Trust Tom Hanks to reassure the world that, even with Trump in the White House, 'we are going to be all right'.
Earlier this week, Hanks took to the stage at at the New York Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) ninth annual film benefit as this year's honoree and delivered an emotional 10-minute speech – released last night – to address the world's concerns and anger towards president-elect Trump.
Speaking to a crowd that included the likes of Steven Spielberg, Rupert Murdoch, Emma Watson and Steve Martin, the 60-year-old spoke of the beauty of filmmaking, quoted Bruce Springsteen, discussed universal doubts surrounding the future of America and even drew inspiration from the Seventies cartoon show, Schoolhouse Rock to cheer up the crowd following last week's disappointing election result.
We broke down the wise words we learned from the Toy Story veteran:
1. The importance of film
'I can't wax philosophically enough about what film means to myself and to any person who ponders the human condition. We are one week into a different era for the world and for our nation.
2. The reliability of characters
'As a little kid in the movie theatre and as a 60-year-old man now, when I sit down in front of the screen and see it happening before me, I always ponder that question: 'What would I do if I was in the circumstances of that man, that woman, that child, that android?''
3. How to confront uncertainty
'We are going to be all right. America has been in worse places than we are at right now. In my own lifetime, our streets were in chaos, our generations were fighting each other tooth and nail.
'We've had moments with the administrations and politicians and senators and governors in which we have asked ourselves, 'Are they lying to us or do they really believe in this?''
4. The journey to unity never stops
'We are going to be all right because we constantly get to tell the world who we are. We constantly get to define ourselves as Americans. We do have the greatest country in the world. We move at a slow pace.
'We have the greatest country in the world because we are always moving towards a more perfect union. That journey never ceases, it never stops.'
5. How to push on
'Sometimes, to quote a Bruce Springsteen song, it's 'one step forward, two steps back,' but we still aggregately move forward.
'We have to choose to do so, but we will move forward because if we do not move forward, what is to be said of us?'
6. Art v reality
'Movies capture everything about us, in one way or another ... We can turn on our televisions right now and see extraordinary films that somehow, whether or not they were made in the last year or in the 1930s, reflect accurately who we are. We see ourselves up on the screen.'
7. Moving towards the future
'We will take everything that has been handed to us as Americans. And we will turn our nation and we will turn the future and we will turn all the work that we have before us into some brand of a thing of beauty.'
Whether it's playing the adorable Forrest Gump, Woody or Josh Baskin from Big, Hanks has the immeasurable love, wit and ability to comfort the world when life just seems a little too much to deal with.
Hanks for President?
Read Hanks' full speech here.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
