The last few years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of celebrities involved with humanitarian organizations. This essay considers the implications of the proliferation of these celebrity humanitarians. It argues that while celebrity advocacy can be a powerful force in bringing issues to the forefront of public awareness, there is a risk that the celebrity's involvement benefits their image more than the actual cause, and reinforces a power structure that further marginalizes those most in need of assistance.
The activities undertaken by celebrities in pursuit of humanitarian causes are referred to as "celebrity advocacy" (Brockington & Henson, 2014). Celebrity advocacy involves not only speaking out and literally advocating for
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Brockington and Henson believe that it "might be possible to win changes in development policy with an elite-oriented approach" (Brockington & Henson, 2014). Indeed, Huliaras and Tzifakis assessed the growing celebrity advocacy in world affairs and concluded that it generally has an overall positive impact. They cite the examples of Princess Diana, who played a crucial role in accelerating the Ottawa Treaty that banned the use of landmines, and Mia Farrow, whose intensive campaign against China contributed to a shift in the way the country worked with Sudan (Huliaras & Tzifakis, …show more content…
Cameron and Haanstra argue that, although the representation of development as sexy avoids portrayals of poor people in the global South as helpless victims, it presents an image of development in which the most important form of power is Western charity (Cameron and Haanstra, 2008). This tends to amplify the simplistic idea that developing countries are homogeneous and in need of benevolent celebrities to save them. According to Nigerian American writer Uzodinma Iweala, celebrity advocacy engenders the image of "a sexy, politically active generation whose preferred means of spreading the word are magazine spreads with celebrities pictured in the foreground, forlorn Africans in the back . . . Africans are props in the West’s fantasy of itself". (Iweala,
When an individual or a group speaks in favor of or recommends an action for a specific cause this is considered advocacy. An example of this would be when Ashton Kutcher, well known actor, spoke to congress to endorse new software on behalf of his company, Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children. Ashton Kutcher is the co-founder of the company Thorn; which focuses specifically on targeting the online portion of human trafficking as it is where the buying and selling of children mostly takes place. Thorn has produced software called Spotlight, which allows law enforcement to shift through data collected daily and prioritize cases that deal in the selling or buying of children. In Ashton Kutcher’s speech, he explains that the use of children in human and sex trafficking has been increasing while the
Marshall P. David (1997). Celebrity Power; Fame in Contemporary Culture. May 16, 2010. Electronically retrieved from
“Posts.” Fame is a dangerous Drug: A Phenomenological Glimpse of Celebrity.” N.p. ,n.d. Web 15. Feb 2014
The star text of a celebrity can help to decipher their image and transitions they may undergo. In order to better understand these transitions, one must know the definition of a star text. A star text is the sum of everything we affiliate with celebrities, which includes their body of work, promotion, publicity, and audience participation (Jackson, 08/09/16). One must note that “celebrity doesn 't happen because someone has extraordinary qualities – it is discursively constructed by the way in which the person is publicised and meanings about them circulate” (O 'Shaughnessy and Stadler 424). Destiny Hope Cyrus, “an American singer and actress, became a sensation in the television series
Ellen Degeneres was born January 28, 1958 in Metairie Louisiana U.S. Ellen’s parents names are Betty Degeneres and Elliott Degeneres. Ellen’s wife's name is Portia de Rossi. They also have no children. Ellen Degeneres is also in charge of her own talk show. Ellen Degeneres is a hero because she donates lots of money to organizations. She is also the funniest person, and very thoughtful.
...phere as the “sphere of private people who join together to form a ‘public’” and through the celebrification of politicians, the public sphere has been widened. We live in a world where anyone in the news, a politician, a footballer, a reality TV star, is a celebrity. Although we do not need to know the behind-the-scenes of each of their lives, it is of interest to the public and stories that are interesting to the public, sell the most newspapers. But because people buy newspapers because of celebrity gossip etc, the public sphere widens as a result. This stark fact was candidly recognised by Rupert Murdoch and as the head of News International, he described his company as being “in the entertainment business” (Shawcross, 1992: 261) and for this reason, the celeberification of politicians will neither cease, nor damage democratical debate within the public sphere.
In the developing world women are the most influential to change. Historically women have been the catalyst for change, they are the most influential because they hold the most respect in their communities. Women are able to invoke the most change because historically they are held at such a high esteem in their communities, this can be seen most obviously in African communities. Women’s desire and determination has enabled them to make the most change in their communities. The woman of Liberia, are the most recognized and praised for their part in the removal of their Dictator Charles Taylor. Their attempt and success of the removal of Charles Taylor is documented in the documentary “Pray The Devil Back to Hell”. Their actions in this movement
One area in which celebrities have become extremely involved is that of political campaigns. Politicians want celebrity endorsements in order to become more visible and more popular with different age groups. One survey shows that forty percent of 18 to 24 year olds were influenced by celebrities’...
Weisberger, B.A. (1989, March ). In the News: Celebrity Journalists. American Heritage Magazine, 40(2), 1-2. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from
We are part of a generation that is obsessed with celebrity culture. Celebrities are distinctive. Media and consumers alike invented them to be a different race of super beings: flawless, divine and above all the real moral world. In a 1995 New York Times article “In contrast, 9 out of 10 of those polled could think of something
The deception of media consumers allows for the abuse of economic infrastructures of society. An obsession with celebrities’ lives passifies ordinary people in accepting the stratification of the elite businesses and the ordinary citizens. Though pseudo-events and celebrity worship may not be exactly complementary, the similarities of both leaves the public to be utterly vulnerable unless they begin to critically think for themselves.
According to Epstein, a celebrity is something or someone who can be talented and full of achievements and yet wish to broadcast ones fame further through the careful cultivation of celebrity, while one can be the total opposite of achievements and be less talented and yet still be made seem otherwise through the mechanics and dynamics of celebrity creation (Epstein2). Celebrity culture today is epidemic; some might agree that it is sweeping up America in a harmful way, while one might argue that it is beneficial to our society. Over the last few decades, celebrity and fame has changed dramatically, from Alexander the Great to Kim Kardashian. Talent and achievements no longer play a huge role when it comes to celebrities. “Much modern celebrity seems the result of careful promotion or great good looks or something besides talent and achievement” (Epstein2) with that being said celebrity-creation has blossomed into an industry of its own.... ...
Have you ever think about the influences of celebrities that affect in people life. Celebrity is a kind of pop-culture that combines between interpersonal communication and media, and it creates desires from the people assumption or expectation. Celebrities are the important tools to attract audiences. The media scholars produce the celebrity content from what people expect from life. Celebrities may drive the directions of living such as habits, tastes, attention and ambition among people (Turnere). Nowadays, celebrities are all around us. They are one of the important people who can influence the media such as movies, drama, music magazines, news or even represent the nation. According to the William’s note celebrities are one part which
With celebrities all over the media, it is expected that some are idolized by their fans, especially the youths. There nothing wrong with people making celebrities their role models. Celebrity role models can be a positive influence by changing people’s lives and way of thinking for the better. On the other hand, when impressionable kids and teens see their celebrity role models do something that is not morally sound, they will come to think that it is acceptable making it more likely for them to do it. This raises the question: should celebrities be role models? For the most part no. Role models are people that are admired by others for their accomplishments and not their status; however, many celebrities
According to Steven Knowlton, author of Moral Reasoning for Journalists, "Celebrities of all sorts-musicians, athletes, entertainers, and others-make their living from the public and the public therefore in a sense employs them, just as it employs governors and presidents..."(54). Most journalists figure that celebrities voluntarily surrender their pr...