*Record scratch* *Freeze frame*
Before you keep reading you should know that this isn’t an ode to our country and is not political in any way shape or form. This is not about the nation’s current President or the beloved, Former-President Barack Obama. This blog post is actually an appreciation post dedicated to the beautiful, America Ferrera.
For my fellow millennials and 2000s Disney Channel watchers — we first encountered America in the Disney Channel Original Movie, Gotta Kick it Up! If you didn’t recognize her in the Disney movie she probably caught your attention in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, award-winning movie about four best friends who spend the summer apart from each other for the first time in their lives. By 2006, America went on to play the lead in Ugly Betty, showcasing her phenomenal acting skills which, in turn, provided her with a Golden Globe for best actress. She also won a Primetime Emmy Award, becoming the first Latin woman to win in the category. Iconic.
Not surprisingly, her lesser known work is equally as inspiring. In 2010, she voiced Astrid in DreamWork’s How to Train Your Dragon and starred alongside Lance Gross, Regina King, and Carlos Mencia in Our Family Wedding. Ferrera is still doing great things with her most recent accomplishment of becoming a co-producer and main character in NBC’s comedy series, Superstore.
So you may, or may not be wondering, “Okay Candice, why did you feel the need to write an entire blog post about this?”
Well, let’s just take a moment to further delve into Superstore, and not just because I watched 20 episodes over winter break, but because of what the show represents.
To give a brief synopsis, Superstore is a sitcom that follows the lives of employees at a retail megastore. Episodes commonly follow the variety of characters as they deal with the day to day life of retail, bargain shoppers, and interact with each other. It may not sound interesting to some, but the show was recently renewed for a second season and airs during a primetime television slot. In other words, it’s fantastic.
In a recent article, lead producer Justin Spitzer, who helped produce The Office indicated, “[Superstore] is one of many new shows this television season that is making an effort to have its cast more accurately reflect the diverse world we live in.” Setting out to cast the best people for the show, Spitzer ended up with a variety of races, ages, and ethnicities. Ferrera added her approval of casting, “I was taken by how the script hadn’t been written with the characters’ ethnicity predetermined. They went out and cast the best people for the role. Personally speaking, this is the first role in my career that wasn’t written, Latina.”
So that is why I’m talking about America today. I could utilize a second, third, and even fourth blog post to discuss her dedicated efforts to the Women’s March and utilizing her stardom to shine lights on inequality, but for now we’ll talk about media. She’s a part of (and somewhat responsible for) a great group of people, furthering the movement of increasing diversity in Hollywood and beyond. In fact, here is what she had to say on the topic:
“Progress gets made in individual steps, and we should celebrate. We should praise those moments, but it’s important to also acknowledge that we have successes that don’t necessarily end up in watershed moments”
I couldn’t agree more, America.
So, if you’re interested in watching America Ferrera slay alongside one of the most diverse casts in history, feel free to join me and Sumit on Thursday nights at 8/7c.
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