‘Prepare yourself for anything’: Lena Waithe emphasizes individuality in master class

Lena Waithe, “Master of None” writer and actor, joined students and faculty at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts for a master class event Feb. 10. Photo courtesy of Shayan Asgharnia

At the end of the 2006 film “The Pursuit of Happiness,” Will Smith’s character gets hit by a car, but immediately stands up and continues walking. 

It’s a clearly specific moment, but for screenwriter and actor Lena Waithe, it encapsulated the message of resilience that she delivered to the 280 attendees of her Feb. 10 master class hosted by Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. 

“This business is a car aiming for your body,” Waithe said. “You’re probably going to get hit by it. So you practice popping up, continuing on your journey. There’s going to be many cars that are going to hit us in our lives. Are you going to get up and keep going?”

Waithe placed a heavy emphasis on the theme of resilience throughout the night for those pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. As the first Black woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the “Thanksgiving” episode in Netflix’s “Master of None,” that perseverance is nothing new to Waithe. 

“I liked how she didn’t sugarcoat anything,” said Kate Gough, a prospective class of 2025 Dodge College student. “She was like, ‘Yeah, it’s going to come for your neck; it’s going to be hard,’ but she would encourage you with realistic advice.”

While Waithe offered an abundance of advice to students, she also noted that nothing she said would be universally applicable, doubling down on that assertion in a conversation with The Panther. 

“Everybody’s experience is going to be different,” Waithe told The Panther. “Get ready. Prepare yourself for anything, for whatever, because you don’t know what’s ahead. I didn’t. I could’ve never foreseen my career, but I was ready to take on whatever life threw at me.”

Nathania Oh, the moderator of the Feb. 10 event and a lecturer in Dodge College, appreciated Waithe’s emphasis on individualized paths.

“I loved how authentic she was,” Oh said. “I’m always encouraging my students to be themselves, to pull from their own lives and their own experiences. When you pull from those things, then the work that you put out feels genuine and is relatable.”

Waithe spoke plainly about the need for individuality within storytelling, even if the subject matter might be heavy.

“I didn’t come here to entertain; I came here to tell the truth,” Waithe said Feb. 10. “For me, it’s like, ‘Who am I trying to help right now? Who (are) we trying to uplift, who (are) we trying to amplify?’”

During the event, Tiffany Ip, a sophomore screenwriting major, asked Waithe a follow-up question on that idea, asking for her advice on how to tell stories that involve trauma. 

“Ultimately, you have to do what feels right even if somebody’s going to feel like, ‘Oh, that’s traumatizing,’” Waithe responded. “I know that we are at a time in our society where we want to look away from dark things. If you look away from the dark too much, you forget to appreciate the light.” 

Ip found assurance in that response, telling The Panther that it served as an important reminder for her.

“It encouraged me to keep writing those things that are difficult to write,” Ip said. “You’re not going to be able to write something that everybody’s going to enjoy, and a lot of times those are things that aren’t meant to be enjoyed.”

Throughout the evening, Waithe continued to champion the importance of truthful storytelling both from and about marginalized communities. Waithe told The Panther she encourages students who may not see their identities widely reflected in the industry to tell the stories that they want to hear. 

“Sometimes you have to look in the mirror and be your own example, be your own mentor,” Waithe said. “You don’t need to see an example to be one.”