July 1, Tessa Thompson opened up about the importance of racial diversity and LGBTQ+ representation in the cinema during an interview with Ramy star Ramy Youssef as part of the Variety annual of the Actors in the Actors of the conversation of the series. Thompson stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Valkyrie, the franchise is confirmed for the first time LGBTQ+ superhero. As the MCU continues to add to her impressive film to have, Thompson says that the cast and crew are opening up the conversation about what type of representation that they hope to see on the screen.
“The truth is that these films global travel in such large ways, and if you can’t represent people who are of color, if you can represent people with disabilities, if it can represent the community LGBTQIA within these films, is a very big thing,” Thompson said. The actor also said that he would like to see a more accurate representation of the different races on the screen and see more people of color cast in the roles across all the platforms, so as not to place the responsibility of representing an entire race on the shoulders of a chosen few.
“I want us to be able to exist in such a way that we have never existed before.”
“There is a real sense of responsibility when you’re the only one,” she said. “There is a burden of being exceptional. While I think of you [Ramy] are exceptional and I hope exceptional too, I think that we should not be the only ones. The work that we do should be inside a diversity of ideas about our identity, because Muslims are not a monolith, and neither are Blacks.”
Thompson added that she tries not to feel like an ambassador for all Black women because each individual has different experiences and a different perspective. “We see the way in which Blacks and latinos are portrayed in the media, and there is a similarity — we are obsessed with the observation of Black pain and Black and Brown criminality,” he said. “I want us to be able to exist in such a way that we have never existed before.”
Thompson went on to say that she expects an increase in the amount of diversity and representation in the films will have a positive impact on future generations of superhero fans that you see represented on the screen. “I think it’s really important for everyone, but for young people, in particular, to be able to show up to these movies and to see projections of themselves,” Thompson said. “So I’m very excited that we are able to keep pushing the limits of that and that I am able to do that with Valkyrie. Because there are so many cool queer characters in comics, and that they should have a place on the screen.” Watch Thompson and Youssef’s full interview here to see them discuss the cultural change and how it is presented on the screen.
