1
00:00:00,844 --> 00:00:02,905
I used to have this recurring dream

2
00:00:02,929 --> 00:00:05,341
where I'd walk into a roomful of people,

3
00:00:06,388 --> 00:00:08,960
and I'd try not to make
eye contact with anyone.

4
00:00:10,220 --> 00:00:11,935
Until someone notices me,

5
00:00:11,959 --> 00:00:13,402
and I just panic.

6
00:00:14,213 --> 00:00:16,017
And the person walks up to me,

7
00:00:16,041 --> 00:00:18,550
and says, "Hi, my name is So-and-so.

8
00:00:18,574 --> 00:00:19,933
And what is your name?"

9
00:00:20,313 --> 00:00:23,498
And I'm just quiet, unable to respond.

10
00:00:25,196 --> 00:00:27,639
After some awkward silence, he goes,

11
00:00:27,663 --> 00:00:29,244
"Have you forgotten your name?"

12
00:00:29,851 --> 00:00:31,300
And I'm still quiet.

13
00:00:32,293 --> 00:00:36,939
And then, slowly, all the other people
in the room begin to turn toward me

14
00:00:36,963 --> 00:00:39,218
and ask, almost in unison,

15
00:00:39,830 --> 00:00:44,592
(Voice-over, several voices)
"Have you forgotten your name?"

16
00:00:44,616 --> 00:00:47,706
As the chant gets louder,
I want to respond, but I don't.

17
00:00:50,350 --> 00:00:51,849
I'm a visual artist.

18
00:00:52,754 --> 00:00:55,335
Some of my work is humorous,

19
00:00:55,359 --> 00:00:58,960
and some is a bit funny but in a sad way.

20
00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:04,867
And one thing that I really enjoy doing

21
00:01:04,891 --> 00:01:07,157
is making these little animations

22
00:01:07,181 --> 00:01:10,955
where I get to do the voice-over
for all kinds of characters.

23
00:01:10,979 --> 00:01:12,237
I've been a bear.

24
00:01:12,261 --> 00:01:14,330
(Video) Bear (Safwat Saleem's voice): Hi.

25
00:01:14,354 --> 00:01:16,105
(Laughter)

26
00:01:16,129 --> 00:01:17,789
Safwat Saleem: I've been a whale.

27
00:01:17,813 --> 00:01:19,502
(Video) Whale (SS's voice): Hi.

28
00:01:19,526 --> 00:01:20,789
(Laughter)

29
00:01:20,813 --> 00:01:22,277
SS: I've been a greeting card.

30
00:01:22,301 --> 00:01:24,354
(Video) Greeting card (SS's voice): Hi.

31
00:01:24,378 --> 00:01:25,457
(Laughter)

32
00:01:25,481 --> 00:01:28,488
SS: And my personal favorite
is Frankenstein's monster.

33
00:01:28,512 --> 00:01:31,209
(Video) Frankenstein's monster
(SS's voice): (Grunts)

34
00:01:31,233 --> 00:01:32,273
(Laughter)

35
00:01:32,297 --> 00:01:34,397
SS: I just had to grunt
a lot for that one.

36
00:01:34,421 --> 00:01:37,104
A few years ago,
I made this educational video

37
00:01:37,128 --> 00:01:40,024
about the history of video games.

38
00:01:40,048 --> 00:01:43,790
And for that one, I got to do
the voice of Space Invader.

39
00:01:43,814 --> 00:01:45,870
(Video) Space Invader (SS's voice): Hi.

40
00:01:45,894 --> 00:01:47,341
SS: A dream come true, really,

41
00:01:47,365 --> 00:01:48,367
(Laughter)

42
00:01:48,391 --> 00:01:50,470
And when that video was posted online,

43
00:01:50,494 --> 00:01:53,184
I just sat there on the computer,
hitting "refresh,"

44
00:01:53,208 --> 00:01:54,684
excited to see the response.

45
00:01:55,208 --> 00:01:56,622
The first comment comes in.

46
00:01:56,646 --> 00:01:57,940
(Video) Comment: Great job.

47
00:01:57,964 --> 00:01:59,114
SS: Yes!

48
00:01:59,709 --> 00:02:00,964
I hit "refresh."

49
00:02:00,988 --> 00:02:04,091
(Video) Comment: Excellent video.
I look forward to the next one.

50
00:02:04,115 --> 00:02:06,611
SS: This was just the first
of a two-part video.

51
00:02:06,635 --> 00:02:08,676
I was going to work
on the second one next.

52
00:02:08,700 --> 00:02:09,866
I hit "refresh."

53
00:02:09,890 --> 00:02:13,726
(Video) Comment: Where is part TWO?
WHEREEEEE? I need it NOWWWWW!: P

54
00:02:13,750 --> 00:02:15,268
(Laughter)

55
00:02:15,292 --> 00:02:18,235
SS: People other than my mom
were saying nice things about me,

56
00:02:18,259 --> 00:02:19,425
on the Internet!

57
00:02:19,449 --> 00:02:21,782
It felt like I had finally arrived.

58
00:02:21,806 --> 00:02:23,108
I hit "refresh."

59
00:02:23,132 --> 00:02:25,831
(Video) Comment: His voice
is annoying. No offense.

60
00:02:25,855 --> 00:02:28,525
SS: OK, no offense taken. Refresh.

61
00:02:28,549 --> 00:02:32,113
(Video) Comment: Could you remake this
without peanut butter in your mouth?

62
00:02:32,137 --> 00:02:36,604
SS: OK, at least the feedback
is somewhat constructive. Hit "refresh."

63
00:02:36,628 --> 00:02:39,174
(Video) Comment: Please don't use
this narrator again

64
00:02:39,198 --> 00:02:40,560
u can barely understand him.

65
00:02:40,584 --> 00:02:41,735
SS: Refresh.

66
00:02:41,759 --> 00:02:44,739
(Video) Comment: Couldn't follow
because of the Indian accent.

67
00:02:44,763 --> 00:02:46,247
SS: OK, OK, OK, two things.

68
00:02:46,271 --> 00:02:48,343
Number one, I don't have an Indian accent,

69
00:02:48,367 --> 00:02:50,294
I have a Pakistani accent, OK?

70
00:02:50,318 --> 00:02:53,458
And number two, I clearly
have a Pakistani accent.

71
00:02:53,482 --> 00:02:55,503
(Laughter)

72
00:02:56,233 --> 00:02:58,258
But comments like that kept coming in,

73
00:02:58,282 --> 00:03:01,027
so I figured I should just ignore them

74
00:03:01,051 --> 00:03:03,640
and start working
on the second part of the video.

75
00:03:04,104 --> 00:03:05,634
I recorded my audio,

76
00:03:05,658 --> 00:03:08,657
but every time I sat down to edit,

77
00:03:08,681 --> 00:03:10,354
I just could not do it.

78
00:03:11,688 --> 00:03:14,676
Every single time, it would take me
back to my childhood,

79
00:03:14,700 --> 00:03:17,521
when I had a much harder time speaking.

80
00:03:17,934 --> 00:03:20,738
I've stuttered for as long
as I can remember.

81
00:03:22,285 --> 00:03:23,562
I was the kid in class

82
00:03:23,586 --> 00:03:26,223
who would never raise his hand
when he had a question --

83
00:03:26,247 --> 00:03:27,421
or knew the answer.

84
00:03:27,445 --> 00:03:28,760
Every time the phone rang,

85
00:03:28,784 --> 00:03:32,419
I would run to the bathroom
so I would not have to answer it.

86
00:03:32,907 --> 00:03:36,116
If it was for me, my parents
would say I'm not around.

87
00:03:36,140 --> 00:03:38,070
I spent a lot of time in the bathroom.

88
00:03:39,721 --> 00:03:42,192
And I hated introducing myself,

89
00:03:42,216 --> 00:03:43,825
especially in groups.

90
00:03:43,849 --> 00:03:47,225
I'd always stutter on my name,
and there was usually someone who'd go,

91
00:03:47,249 --> 00:03:48,776
"Have you forgotten your name?"

92
00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:50,377
And then everybody would laugh.

93
00:03:50,856 --> 00:03:53,006
That joke never got old.

94
00:03:54,727 --> 00:03:57,310
(Laughter)

95
00:03:57,635 --> 00:04:01,442
I spent my childhood
feeling that if I spoke,

96
00:04:01,466 --> 00:04:06,621
it would become obvious
that there was something wrong with me,

97
00:04:06,645 --> 00:04:08,142
that I was not normal.

98
00:04:09,070 --> 00:04:10,729
So I mostly stayed quiet.

99
00:04:12,142 --> 00:04:15,905
And so you see, eventually for me to even
be able to use my voice in my work

100
00:04:15,929 --> 00:04:17,502
was a huge step for me.

101
00:04:17,991 --> 00:04:19,587
Every time I record audio,

102
00:04:19,611 --> 00:04:23,106
I fumble my way through saying
each sentence many, many times,

103
00:04:23,130 --> 00:04:24,764
and then I go back in

104
00:04:24,788 --> 00:04:28,370
and pick the ones
where I think I suck the least.

105
00:04:30,997 --> 00:04:34,076
(Voice-over) SS: Audio editing
is like Photoshop for your voice.

106
00:04:34,100 --> 00:04:37,911
I can slow it down, speed it up,
make it deeper, add an echo.

107
00:04:37,935 --> 00:04:41,682
And if I stutter along the way,
and if I stutter along the way,

108
00:04:41,706 --> 00:04:43,325
I just go back in and fix it.

109
00:04:43,349 --> 00:04:44,744
It's magic.

110
00:04:44,768 --> 00:04:47,673
SS: Using my highly edited
voice in my work

111
00:04:47,697 --> 00:04:51,252
was a way for me
to finally sound normal to myself.

112
00:04:52,302 --> 00:04:54,447
But after the comments on the video,

113
00:04:54,924 --> 00:04:56,929
it no longer made me feel normal.

114
00:04:57,897 --> 00:05:00,270
And so I stopped
using my voice in my work.

115
00:05:01,984 --> 00:05:05,750
Since then, I've thought a lot
about what it means to be normal.

116
00:05:07,218 --> 00:05:09,236
And I've come to understand

117
00:05:09,260 --> 00:05:12,639
that "normal" has a lot to do
with expectations.

118
00:05:13,307 --> 00:05:14,836
Let me give you an example.

119
00:05:14,860 --> 00:05:16,190
I came across this story

120
00:05:16,214 --> 00:05:18,480
about the Ancient Greek writer, Homer.

121
00:05:18,504 --> 00:05:21,753
Now, Homer mentions
very few colors in his writing.

122
00:05:22,650 --> 00:05:24,255
And even when he does,

123
00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,317
he seems to get them quite a bit wrong.

124
00:05:26,936 --> 00:05:30,228
For example, the sea
is described as wine red,

125
00:05:30,252 --> 00:05:33,799
people's faces are sometimes green
and sheep are purple.

126
00:05:34,838 --> 00:05:36,213
But it's not just Homer.

127
00:05:36,237 --> 00:05:38,546
If you look at all
of the ancient literature --

128
00:05:38,570 --> 00:05:40,770
Ancient Chinese, Icelandic, Greek, Indian

129
00:05:40,794 --> 00:05:43,471
and even the original Hebrew Bible --

130
00:05:43,495 --> 00:05:46,071
they all mention very few colors.

131
00:05:46,745 --> 00:05:50,125
And the most popular theory
for why that might be the case

132
00:05:50,149 --> 00:05:52,553
is that cultures begin
to recognize a color

133
00:05:52,577 --> 00:05:55,662
only once they have the ability
to make that color.

134
00:05:55,686 --> 00:05:57,536
So basically, if you can make a color,

135
00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,186
only then can you see it.

136
00:05:59,727 --> 00:06:03,386
A color like red, which was fairly easy
for many cultures to make --

137
00:06:03,410 --> 00:06:06,241
they began to see that color
fairly early on.

138
00:06:06,265 --> 00:06:09,008
But a color like blue,
which was much harder to make --

139
00:06:09,032 --> 00:06:11,785
many cultures didn't begin to learn
how to make that color

140
00:06:11,809 --> 00:06:12,975
until much later.

141
00:06:12,999 --> 00:06:15,515
They didn't begin to see it
until much later as well.

142
00:06:15,539 --> 00:06:19,189
So until then, even though
a color might be all around them,

143
00:06:19,213 --> 00:06:21,658
they simply did not have
the ability to see it.

144
00:06:21,682 --> 00:06:22,840
It was invisIble.

145
00:06:22,864 --> 00:06:25,244
It was not a part of their normal.

146
00:06:26,593 --> 00:06:29,495
And that story has helped
put my own experience into context.

147
00:06:30,376 --> 00:06:32,846
So when I first read
the comments on the video,

148
00:06:32,870 --> 00:06:35,765
my initial reaction was to take it
all very personally.

149
00:06:36,543 --> 00:06:38,441
But the people commenting did not know

150
00:06:38,465 --> 00:06:41,325
how self-conscious I am about my voice.

151
00:06:42,258 --> 00:06:44,905
They were mostly reacting to my accent,

152
00:06:44,929 --> 00:06:48,446
that it is not normal
for a narrator to have an accent.

153
00:06:49,089 --> 00:06:50,592
But what is normal, anyway?

154
00:06:51,473 --> 00:06:54,835
We know that reviewers will find
more spelling errors in your writing

155
00:06:54,859 --> 00:06:56,230
if they think you're black.

156
00:06:57,144 --> 00:07:01,436
We know that professors are less likely
to help female or minority students.

157
00:07:02,349 --> 00:07:04,996
And we know that resumes
with white-sounding names

158
00:07:05,020 --> 00:07:07,913
get more callbacks than resumes
with black-sounding names.

159
00:07:09,043 --> 00:07:10,241
Why is that?

160
00:07:11,011 --> 00:07:13,454
Because of our expectations
of what is normal.

161
00:07:14,135 --> 00:07:15,714
We think it is normal

162
00:07:15,738 --> 00:07:17,843
when a black student has spelling errors.

163
00:07:18,264 --> 00:07:19,979
We think it is normal

164
00:07:20,003 --> 00:07:23,195
when a female or minority student
does not succeed.

165
00:07:23,962 --> 00:07:25,601
And we think it is normal

166
00:07:25,625 --> 00:07:28,711
that a white employee
is a better hire than a black employee.

167
00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:31,993
But studies also show
that discrimination of this kind,

168
00:07:32,017 --> 00:07:34,062
in most cases, is simply favoritism,

169
00:07:34,086 --> 00:07:37,604
and it results more from wanting
to help people that you can relate to

170
00:07:38,493 --> 00:07:41,690
than the desire to harm people
that you can't relate to.

171
00:07:42,944 --> 00:07:46,151
And not relating to people
starts at a very early age.

172
00:07:46,175 --> 00:07:47,555
Let me give you an example.

173
00:07:47,949 --> 00:07:51,498
One library that keeps track of characters

174
00:07:51,522 --> 00:07:54,815
in the children's book
collection every year,

175
00:07:54,839 --> 00:08:00,120
found that in 2014,
only about 11 percent of the books

176
00:08:00,144 --> 00:08:02,344
had a character of color.

177
00:08:02,368 --> 00:08:06,045
And just the year before,
that number was about eight percent,

178
00:08:06,069 --> 00:08:09,877
even though half of American children
today come from a minority background.

179
00:08:09,901 --> 00:08:11,051
Half.

180
00:08:11,353 --> 00:08:12,977
So there are two big issues here.

181
00:08:13,001 --> 00:08:15,658
Number one, children are told
that they can be anything,

182
00:08:15,682 --> 00:08:16,833
they can do anything,

183
00:08:16,857 --> 00:08:19,330
and yet, most stories
that children of color consume

184
00:08:19,354 --> 00:08:21,232
are about people who are not like them.

185
00:08:21,256 --> 00:08:24,015
Number two is that majority groups
don't get to realize

186
00:08:24,039 --> 00:08:27,072
the great extent to which
they are similar to minorities --

187
00:08:27,096 --> 00:08:30,143
our everyday experiences, our hopes,

188
00:08:30,167 --> 00:08:32,039
our dreams, our fears

189
00:08:32,063 --> 00:08:33,836
and our mutual love for hummus.

190
00:08:33,860 --> 00:08:35,169
It's delicious!

191
00:08:35,193 --> 00:08:36,900
(Laughter)

192
00:08:37,911 --> 00:08:40,594
Just like the color blue
for Ancient Greeks,

193
00:08:40,618 --> 00:08:43,939
minorities are not a part
of what we consider normal,

194
00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:50,401
because normal is simply a construction
of what we've been exposed to,

195
00:08:50,425 --> 00:08:52,214
and how visible it is around us.

196
00:08:53,590 --> 00:08:55,722
And this is where things
get a bit difficult.

197
00:08:56,714 --> 00:09:00,994
I can accept the preexisting notion
of normal -- that normal is good,

198
00:09:01,018 --> 00:09:05,033
and anything outside of that very
narrow definition of normal is bad.

199
00:09:05,758 --> 00:09:09,604
Or I can challenge
that preexisting notion of normal

200
00:09:10,462 --> 00:09:11,635
with my work

201
00:09:12,034 --> 00:09:13,310
and with my voice

202
00:09:14,338 --> 00:09:15,761
and with my accent

203
00:09:16,632 --> 00:09:18,148
and by standing here onstage,

204
00:09:18,172 --> 00:09:21,495
even though I'm scared shitless
and would rather be in the bathroom.

205
00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:22,836
(Laughter)

206
00:09:22,860 --> 00:09:25,677
(Applause)

207
00:09:33,301 --> 00:09:36,472
(Video) Sheep (SS's voice):
I'm now slowly starting to use my voice

208
00:09:36,496 --> 00:09:37,650
in my work again.

209
00:09:37,674 --> 00:09:38,825
And it feels good.

210
00:09:38,849 --> 00:09:40,817
It does not mean I won't have a breakdown

211
00:09:40,841 --> 00:09:43,308
the next time a couple dozen
people say that I talk

212
00:09:43,332 --> 00:09:45,640
(Mumbling) like I have peanut
butter in my mouth.

213
00:09:45,664 --> 00:09:46,666
(Laughter)

214
00:09:46,690 --> 00:09:49,370
SS: It just means I now have
a much better understanding

215
00:09:49,394 --> 00:09:51,138
of what's at stake,

216
00:09:51,162 --> 00:09:53,662
and how giving up is not an option.

217
00:09:56,519 --> 00:09:59,405
The Ancient Greeks didn't just wake up
one day and realize

218
00:09:59,429 --> 00:10:00,754
that the sky was blue.

219
00:10:01,197 --> 00:10:04,635
It took centuries, even, for humans
to realize what we had been ignoring

220
00:10:04,659 --> 00:10:05,828
for so long.

221
00:10:06,893 --> 00:10:10,714
And so we must continuously challenge
our notion of normal,

222
00:10:10,738 --> 00:10:15,070
because doing so is going
to allow us as a society

223
00:10:15,094 --> 00:10:17,630
to finally see the sky for what it is.

224
00:10:20,272 --> 00:10:26,036
(Video) Characters: Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

225
00:10:26,060 --> 00:10:27,651
Frankenstein's monster: (Grunts)

226
00:10:27,675 --> 00:10:28,686
(Laughter)

227
00:10:28,710 --> 00:10:29,861
SS: Thank you.

228
00:10:29,885 --> 00:10:33,768
(Applause)