:25 - 15:28Unfold your own myth."
-
15:28 - 15:31And that is our challenge.
-
15:31 - 15:35Every single one of us,
no matter the categories we've inherited, -
15:35 - 15:38we must unfold our own myth.
-
15:38 - 15:40And it won't be easy.
-
15:40 - 15:45We're constantly navigating,
rearranging, reinventing -
15:45 - 15:48others' expectations
of ourselves every day. -
15:49 - 15:52But every word we write
in the narrative of our own lives, -
15:52 - 15:56we come closer to uncovering
what's beneath our own masks, -
15:56 - 16:02maybe even embracing that true misfit,
that true crazy one within. -
16:03 - 16:06Oh, it'll be a fight, that's for sure.
-
16:06 - 16:08But that battle for your soul,
-
16:09 - 16:11for your authentic self,
-
16:11 - 16:14it's worth it, isn't it?
-
16:14 - 16:16It's bold; it's brave.
-
16:16 - 16:19In fact, I would say it's heroic.
-
16:20 - 16:22So now it's your turn.
-
16:23 - 16:25Tell me your story.
-
16:25 - 16:27Thank you.
-
16:27 - 16:29(Applause)
- Title:
- Myths, misfits & masks | Sana Amanat | TEDxTeen
- Description:
-
Sana Amanat is an editor at Marvel Entertainment, developing and managing creative content for the company's various publishing lines. Her notable credits include the critically-acclaimed Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, a.k.a. Miles Morales, the first African-American and Latino Spider-man, as well as the breakout hit Captain Marvel, a series that changed the image of the female super hero. Most recently, she co-created the first solo series to feature a Muslim female superhero, Ms. Marvel, which gained worldwide media attention, sparking excitement and dialogue about identity and the Muslim-American struggle. She also serves as a Young Leaders Committee board member at Seeds of Peace, an organization that promotes the empowerment of youth in regions of conflict.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:35
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