Geek Girl in Hollywood: How Supergirl can inspire us

The other night I started doing an aftershow for “Supergirl.” Obviously I love that we have a TV show with a female superhero lead (I love you, too, “Jessica Jones”). The cast is charming, it’s funny and full of pop culture references. I could say that about many shows, but I think the thing that makes this one stand out for me is the optimism. Supergirl takes such joy in helping people, in her cape as well as when she’s the bespectacled Kara Danvers. Even when things get rough, she keeps going, and keeps believing that things can be better.

In this week’s episode, there was a message that really hit home. Supergirl winds up on another planet with a red sun, meaning she doesn’t have any of her superpowers. She’s taken captive (by choice) and sent to a fortress to be imprisoned along with other human captives. This is a human slavery ring and everyone there is too terrified to fight back.

Supergirl doesn’t have the ability to fly on this planet. She can’t stop bullets. She’s helpless like the rest…or is she? No, Supergirl fights back anyway. The guards have weapons that can hurt her, and yet she keeps fighting. Not only does she fight, but she inspires the rest of the “powerless” humans to fight alongside her. Together, they win.

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I know it’s a storyline that’s been used before, but to watch it a couple days after the historic Women’s March made it more poignant. Here we were, individuals who do not have the power to make laws (some would say that we don’t have power to affect the vote), fighting back and sending a clear message that we won’t tolerate what is happening to our rights. As I’ve said before, this is not about Republican and Democrat. This is about this particular person and his team. For a day, it felt like we, too, could do something to fight back.

That brings me to the reason I’m writing this. Supergirl saved the day, but she’s getting up to do it again tomorrow, and the day after and the day after that. That’s what the rest of us have to do as well. Surely we can fight like a fictional character. (It warmed my heart to see so many Princess Leia posters, saying things like, “A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance.”)

So here’s what I’m asking you to do. Start calling your congressmen, your representatives, your local officials. (You can find their info here: govtrack.us) Sign petitions. Continue to talk and debate. Donate to causes that matter to you. Planned Parenthood could really use your help. Refuse to accept “alternative facts.” Do not stop fighting. Don’t despair. You don’t need superpowers to be a hero.