Emma Watson: Beyond Books and Spells

“We should allow for the heroic impulse—which is to be greater than oneself, to try to find another version of oneself, to grow” (Stone par. 6). Oliver Stone explains in the article, “Where I Find My Heroes” that a hero is someone with virtue, someone who strives to improve as a person every day, while helping others to do so as well. Heroes can be found in the most humble of people: maybe it’s the teacher who helps a student through rough times by offering support; maybe it’s the firefighter who jumps into a burning house to save a child; maybe it’s the young man who assists an elderly woman down the stairs; maybe it’s the activist who fights for a worthy cause. In these acts of heroism, varying in degree, time, and cause, we can see the traits of courage and compassion. To me, a hero is someone with these traits; he or she always works to improve himself, remains loyal to their values, and changes the world for the better.

Emma Watson exemplifies what a hero should be through her courage and compassion. Born in 1990 in Paris, France, Watson grew up in Oxford, Great Britain. She started her acting career in 2001 with her breakout role of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and spent the next ten years of her life starring in the Harry Potter franchise. When she was young, she sometimes struggled to balance her fame, career, and education. She attended Brown University in 2009 and graduated in 2014, when she was named as the UN Women Goodwill ambassador for the HeForShe campaign promoting gender equality. Since then, she has been an activist, fighting for feminism, bringing an end to world poverty, and promoting women’s rights to education. Emma Watson, without a doubt, represents a hero worthy of everyone’s respect and admiration due to her compassion and courage. Compassion is having empathy and concern for others, actively working to better their lives, while courage is bravery in the face of fear and loyalty to values no matter the consequence. Though Watson is known for being an actress, through her humanitarian deeds and consistent promotion of good, she proves that she embodies the compassion and courage of a true hero.

Watson, 2013Wikimedia CommonsWatson shows compassion through her consideration and concern for others, using her position to benefit those in need. In an interview with Lorraine Candy for Elle Magazine, Watson explains how she has changed her position on fame to support the things she believes in. Though to Watson, fame is not something she has willingly invited, she reflects: “And, in a funny way, doing this is my way of making sense of the fame, of using it. I have found a way to channel it towards something else, which makes it so much more manageable for me. And this is something I really believe in. I could talk about it for hours” (qtd. in Candy 16). Watson begins with “in a funny way,” using that specific phrasing because she knows that most people expect her to use her fame for personal benefit, which she instead uses for humanitarianism. Her diction implies that she redirects, or “channels,” her privilege into something she is truly passionate about, something “manageable for her.” In addition, her last two sentences, both simple and direct, emphasize her authenticity. Heroic compassion means true concern for others, actively striving to make their lives better, even if it means sacrifice. Because Watson cares about the less fortunate, she uses her fame as a platform to help them. Those without compassion would exploit fame to use for materialistic, personal desires; however, Watson uses her privilege for charity and activism. In order to make a change in the movements she backs, she works with organizations she cares about, using her global outreach to positively impact those in need. Specifically, she and the organizations she works with advocate for fair trade, organic clothing, and girls’ education. UN Women’s website explains Watson’s involvement with these non-profits:

At just 24 years of age, Emma has already been involved in the promotion of girls’ education for several years and previously visited Bangladesh and Zambia as part of her humanitarian efforts. She has worked to promote fair trade and organic clothing and served as an ambassador for Camfed International, a movement to educate girls in rural Africa. (“UN Women” par. 2)

Watson’s work is not a publicity stunt: she travels to Bangladesh and Zambia not to advance her career, but for the causes in which she believes. Bangladesh and Zambia are still developing countries, not ones that come to mind when thinking of vacations and easy times; however, Watson travels all the way to these countries to advocate for her movements firsthand. Instead of doing mere “lip service” for these organizations, she serves as an ambassador and diligently promotes worthy causes in countries, at the very scene where it is needed. It is one thing to care about certain beliefs and speak about them, but it is another to go beyond to actively participate for these movements. No one is telling her to be an avid ambassador; however, she goes out of her way on her own accord, even traveling to third-world countries because she genuinely cares. Through her humanitarian efforts, Watson shows her compassion, making her someone worthy of the title “hero.”

Watson’s courage, shown through her steadfastness to her values and strength in the face of fear, clearly exemplifies her heroism. Though she has received a lot of backlash for her activism toward gender equality, she still sticks to her values. In an interview discussing her campaign HeForShe, she revealed that a website had been set up to threaten the release of her naked photographs, and she explained how she felt about the conflict: “It’s funny because people were like ‘Oh, she’s going to be disheartened by this.’ If anything, it made me so much more determined [to continue by efforts for gender equality]” (“He for She Conversation” 0:22:55-0:24:01). Like her previous interview, Watson begins by telling the audience “it’s funny,” a sentence starter unexpected of such a serious situation. She uses these words to create irony; nothing about her breach of privacy is funny. She defies the view of the public eye, and instead uses her situation as leverage, becoming “so much more determined” for the cause of feminism that she works for. This action clearly shows Watson’s courage because she has strength in the face of fear, in which her privacy was directly threatened; most other people in this situation would hold back slightly, but Watson did not, stepping up to the challenge. Instead of having fear, Watson’s courageous quality pushes her past backlash and criticism. Remaining loyal to her values, no matter the circumstance, Watson continues her work to help other people. Because Watson courageously works to promote good around the world no matter the consequences, she shows her heroism. In her speech at the launching of the UN Women’s campaign HeForShe, a movement for gender equality, she mentioned her fear and uncertainty about her qualifications, and she tells the audience how she moved past these concerns: “In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt, I told myself firmly, ‘If not me, who? If not now, when?’” (Watson par. 29). She reveals that she had her own “moments of doubt.” Even for a renowned actress and avid activist, standing up in front of an entire audience of government officials, fellow ambassadors, and UN secretaries was something she had qualms about; however, Watson courageously pushed through her doubts to speak about the campaign she represented with her words, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” These questions acted as a catalyst for Watson to continue her work and ultimately helped her find the bravery she needed. Though she faced her own misgivings about speaking, she stayed loyal to her values, fulfilling both parts of the definition of the important trait. Pushing past threats and hardships of all kinds, Watson continues to be courageous, sticking to her morals and having strength in the face of fear.

Watson, 2013Wikimedia CommonsWatson brings more good into the world through her compassionate, courageous nature, making her a hero. Her activism for the causes she believes in shows her dedication to her values. Watson also shows her empathy through not only her words, but also her actions as she uses her global influence to promote good. I grew up in the world of Harry Potter, so Emma Watson has always been someone I looked up to: her character as the outspoken, intelligent Hermione Granger taught me that boys and girls could be equal in intellect, power, and presence. As time went on, Watson came to inspire me to speak out for what I believe in. Like her, I consider myself a feminist, and I’ve noticed the stigma associated with this label. On multiple occasions, I have been shamed for my values, what “feminism” stands for, and for simply being a girl, and, at times, I have wanted to give up my beliefs; however, Watson is a reminder that being a feminist is okay, speaking out for equality is okay, and sticking up for my own views is okay. She is a reassurance to females all over the world that we are powerful, and I hope that, someday, Watson’s goal—like that of millions around the globe—of an equal world will be accomplished. Oliver Stone tells us to allow the hero in ourselves to grow, and Emma Watson does just that. Through her compassion and courage, she brings out the hero in everyone, improving herself every day, while inspiring others to do the same.

Works Cited

Candy, Lorraine. “An Activist Is Born.” ELLE, 1 Mar. 2018, www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/news/a25135/emma-watson-december-2014-elle-magazine-feminism-issue-cover-interview-in-full/.

“Emma Watson.” Emma Watson (Biography Today), Jan. 2010, p. 1. EBSCOhost,    

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=34934037&site=brc-live. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.

"Emma Watson." Gale Biography in Context, Gale, 2007. Biography In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1650005763/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=bc943a16. Accessed 2 Apr. 2019.

HeForShe. “HeForShe Conversation with Emma Watson on International Women's Day 2015 [Full Q&A] - Official.” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Mar. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNi9Ypc0cg8. Accessed 4 Apr. 2019.

Stone, Oliver. “Where I Find My Heroes.” McCall's Magazine, Nov. 1992.

United Nations. “UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson.” UN Women, 2014, www.unwomen.org/en/partnerships/goodwill-ambassadors/emma-watson.

Watson, Emma. “Gender Equality Is Your Issue Too.” UN Women, 20 Sept. 2014, www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too. Accessed 4 Apr. 2019.