quote:

“The villagers in our fairy tale wanted to make Belle believe that the world is smaller than the way she saw it, with fewer opportunities for her — that her curiosity and passion for knowledge and her desire for more in life were grounds for alienation,” she said. “I loved playing someone who didn’t listen to any of that. I’m so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy, and love the way that this one does.”

The general reaction to Sunday’s speech was positive, as summed up in several Web publication headlines. The HuffPost’s headline claimed the speech “Left Us All Feeling Inspired.” Mashable’s called it “majorly inspiring, duh.” MTV, perhaps self-servingly, called it both “beautiful” and “super inspiring.”

One Twitter user called her “definitely a showstopper.” Another called the speech and the award a“ perfect antidote to all the vile old white men.”