The individuals inside are frequently fighting that their individual voices be heard, while the walls of the place, which are the mask, and the perception, are reluctant to give over to the voices of the individuals. Those in the margins are always trying to get to the center, and those at the center, frequently in the name of tradition, are trying to keep the margins at a distance. Part of the identity of a place is the tension between those in the margins, and those in the center, and they all live behind the walls which wear the tradition.

Movies, as evidenced by a chorus of protesting and celebrating Americans, influence broader trends.

The American idea is as promising, imaginative, and full of the unexpected as the land itself. The land represents freedom - the frontier, the ability to make a new future with your own bare hands.

I mean, I think that - as an actress, in particular, I'm basically a fool, and I see the world upside down.

I think we need leadership that helps us remember that part of what we are about is caring about more than the person right next to us, but the folks across the way.

When I got out of acting school, I was lucky to have gotten any job at all. A lot of people hiring African American actresses - it was right after 'Roots,' and for society, not me, it was great. Nice richly dark-skinned people was the fashion, and I was not.

Making your life is ultimately an extraordinarily creative endeavor.