I don't believe in comedy as a TV genre - I think there's drama that is funny. Because beyond the laughs, there has to be cost, and there has to be heart.
Michaela CoelRead
In Britain, we need to start presenting the option of being a writer in front of black women. We need to present the idea of being a writer into poorer communities because the majority of black people in this country are working class. We need to let working-class people know that their voices are important.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of representing writers from underrepresented communities, particularly black women and working-class individuals.
Michaela Coel highlights the need for greater representation and acknowledgment of diverse voices in literature, particularly among black women and working-class communities. She advocates for initiatives that inspire and support these groups to pursue writing as a valid and valuable career option, emphasizing that everyone’s story matters and deserves to be told.
Themes
WritingRepresentationVoicesCommunityEducationClass
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech to inspire young writers, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of diversity in literature.
More from Michaela Coel
All quotes →I wanted to write a show about an estate that wasn't sad or morbid, like a lot of shows portray working class life to be.
Michaela CoelRead
When you've got African parents, you go to uni, do finance, and go into accounting. But I'm not good with systems. I dropped out in my final year of college to become a Christian poet. Then went back to do my A-levels and went to uni in Birmingham to do political science and theology. I lasted 12 weeks.
Michaela CoelRead
Growing up on our estate, we were all different colours, but we were all really poor. I never really realised that black was a problem for some people.
Michaela CoelRead
We live in a world where if you're white, an upper-class male of extreme privilege, and able-bodied, and you're nothing that takes you away from that norm, then you're going to have - then the world will not assign you problems because of what you are. That is actually the world we live in.
Michaela CoelRead
Where I grew up, in Aldgate, east London, one of the poorest boroughs in the country, I saw lots that was real - the bankers with their briefcases, the man next door with five wives, the illegal immigrants in Flat 5. I'm from a world you rarely see on screen, and I want to show it off.
Michaela CoelRead
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