I would say dancing and music are my first loves, but acting is the love of my life. You have your first love and the love of your life, and acting is the love of my life. I feel like every time I take on a role, it is only about becoming somebody that I’m not. When they go in and see me, they don’t see J. Lo—they see the maid, they see the stripper, they see who they’re supposed to see, because I’m able to still give you the suspension of disbelief. That is the challenge of it for me, but also the thrill of it for me.
Vanity Fair, January 14, 2020
I appreciate the Keep It podcast for raising the Oscar snub convo around Jennifer Lopez and their disappointment for her.
As we (a species fighting for survival) continue to forge ahead beyond the narrative of wrongs perpetually inflicted by oppressors perpetually in power—as we continue to invalidate illegitimate power in favor of the authentic power we all share—I submit for our consideration a new opportunity:
Now that JLo has acknowledged to herself and the world that acting is the love of her life—and after she’s weathered the pain of this ultimate snub—she’s poised in front of a brand new, huge opportunity to reinvent herself once again as an actress of her generation, this time on her own terms, from an empowered position of self-awareness—of her talent and her passion. She’s currently in a moment of having been “wronged” on an international stage, by this body which we give too much power. But the injustice bears a gift equally as large; the energy of clarity. She, and we, can use that clarity to energize our grievances and disappointment with an academy which continues to exclude, predictably, or we can use it to energize work that brings us more power, purpose, and fulfillment—by us, for us.
What if JLo, the now widely acclaimed actor, who also sits atop a self-made pop empire, chooses to say, “fuck you very much. I’m free. I know who I am. And I know what I’m here to do.”
… chooses to pursue more roles that honor her gifts?
… chooses not to just say “Yes” to what she’s offered.
… chooses to lean into this calling, and to keep challenging herself to grow as an actor; one who inspires new possibilities, on screens across the world, to her fans?
Imagine that.
Because, quite frankly, she’s got it like that. I hope she takes this opportunity to see and accept that she need not chase an old, white, increasingly irrelevant academy’s validation in order to make new, dope-ass, legendary art that moves the crowd and fulfills her purpose on this earth.
What roles can you imagine for JLo 3.0? President? Madeline in a reboot of Death Becomes Her? Fucking shit up across the Marvel Universe? Give me your wildest dream in the comments.
#flipthescript
Korin Mills, LLC 