Elliot Page has opened up about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in TV and film and even credited it with saving lives.
We still live in a world where representation - and more importantly, good representation - of marginalized groups is hard to come by. Despite this, Elliot recalls watching certain movies and TV shows that helped him come to terms with his own identity.
During the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival on Sunday, August 22, Elliot said while accepting the Annual Achievement Award, per BuzzFeed: "I, for one, know that without the various representation that I was able to stumble upon as a kid and a teenager - there was very little - I just don't know if I would have made it."
The Umbrella Academy actor briefly touched on some of the lowest points he encountered as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, explaining that the little representation he did have as a youngster helped him greatly.
He continued: "I don't know if I would have made it through the moments of isolation and loneliness and shame and self-hatred that was so extreme and powerful and all-encompassing that you could hardly see out of it."
As an example, Elliot cited the 1999 movie But I'm A Cheerleader starring Natasha Lyonne.
The movie centers on a teenage girl who is sent to conversion therapy by her parents who suspect she may be gay. Of course, conversion therapy does nothing to change her sexual orientation and she ends up falling in love with a girl.
Elliot said: "And then, you know, at 15, when you are flipping through the channels and you stumble on But I'm A Cheerleader and the dialogue in that film, and scenes in that film just transform your life.
"I almost think we don't talk enough about how important representation is and enough about how many lives it saves and how many futures it allows for."
Elliot also thanked Outfest for helping tell LGBTQ+ stories.
He said: "It's [Outfest] and organizations like yourself that are completely changing that. And helping get stories out in the world that I know are reaching people in moments where they feel desperately alone and afraid and like they have no sense of community."
The Inception star added: "It offers somebody a lifeline. And I know that representation has done that for me."
