Oprah, Mindy Kaling, and Reese Witherspoon Speak About the Power of Women

(*Disclosure-I was invited to an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles courtesy of Disney to attend the #WrinkleInTimeEvent & #ABCTVEvent in exchange for my coverage. No other compensation was provided. All views shared are completely my own.)

Last month, 24 bloggers and I had the privilege of interviewing Oprah, Mindy Kaling, and Reese Witherspoon for Disney’s upcoming film, A Wrinkle In Time.  The energy that I felt when these three women walked into the room was remarkable.  The respect and admiration they have for one another is one that I would love to see with women everywhere.

Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop / MomStart.com

One of the questions that I loved that was asked was, “How do you hope this movie and your roles inspire this next generation of girls”?  Their responses were quite similar.  2018 is the year of the woman.  I tend to agree.  In 2017, we saw a lot of different movements that revolved around women. We had a #MeToo movement, an #equalpay movement, and an #inclusive movement.

As part of the woman’s society, I am super excited that these women have helped other women come out in masses, to show the world some of the issues Hollywood and even local women are dealing with in their workplaces and in their relationships.  It is nice to see that because of these women, we are able to open up these conversations to our kids. We are in this time of women empowerment, which is important for me because I want my sons to know how to treat a woman. It’s a lesson that is taught from when they are young.

Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop / MomStart.com

Reese Witherspoon made a good point.  She said “A part of what I loved about making the movie is you really feel the power when women are together, and talking, and not the only woman in a movie or the only woman in a board room or the only woman who’s a manager at her company. And I think the power of that to young women to say, we’re not against each other.  When we get together, we create abundance.  The world we live in can be a cruel place and most of the time it’s women judging each other. We can produce so much when we stand together, but we can destroy a person just as easily.”  When I heard Reese say that, it made an impact on me about the meaning of the film.

Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop / MomStart.com

Mindy Kaling said “The cast is so inclusive.  I’ve never seen anything like that and I think that as a young woman, I would have been- felt so much joy from watching it.  For far too long we have seen movies made where the cast is defined by one culture, so it was really nice that we are starting to see more movies that are more culturally inclusive.  It is something as a mom I am excited for, that our kids will be able to relate to and see an image of themselves up on screen.”

Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop / MomStart.com

What impacted me the most was Oprah’s response.   “Well you know, what I do know for sure is that everybody’s goal, whether they can articulate it as such or not, is to live a life that matters and a life that has meaning.”  When she said that, it hit me that this is something that we long for as humans.  We all seek out a sense of purpose for our lives.  We all want to one day leave this earth with a sense that we were able to accomplish something, and impact our own kids or families.  Oprah made this move with the intention of leaving behind a legacy for other generations to come, something that she would be remembered for.

Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop / MomStart.com

Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop / MomStart.com

The same goes for me.  I hope to leave my kids and grandkids a legacy they will always remember.  That they will be able to look back and say “my mom wrote about amazing people and places, and most of all she loved doing it.”

A Wrinkle In Time opens in theaters March 9, 2018- Follow along using #WrinkleInTime #WrinkleInTimeEvent

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