People who say that women aren’t funny, have clearly never heard of Amy Meredith Poehler. A comedian, actor, voice artist, writer, producer, director, mother of two, and founder of the organisation ‘Smart Girls’, Poehler certainly has a busy life, her success in so many different areas demonstrative of her pure talent. The versatility of her work, as well as her determination and love for those around her is representative of a well rounded individual, someone who not only cares about what they do, but cares deeply for those they do it with. It is this combination of characteristics, I believe, which make Poehler an inspirational person - someone genuinely nice, tenacious, and strong.
In her autobiography, ‘Yes Please’, Poehler states that she fell in love with making people laugh at nine years old. In a performance of the Wizard of Oz in her hometown of Newton, Poehler, who was then Dorothy, forgot her words, yelling ‘Toto! Toto where are you?” whilst the dog who had be designated as the play’s Toto was, in fact, in her arms. The audience laughed, and a nine-year-old girl found her path. This love of theatre continued throughout her schooling years, onto college, where Poehler joined her first improvisation group, My Mother’s Fleabag. She dove deeper into comedy, moving to Chicago to study improvisation at a theatre school, before, with several friends, founding the improv group ‘The Upright Citizens Brigade’. Their performances were so successful, that in 1998, they were given a three-season sketch show on Comedy Central, as well as acquiring their own theatre, where the latest version of this group still performs today. This led to a Saturday Night Live audition for Poehler, who eventually left her 7 year run of the show to help her friend Michael Schur create another TV series; The widely successful ‘Parks and Recreation’. In Poehler’s book, her love for her work shines through, but not as much as her love for her fellow cast members.
Poehler, with friends, started the web series “Smart Girls at the Party” as ‘an excuse to host spontaneous dance parties’, but it quickly turned into something much more. An organisation with a very active media presence, Smart Girls is dedicated to providing a community for young people to express their concerns, intelligence, and imagination, and become more involved in the world they live in. They promote famous Smart Girls, such as author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, pilot Sally Fields, and any woman who they believe to be an inspiration, as well as holding contests such as the latest Marvel’s Ant-Man micro-tech challenge - to create something very big, from something very small. This sort of inspiration and support provided for young people everywhere is, without a doubt, representative of a positive role model.
Inspirational figures don’t always have to be Nobel Peace Prize winners. Poehler’s kindness, tenacity, and support of others can be seen from her work. This positive attitude, combined with her encouragement of the aims of young people (which can be found at amysmartgirls.com and @smrtgrls) certainly exemplify someone who should be considered as an inspirational figure.
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