Oscar winner H.E.R. wants to be a role model
Recording artist H.E.R. says that winning the best original song Oscar for "Judas and the Black Messiah" comes at the right time - when social injustice is under a spotlight - and hopes to inspire Black and Filipino kids to follow their dreams (April 26)
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It's hard to think of civic education as a stale, dry endeavor once you've watched Andra Day sing about the court system or Adam Lambert riff on the Bill of Rights, accompanied by bright, creative animation.
That's the formula for Netflix's "We the People," a series of 10 short videos (streaming now) that could become acontemporary, aged-up heir to the classic "Schoolhouse Rock!" cartoons that still help Gen X-ers remember the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, or how a bill becomes law.
"We the People" features original rap, rock, popand R&B performed by H.E.R., Janelle Mone, Brandi Carlile, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bebe Rexha and others. The series also has political"rock stars" former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obamawho are executive producers.
The videos, each roughly four minutes, tackle topics ranging from the three branches of government ("If I veto/That bill will be finito, unless they override," explaining the president's legislative relationship to Congress) to taxes (with a cool cat starring and Cordae rapping, "Taxes pay for roads and interstates/And our local library/That they had to renovate/I grew up on food stamps and Section 8).
Series creator Chris Nee ("Doc McStuffins"), whose idea for the series grew from a conversation with activist TV legend Norman Lear and "Black-ish" creator Kenya Barris, who's also an executive producer, felt the need for a new way to approach civic education, especially for younger viewers.
"We've watched discordbecome sort of the norm in our process of governing, and I felt like we had lost the sense of acommon languageabout civics andabout governance and lost those moments where we feel like Americans first," Nee says
Nee, who grew up watching "Schoolhouse Rock," initially thought of aiming the series at younger viewers, but Barack Obama persuaded her to focus on a slightly older audience.
"It was the president who said, 'Let's age this up,' " Nee says. "Theage group that really needs it is 14 to 18. It'speople who are seeing the world, starting to understand there is this process out there by which we govern. And yetthey're inheriting what feels a littlelike a mess right now but aren't necessarily able to vote. So,how do we keep them engaged until that point?"
Nee's sources of inspiration include the "stickiness" of "Schoolhouse Rock!" lyrics,"the heart and soul" of Marlo Thomas' "Free to Be...You and Me" and Miranda's "Hamilton," which had "kids singing all this content because they loved the music."
"Schoolhouse Rock!,"which aired duringABC children's programming starting in 1973, is a landmark in using entertainment to educate, with such memorable videos as "Conjunction Junction" teaching grammar and "I'm Just a Bill" outlining the legislative process. "Free to Be... You and Me" was a 1974 special (based on an album and book) that promoted tolerance andgender neutrality.
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Besides providing insight, the Obamas "opened up a totally different level of doors" attracting top talent, Nee says. They helped get getting Amanda Gorman to sign on after herpoetry reading at President Joe Biden's inauguralmade her a household name.
After watching Gorman transform into"the voice of this generation,"Nee "was texting with a few of the producers, and two days later Mrs. Obama made the ask and (Gorman) saidyes" to reciting herpoem, "The Miracle of Morning," for a video that includes and a closing image ofGorman, 23, in her memorable yellow coat walking onto the Inaugural platform.
While the Obamas helped attract interest, Nee says she sought performers, directors and writerswho believed in civic engagement, including Peter Ramsey ("Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse") and two-timeOscar winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Two directors, Victoria Vincent and Mabel Ye, were just 20 when they joined the project.
"The people who said yes were not intimidated by the idea that they might have to write a song about fed(eral) vs.state or taxes," Nee says:H.E.R. performs "Change" in the video "ActiveCitizenship," a topic suggested by the former president. "She's very aware of her responsibilities in wanting to use her voice to activate a new generation, specificallya new generation of girls."
Nee says the goal is to make something all Americans can embrace, even if some conservatives see it as progressive.
"There used to be a point where our country would come together and be Americans first and Republicans and Democrats second, and we were trying to always tell these stories in a nonpartisan way," she says. "Because for me, and others involved in the project, I don't care who you vote for. I don't care what direction you want this country to be going in. I care deeply that you get involved."
While acknowledging historical failures, Nee takes an "aspirational" view of America, one that celebrates itshighest American ideals
"Idon't think being patriotic means ignoringthe faults. Democracy is a messyprocess. It's that messthat can bring us to greatness but only if everyone has their sayand gets involved in the process," she says.
Nee hopes "We the People" can have the staying power of a "Schoolhouse Rock" (which has aged better in some videos, such as "I'm Just a Bill,"than others like"Elbow Room" and itscringeworthy take on Westward Expansion).
"When we got the track in for the Bill of Rights (video), I remember thinking I knew a lot about civics, but I couldn't have told you exactly what the Fourth Amendment was."(It's freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.) "Now, I know I'm going to be able to remember all of the amendments because of that song. And I suspect that in 10, 15 years, the same will be the case for the kids who grow up listening to this."
More here:
'We the People': Obamas, H.E.R., Brandi Carlile liven civics lessons in teenaged 'Schoolhouse Rock' - USA TODAY