America Ferrera: My identity is a superpower -- not an obstacle
אמריקה פררה: הזהות שלי היא כוח העל שלי - לא מכשול
America Ferrera believes stories have the power to make people better. She uses her voice to speak up for more humanity and justice in the world. Full bio
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to the made-for-TV movie "Gypsy,"
and the burning desire of a nine-year-old
ובלהט הבוער של גיל 9
anyone who looked like me
and teachers all constantly warned me
כולם כל הזמן הזהירו אותי
didn't make it in Hollywood.
that anyone could achieve anything,
יכול להשיג כל דבר,
immigrated from Honduras,
for cable subscriptions
is that the casting director asked me,
but just this time, sound more Latina."
תני לזה גוון יותר לטיני".
to do it in Spanish?" I asked.
שאלתי.
just sound Latina."
פשוט שישמע לטיני".
so isn't this what a Latina sounds like?"
אז זה איך שגוון לטיני נשמע, לא?"
thank you for coming in, bye!"
תודה רבה שבאת, ביי!"
to realize that by "sound more Latina"
שבבקשה שזה "ישמע יותר לטיני"
to speak in broken English.
real-life, authentic Latina
people were willing to see me for:
שאנשים חשבו שאתאים להם:
that existed for someone like me.
עבור מישהי כמוני.
and saw as too brown, too fat,
from my own reality
מהמציאות האישית שלי
who were complex and multidimensional,
of their own lives.
in the background of someone else's.
של החיים של מישהו אחר.
to my manager --
to help me find opportunity --
לעזור לי למצוא הזדמנויות --
she has unrealistic expectations."
שיש לה ציפיות לא מציאותיות".
that wasn't a poorly written stereotype,
סטריאוטיפ כתוב באופן גרוע,
to cast this role diversely."
את התפקיד הזה באופן מגוון".
but she's too specifically ethnic."
אבל היא יותר מדי אתנית".
one Latino in this movie."
לטינה אחת בסרט הזה".
again and again and again.
I had to overcome.
היה עלי להתגבר.
I'll just follow the playbook,
אני פשוט אפעל לפי החוקים,
that people said were wrong with me.
so that my skin wouldn't get too brown,
and more expensive clothes.
too brown, too poor Latina.
חומה מדי, ענייה מדי.
that would make all my dreams come true,
שיגשים את כל חלומותי,
to be exactly who I was.
להיות בדיוק מי שהייתי.
like her, anyone like me,
of her own life story.
ethnicity, body type,
למוצא או לסוג הגוף שלהם,
to fulfill her unlikely dream.
כדי להגשים את חלומה הלא-סביר.
I had been told my whole life,
want to see stories about people like me.
לראות סיפורים על אנשים כמוני.
represented in the culture
and financial success.
was rushing to tell more stories
and willing to pay to see them.
ומוכן לשלם לראות אותם.
when I got to play Ugly Betty,
לגלם את בטי המכוערת,
to 16 million viewers
עם 16 מיליון צופים
for 11 Emmys in its first year.
thriving in the world
אנחנו רואים מצליחים בעולם
living in the Swat Valley of Pakistan.
שחיה בעמק הסוואט בפקיסטן.
her hands on some DVDs
of becoming a writer reflected.
של החלום שלה להיות סופרת.
could make a difference
the "Ugly Betty" DVDs
presence in the culture.
presence creates possibility.
נוכחות יוצרת אפשרות.
presence in the culture
in the mainstream,
I wasn't getting a role in a movie.
to cast diversely,
until they cast the white role first."
שלא ילהקו את התפקיד הלבן קודם".
with a broken heart
"I understand how messed up this is."
hundreds of times before,
מאות הפעמים שלפני כן,
stop crying over a job."
of accepting the failure as my own
של קבלת הכישלון כשלי
that I couldn't overcome the obstacles.
שלא יכולתי להתגבר על המכשולים.
were not about losing a job.
was actually being said about me.
and agents and managers
and straightening irons
in this deeply entrenched value system.
the system to change.
מהמערכת להשתנות בעצם.
and those aren't the same thing.
וזה לא אותו הדבר.
what a system believed about me,
the system believed about me.
for me to exist in my dream as I was.
להתקיים בחלום שלי כמו שאני.
trying to make myself invisible.
was that it is possible
who genuinely wants to see change
keep things the way they are.
שומרים על המציאות כמות שהיא.
is that change isn't going to come
לא הולך לקרות
and the bad guys.
lets us all off the hook.
are neither one of those.
values and beliefs.
lead to our best intentions.
את הכוונות הכי טובות שלנו.
that in order to fulfill my dreams,
my talents to the world
as my full and authentic self.
dancing in the den, dreaming her dreams,
what the world actually looks like.
to reflect that,
resisting the one we already live in.
שאנחנו כבר חיים בה.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
America Ferrera - Actor, director, producer, activistAmerica Ferrera believes stories have the power to make people better. She uses her voice to speak up for more humanity and justice in the world.
Why you should listen
America Ferrera is an award-winning actress and producer known for her breakthrough role as Betty Suarez on ABC's hit comedy Ugly Betty. For her performance, Ferrera was recognized with a Golden Globe, Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award, as well as ALMA and Imagen Awards. She currently produces and stars in the NBC workplace comedy Superstore, which is in its fourth season.
Ferrera recently released her first book, American Like Me, landing on the New York Times best-seller list. The book is a vibrant and varied collection of first-person accounts from prominent figures about the experience of growing up between cultures in America. A longtime activist, Ferrera co-founded HARNESS with her husband, Ryan Piers Williams, and Wilmer Valderrama in 2016. HARNESS is a community of artists, influencers and grassroots leaders that provides education and engagement opportunities to amplify the work of organizations and individuals working on behalf of social justice. In July 2016, Ferrera spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on behalf of women's rights and immigration in support of Hillary Clinton. She was a chair for the Artists' Committee for the Women's March on Washington and spoke at the historic Women's March the day after the 2017 Presidential Inauguration. In 2006, Ferrera founded her own television and film production company, Take Fountain.
America Ferrera | Speaker | TED.com