This weekend, Moves Magazine celebrated 25 impactful women as part of their annual Power Women issue. The honorees included the likes of Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tamara Tunie, and Lori Silverbush, as well as a number of other prominent women. Those selected are leaders in industries that vary across the spectrum of society.
In our current unstable and chaotic political climate, these honorees recognized that true power lies in empathy. Patricia Clarkson accepts her award on this basis. “As an actress, it is the most important asset you can have”, she says.
Tamara Tunie points to leading by example as a form of energizing and inspiring others. “I don’t know that I can tell people what to do but I just try to live a life that is purposeful and loving and compassionate and empathetic and hope that others will follow the same example”, the actress says.
As for Michelle Rodriguez, she sites misogynistic “assholes” as a force behind her power. “I gotta give a big, big thanks to Donald Trump, to Kavanaugh, to Harvey Weinstein, to all the assholes who step on women and they think they are worthless pieces of shit. Because if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been marching in Washington D.C. and realized that there is solidarity among women and that it is not American, it is global, it’s a worldwide thing.” As for the men, Rodriguez claims she’s “bored” with their opinions about women. “I kinda don’t want to read any more of what you have to say about us. I think it’s about time in history and just in life that women start expressing themselves for once. I’m wonderfully glad that it’s happening, and I’m really grateful to be alive right now. So thank you all you assholes who started this shit.”
Director and Producer Lori Silverbush is right there with these women. “Honestly, I’m not that interested in telling others to be powerful. I’m interested in helping them be impactful. I think the pursuit of power has gotten us in a lot of trouble.” For Silverbush, the best way to be impactful is giving a voice to those who need it most. “But if you worry about making sure that people’s voices get heard, and that everybody, regardless of ethnicity, where they come from, or what they represent, that their voices are heard and seen authenticity so they can have the most impact on their communities, that to me is what we should all be trying to do. I’m trying to inspire people to have the most impact they can have any way I can; by voting, by putting themselves forward as candidates, by writing, by sharing their stories, by helping other people do that. That’s just as useful and impactful.”
These honorees are proof that when women use their voices and find their inner power, great things can be accomplished. As Patricia Clarkson puts it, “Women, with the guts and grit to say aloud what we have all been thinking for a while, our nation is now in pieces. And hey, hey, hey you guys. Maybe we, we the mighty women, maybe we can put it back together again.”
The event took place at Second Floor NYC and was hosted by CNN anchor Poppy Harlow.
