Amy Poehler has been one of my all-around favorites since I started paying attention to SNL back in the early 2000's, especially once she took over as co-host for “Weekend Update.” Always funny, always all in, and never shied away from from speaking her mind.
Later, she moved on to Parks & Recreation, creating one of the best fictional feminist icons we have to aspire to. (I’ll give you iffy S1 Leslie but S2 and beyond, Leslie was a force to be reckoned with.) Life and art imitate each other so there’s no reason that young women can’t become the real-life Leslie Knope. Or any of the wealth of strong female characters Parks & Rec boasted. Because at it's core, Parks & Rec really showed female characters who were determined, in the end, to always support other women.
Additional to portraying the lead character, Poehler’s work on Parks & Recreation included serving as producer of the series as well as writing and directing a few episodes. And Poehler co-created (with Meredith Walker and Amy Miles) Smart Girls at the Party, an interview style web series that focuses on girls with unique skills and views, helping them find their voice and confidence. She’s helped bring Broad City to Comedy Central and serves as Executive Producer as well.
In case you haven’t gotten it, Amy Poehler pushes and furthers her career to portray feminism in a positive light and brings into that light as well. She looks sweet and uses that to her advantage, by being loud and unapologetic and getting what she wants. In her book Bossypants, Tiny Fey relates an anecdote showing Amy’s tenacity.
“Amy dropped what she was doing, went black in the eyes for a second, and wheeled around on him. "I don't fucking care if you like it." Jimmy was visibly startled. Amy went right back to enjoying her ridiculous bit …
With that exchange, a cosmic shift took place. Amy made it clear that she wasn't there to be cute. She wasn't there to play wives and girlfriends in the boys' scenes. She was there to do what she wanted to do and she did not fucking care if you like it …”
And I think this really sums up Amy’s career. She’s worked hard and blazed a trail to get to where she is now and is looking to use her leverage to open doors for the next generation of women. So maybe she is the real life Leslie. Either way, she's here, she's not going anywhere, and she's making room for all the ladies to join her. Get used to it.
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