Photo: Emma Watson as Meg March in Little Women (2019).
Writer and director Greta Gerwig praised Emma Watson for her acting in the movie:
“To me, [Watson] embodies everything that I was interested in, in terms of who the March women were,” Gerwig says. “She’s just smart. She’s on multi-governmental organizations that speak to the U.N., and she’s so thoughtful and present. She is way out there trying to do everything she can.”
Gerwig adds, “She is all-in, not just as an actor, but as a mind.”
From article: Greta Gerwig on casting Emma Watson, Meryl Streep, and the rest of Little Women’s all-star ensemble By Mary Sollosi, Entertainment Weekly August 13, 2019.
“The truth is that I’m genuinely a shy, socially awkward, introverted person. At a big party, I’m like Bambi in the headlights.“
Introverts and highly sensitive people may be very close to each other
Elaine Aron comments that Susan Cain’s very popular book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking “is actually more about HSPs (highly sensitive people) than social introverts”
Dr. Aron also thinks “Her discussion of ‘introversion’ throughout is almost identical to what has become the standard definition of high sensitivity.”
From my article Shyness, Introversion, Sensitivity – What’s the Difference?
Also see article Elaine Aron and Alanis Morissette on Being a Highly Sensitive Person
Psychologist Elaine Aron on highly sensitive persons: “I know ALL HSPs are creative, by definition. Many have squashed their creativity because of their low self-esteem; many more had it squashed for them, before they could ever know about. But we all have it…“
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The biography.com site notes Watson won a poetry competition for reciting James Reeves’ “The Sea” at age 7.
Watson enrolled at Oxford University, completed part of her degree, then graduated from Brown University in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature.
Also in 2014 she was “appointed as a UN Women Goodwill ambassador and helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, which encourages all genders to work towards gender equality.” (Wikipedia)
Her IQ is reportedly 138 – at the 99.4 percentile, which means only 0.6 percent of the population has a higher IQ score.
Covering up, not acknowledging, or discounting our talents and abilities is something many creative and high ability people do – perhaps especially girls and women.
Sally M. Reis, Ph.D. found that “gifted girls do not want to be considered different from their friends and same-age peers. Indeed, a tendency exists for many females, regardless of age, to try to minimize their differences.”
From her article “Internal barriers, personal issues, and decisions faced by gifted and talented females.” See link and more quotes in my article: Gifted, talented and still hiding out.
Hermione: not scared to be clever
In a magazine interview in 2007, Emma Watson commented about her character Hermione in the “Harry Potter” films as a role model for girls.
She said, “There are too many stupid girls in the media. Hermione’s not scared to be clever. I think sometimes really smart girls dumb themselves down a bit, and that’s bad.”
She added, “I’m a bit of a feminist. I’m very competitive and challenging.”
Loves being geeky
Though she resented it at first, Watson has come to appreciate the emphasis on Hermione’s brains rather than her appearance.
“When I was 9 or 10, I would get really upset when they tried to make me look geeky, but now I absolutely love it. I find it’s so much pressure to be beautiful. Hermione doesn’t care what she looks like. She’s a complete tomboy.”
Feeling normal
The article noted, “Though Watson is far from a geek, she is a serious student. … She lives with her mother in Oxford, where she attends an all-girls school.”
“People can’t understand why I don’t want to be a full-time actress,” she says, “but school life keeps me in touch with my friends. It keeps me in touch with reality. It makes me feel normal…
“Learning keeps me motivated.”
[From Emma Watson: ‘There Are Too Many Stupid Girls’, People July 6 2007; photo by Lorenzo Agius for Parade magazine.]
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For more on feminist thought, writers and activists, see the Feministing blog.
One of their posts: Feminist of the day: Emma Watson.
Also see book Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters, by Jessica Valenti.
Related articles of mine :
Where are the teen role models?
High Ability Women in the Arts
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Like many creative people, Emma Watson is a complex person, including being introverted – although that does not mean she isn’t also confident and expressive in social situations.
The biography.com profile notes, “Even from an early age, people commented Watson was quite outspoken, and her natural assertiveness grew with the character [Hermione].”
As an adult and an actor, she is like many others who talk about being ‘shy’ or introverted (which are not the same experience), and is sometimes a public speaker, for example in her capacity as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.
In an interview for a magazine, she commented:
“People say things to me like, ‘It’s really cool that you don’t go out and get drunk all the time and go to clubs,’ and I’m just like, I mean, I appreciate that, but I’m kind of an introverted kind of person just by nature.
“It’s not like a conscious choice that I’m making necessarily. It’s genuinely who I am.”
She refers to the book “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” by Susan Cain, and notes:
“It discusses how extraverts in our society are bigged up so much, and if you’re anything other than an extravert you’re made to think there’s something wrong with you.
“That’s like the story of my life.
“Coming to realize that about myself was very empowering, because I had felt like, ‘Oh my god, there must be something wrong with me, because I don’t want to go out and do what all my friends want to do.'”
From interview with Tavi Gevinson (page 5), Rookie mag. 5/27/13.
[See related quote by John Lennon on feeling “something wrong with me” below.]
In another interview, Watson adds:
“The truth is that I’m genuinely a shy, socially awkward, introverted person. At a big party, I’m like Bambi in the headlights.
“It’s too much stimulation for me, which is why I end up going to the bathroom! I need time outs!
“You’ve seen me at parties, Derek [the interviewer]. I get anxious.
“I’m terrible at small talk and I have a ridiculously short attention span…
“I feel a pressure when I’m meeting new people because I’m aware of their expectations,” Watson adds.
“That makes socializing difficult.
“Which isn’t to say that when I’m in a small group and around my friends, I don’t love to dance and be extroverted. I am just extremely self-conscious in public.”
From interview: Emma Watson in Wonderland: “I’m Genuinely a Shy, Socially Awkward, Introverted Person”, eonline Feb. 6, 2014.
Many creative and high ability people may experience the kinds of feelings Watson talks about – but it is worth pointing out that shyness is probably mild social anxiety, and different than the personality traits of introversion or high sensitivity (sensory processing sensitivity), but all three can overlap for many of us.
One of my articles on the topic: Shyness, Introversion, Sensitivity – What’s the Difference?
Also see article Introverted, Shy or Highly Sensitive in the Arts
Many actors, musicians, authors and other artists identify themselves as being shy, or consider themselves introverted or highly sensitive. Some people may use the term “shy” about themselves or others, but really mean highly sensitive or introverted. See quotes by Kate Mara, Scarlett Johansson, Alanis Morissette, Chris Cooper, Amy Adams and others.
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Helping deal with overwhelm
Anyone can feel overwhelmed from too many demands and challenges, but creative and highly sensitive people may be especially vulnerable to feeling like they need to recover from “too much stimulation” as Watson mentions.
Julie Bjelland, LMFT is a psychotherapist specializing in highly sensitive people.
See video in which she talks about why we can get overwhelmed as a highly sensitive person in my article How To Deal With Overwhelm.
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Many talented people may feel like frauds or impostors
“It’s almost like the better I do, the more my feeling of inadequacy actually increases, because I’m just going, Any moment, someone’s going to find out I’m a total fraud, and that I don’t deserve any of what I’ve achieved.”
– Emma Watson – from my article Do You Ever Feel Like A Fraud?
One of the reasons many of us have challenges in realizing and expressing our exceptional abilities is that we don’t honestly acknowledge them.
In our interview, Kathleen Noble, Ph.D., a Professor of Women’s Studies at the Univ. of Washington, Seattle, made comments that can also apply to us as boys and men:
“Change has to come in terms of both social evolution and individual. Most of the women I work with who are gifted deny that they are, or are totally embarrassed to admit it.
“It seems I am always teaching women about the characteristics of giftedness, and asking them to look at themselves: ‘Even if you don’t want to admit this out loud because you think it’s immodest or because you’re embarrassed, at least in your own heart of hearts admit what you’re dealing with.’ …
Read more in article: Admit your gifts – even if you’re exceptional
Also see article Impostor Feelings Can Dampen Your Creativity
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More related articles of mine :
Highly Sensitive and Living With Social Anxiety – Note: Shyness is not the same as introversion, but we may experience both together.
How to Relieve Stress and Anxiety When You’re Creative and Highly Sensitive
Creative people can feel “There’s something wrong with me.” – John Lennon once said: “There was something wrong with me, I thought, because I seemed to see things other people didn’t see.”
Maybe To Be More Creative, Be An Introvert
Thrive as an Introvert or Highly Sensitive Person
My audio interview with Cat Rose – Douglas Eby on Creative Introverts, Empaths and Multipotentialites
Programs for Introverts and Highly Sensitive People
Challenged By Being So Smart – Many creative, sensitive, highly intelligent people feel like misfits at times.
Biofeedback and Wearable Tech for Stress, Meditation and Fitness – Emma Watson says her interest in meditation is “born of an interest in Buddhism” andshe practices mindfulness using the smartphone app Headspace.
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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