Donald Trump won the election. How and why doesn't really matter now. The fact is that an awful, immoral megalomaniac will be President of the United States for at least several years unless a miracle takes place. But I don't really want to talk about Donald Trump right now. I've done enough of that and will continue to do so, as will many people much better than I. Dark times lie ahead and I want to celebrate the lights that have shone so bright in the recent past, who I hope will continue to do so as best they can. I would like to highlight scholars and intellectuals but that's not really my area of expertise. Instead I will speak of writers, directors, and performers.
It may seem silly to praise superheroes and joke makers when the President-elect poses a threat to our very way of life, and that's something that has bothered me for the past few weeks. For the first time in my life I have had little interest in escapism and have almost been repulsed at the idea. That's why I want to start with a somewhat obscure TV show called Dead Like Me. The time and place in which I grew up actively encouraged a hatred for gay people. Despite that, I have become a passionate supporter of LGBTQ rights. It wasn't because of a gay friend or mentor or college roommate. It was because of the the TV and movies I watched and the music I listened to. The biggest turning point was an episode of Dead Like Me called "The Bicycle Thief." Dead Like Me is about death and that episode saw a reaper come for a gay couple, one man before the other, in the same day. Seeing a gay man grieve for his partner opened my eyes to the humanity of LGBTQ people. Looking back, I see it as irrefutable proof of the impact art can have. One hour on Netflix spent streaming a years old episode of a canceled TV show changed my life. Thank you to Bryan Fuller for creating Dead Like Me and thank you to Paul Lieberstein for writing the episode.
Thank you to Supergirl. Star Melissa Benoist and the crew led by showrunner Ali Adler recovered from a bumpy start to become a truly magnificent show. The characters, Martians, Earthlings, and Kryptonians alike, are dumb, flawed humans but still manage to inspire, to awaken that part of us all that yearns for heroism. Perhaps best of all, Supergirl has given the girls and boys of America a female President with the help of a former Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter. Maybe, if they can believe that a woman can fly, they can believe that she can become President, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Thank you to Pussy Riot. You were imprisoned by Vladimir Putin in your native Russia for a peaceful punk rock protest then when you were finally released you came to America only to watch another dictator rise to power and you decided to piss him off too. I don't know for sure if the women of Pussy Riot currently call the United States home or not, but it is still incredibly brave and the best kind of dumb for them to challenge the next President the way they have. We should all aspire to be even half as courageous.
Thank you to Kendrick Lamar, who has almost single-handedly raised the bar for ambition and social conscience in music.
Thank you to Daisy Ridley and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My little cousin didn't think a girl should be the one to save the day and I think you helped change her mind.
Thank you to Ms. Marvel's G. Willow Wilson and Sana Amanat for reminding America monthly that Muslim people are as passionate, loving, determined and heroic as anyone else. I'm ashamed to admit that any of us need reminding.
Thank you to Laverne Cox for your grace, courage, and poise. Thank you to the Wachowskis for breaking barriers of what female and LGBTQ directors can accomplish. It's been almost two decades since you made your universally adored breakthrough but your more recent work is loved with a depth of passion that critics can't even begin to comprehend. I'm disgusted that my state would police your identity and invade your privacy because of baseless fears and prejudice.
Thank you George Takei and the rest of the cast and crew of the musical Allegiance for reminding us of a dark time in our nation's history, one far too often overlooked and which must not be repeated. Thank you to Lin-Manuel Miranda and everyone else responsible for giving us Hamilton. Many of you represent the groups with the most to lose under the upcoming administration and you expressed your fears to a man who threatens you with perhaps more respect than he deserves, even after being unjustly criticized for your honesty and compassion. In the past year Hamilton has served as a stark reminder of what our country once was and what it can be with the help of passionate, principled leaders and citizens.
Thank you to David Bowie, Prince, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Glenn Frey, George Martin, Gary Shandling, Gene Wilder, Merle Haggard, and all the other artists who died in the past year. It seems that 2016 has taken artists at an accelerated rate. Just days after the election Leon Russell, Sharon Jones and Leonard Cohen passed. Cohen wrote poetry before he realized that it would be more profitable to add music call them lyrics. However, he wasn't the only poet of the group. None of these people were mere singers and actors; they were all poets. Even the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, who passed in June, had a poetic streak a mile wide. But these were the poets of another age. A new, darker time is upon us and the old poets had to move on to make way for the next generation. The poets are dead, long live the poets!
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