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Marya Bangee personally understands the power of authentic storytelling, and the potential narratives have to build bridges of commonality and connection among people.
As vice president of representation and inclusion strategies at the Walt Disney Studios, some of her team's responsibilities include overseeing hundreds of film productions from company entities such as Twentieth Century Studios, Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and more.
Furthermore, as Muslims mark the end of Ramadan with Eid celebrations, Bangee is also a Muslim American woman who is using her heritage and life experiences, specifically through visual storytelling, to bring new perspectives to storytelling.
"I have loved stories my entire life. The thing that's so powerful about stories is that they use the language of emotion," said Bangee. "A story is not data. A story is not, you know, science, a story is really about a lived human experience."
Bangee believes that when a story is done well, it can create real change and help people connect to one another through a lens of better understanding and a willingness to rethink preconceived notions.
"As a Muslim, I have seen that in so many ways when I'm engaging with people who are scared or suspicious of me, for me to be able to share something about myself, it actually enables for them to see that there is some commonality and similarity," she told ABC. "It's a door in which you can start a conversation that can change the way that somebody understands you."
Her team has worked on productions like "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and Disney's upcoming "The Little Mermaid," which she can't wait for audiences to watch.
Furthermore, Bangee says stories through media enable us to understand those who may be different from us, but at the same time, storylines can also instill fear and division.
"I know firsthand how stories can really harm people. I was a sophomore in high school when 9/11 happened," she said. "One of the things I saw was that overnight, my story was taken away from me. So a lot of people started to project onto me what they understood my identity was, and it was a profoundly alienating."
Over time, the life-changing experience encouraged her to help people find their agency and reclaim their narratives. And so today, Bangee feels incredibly privileged and honored in her profession, which gives her the opportunity to make a difference in the space of inclusion and representation.
Surprisingly, it wasn't until recently when Bangee first saw herself reflected in popula
Check out some awesome tech week pics from our Student Directors @dbhstheater !
Next week we add makeup, wigs/hair, microphones, orchestra, finish costume adjustments, and finalize the set!
We open next Friday!
📸: Michelle & Reyna
Highlights from our Performing Arts Academy's March Recital!
Symphony No. 6 “Le Matin”
Joseph Haydn
Suite No. 1
Charles-Édouard Lefebvre
Quintet No. 1
Franz Danzi
inspired by Bach’s Prelude in C Major
Méditation sur le Premier Prélude de Clavier de J. S. Bach
Lucas O’Brien (c/o 2024)
Etude Op. 10 No. 1 on a Theme of Bach
Don Wong (c/o 2024)
Maya
Ian Clarke
Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano
Johannes Brahms
Concerto of Oboe and Violin
Johann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for Two Violins by Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach