why celebrity activism does more harm than good

facebook. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Their almost complete confidence in their predictions and analyses, combined with the allure of celebrity, emboldens them to leap at the opportunity to promote what they consider to be the solutions for conflicts whose complexities they only superficially grasp. Tens of trillions of dollars are stashed away in them, which could be used to eradicate poverty and promote a green and sustainable economy in the world. Why is this Happening? Now its back to fight for nothing short of abolition. We should begin, above all, by focusing on the creative energy already present among the local actors in a conflict in order to discover context-specific strategies that can help us to transform it. Actor George Clooney has taken great interest in Darfur; Madonna and Oprah Winfrey have embraced the fight for girls education in Africa, while Angelina Jolie knocks at the doors of the major centers of power as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador to promote support for humanitarian relief. I hope it will help us to reflect on our collective role in transforming harmful and outdated movement practices and cultures, which we are all responsible for. De Waal also argues that activism should speak to power, but also stand firmly against it, and should not presume that all change is possible from within. She points to the way the hashtag #MeToo went viral when used in a tweet by Alyssa Milano. Suggested reading for all should be Garry Leechs Capitalism: a structural genocide, it could shake some to our do-gooder core and hopefully change some habits too. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get the latest in people-powered news and analysis. Its a huge piece of irony that a climate change summit was so hugely polluting. What does celebrity activism accomplish? From George Clooneys Enough Project, rapper Akons newly launched Lighting Africa to the viral Kony 2012 campaign, theres no doubt celebrity activism has gone mainstream. Ask yourself why you even care about this conflict in the first place? [] TRANSCEND MEDIA SERVICE Why Celebrity Activism Does Go to this article []. Social media has severely exacerbated blurred these lines of relation, easily dissolving the separation between peoples actions and analysis, and their personalities and style, and in this way, we can easily lose our sense of clarity around what we are valuing in someones work. By operating within a framework of globalism, celebrity activists have placed matters of concern on the international agenda, overriding the self-interest of nation states. Crucially, celebrities may use soft power techniques to facilitate a 'politics of attraction' to reconfigure concepts of global identity, citizenship and solidarity. When we dont see the principled and discipled collective actions many of our leaders engaged in prior to becoming well-known, which significantly contributed to the sharpness of their analysis, the impact of their actions, and the consistency and longevity of their participation in anti-oppressive struggles, we paint a picture that our leader somehow became this way on their own, overnight. I believe the question posed in the video about how do we connect our good intentions and desire to help with things that actually work is spot on. While nothing . Ultimately, however, while social media can raise money and awareness, its only one part of a larger puzzleone that wont be solved by any single campaign. Leo Tolstoy once wrote to the effect: You sit on my back and oppress me, but assure me that you feel sorry for me and will do anything to alleviate my burden except get off my back! On the flip side, this way of engaging in someones work or analysis also places far too much weight and expectation on what any one person or one groups framework can reasonably accomplish. I am excited for us to continue this work. The video had profoundly upset a significant amount of those present that evening, and a riot broke out. This pushes us further into individualist thought. "While it's good all of these celebrities stepped up, they inadvertently pinpointed a major issue in celebrity activism: White celebs get the privilege to take their time to speak about issues that don't affect them. It is not love. Why Celebrity Activism Does More Harm Than Good 3. The level of fame where a celebrity is likely to be considered an activist opens doors to the most influential and well-informed. And, most importantly, why should you become involved? In July, celebrities and the mega-rich gathered in Sicily for a Google event. Celebrity-led campaigns do often prove to be highly successful in generating broad public support. The United States mainstream funding model is inherently misaligned with the vision our movements are fighting for. What Im asking in this piece is for movement leaders, not movement celebrities. I want to see us reject individualist, celebrity culture, and lean into exploring what collectively-led and community-defined liberation might look like for all of us. In an article for the World Peace Foundation, writer Alex de Waal says there are fundamental pillars of activism which should always be followed, most of all, the act of responding to and collaborating with local people, rather than imposing outside agendas. A stark example of this is provided in the new documentary, We Will Win Peace, which tracks the impact of Section 1502 of the USs Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. To do so, email. This guy who comes from Marcy Projects, whos made it to these places were playing Yankee Stadium tonight. Mother Jones recently published an ironic map of the African countries celebrities have claimed through their charity work: Richard Branson, Oprah and Will Smith have South Africa, while Botswana is Kim Kardashians. The world of social media was a little quieter than usual on Wednesday: Celebrities ranging from Kim Kardashian West to Mark Ruffalo froze their Instagram accounts for 24 hours, to protest hate speech and misinformation being spread on Facebook, Instagrams parent company. This can look like expecting our leaders to always be available, always be working, to conflate our leaders with their work, to view them as incomplete without it. This is because they draw on the self-serving guilt trips that lead many people to believe that their privileged position has invested them with the burden and the responsibility to save those less fortunate from their plight. We need leaders who guide, facilitate, initiate, coordinate, listen, commit, clarify, and follow-through. We dont see the communities that came together to move something forward, the organizations that trained people, offering them initial frameworks to understand the context of their work. Conclusion: In your concluding paragraph, restate your thesis or overall opinion of the analyzed articles and the author's conclusion, and offer additional thought on the topic not presented in the articles. Could you please elaborate on that? Activism Cons. Introduced in 2010 and championed by celebrities from Ben Affleck to Nicole Richie, the ruling required companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country. Not only this, but in these idealized perceptions of individuals, we often disconnect from the reality that even in their greatness, our leaders (now celebrities) still hold the potential to cause harm as we all do. The day-long freeze, during which the celebrities ceased to share photos or posts on either platform, was organized by Stop Hate for Profit, a coalition of nine civil rights groups that are asking Facebook to make policy changes to address online harassment and conspiracy theories that spread place on the platform. The mainstream funding model in the U.S is steeped in capitalist notions, assigning those with resources the authority to define (in a social context) who is and is not important expressed by what work, people, and locations receives funding and other resource support. At the turn of the 20th century, the prominent British journalist, author and politician Edmund Dene Morel and Anglo-Irish diplomat Roger Casement successfully challenged King Leopold of Belgiums violent and autocratic rule of the Congo Free State. When the main outcome we are looking for in our leaders a social justice version of the same entertainment, inspiration, and endorphin rush we find by following mainstream celebrities and their lives, we are limiting everyone involved while increasing avenues for potential harm. And I wonder, how revolutionary can our movements truly be if there is no space for those of us who are living in the context of these conditions and identities? It is this mindset that has motivated celebrities like the rock star Bono to take up the causes of debt cancelation, the increase in foreign aid and the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals. Paul Cullen Partnerships. As I continue untangling these oppressive thought patterns in my own mind, I hope to be a part of future conversations where we are not tearing ourselves apart, but instead are challenging ourselves to further untangle our practices from the systems were fighting and weave a stronger cloth on our own. Furthermore, celebrity activism is based on the premise that if we only knew about an issue, we could do something, anything, to make a difference. But heres the issue as the crew leave and people come to pick up the boat (both via air), the voyage will end up generating more emissions than a simple flight would have done anyway. Moving beyond my own individual experience of burn out, after conversations with close friends and comrades who shared similar experiences, it is apparent that the values of celebrity culture (individualism, idolization, dehumanization) are also present in many current and recent social justice movements in the United States, and that this is exacerbating systemic issues of burn out and unaccountable leadership, and is ultimately deferring our efforts towards collective liberation. Taylor Swift understands the influence of her massive fanbase and ensures that she sets a positive example in supporting those at risk or in need, Taylor Swifts lyrical choice of GLAAD instead of glad proves her commitment to interweaving her activism with her artistry, Release date of You Need to Calm Down music video commodifies Pride Month, Taylor Swifts rivalries in her Reputation album and her support of the LGBTQ+ community might be part of the same career strategy, Taylor Swift is a powerful ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, but there are members of the community that are actually icons, Many celebrities engage in activism, but often their work is misinformed and causes more harm than good, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jul/10/celebrity-activism-africa-live-aid, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/i-take-responsibility-and-the-limits-of-celebrity-activism, https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/celebrities-impact-top-2017-activism/, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a32741399/rihanna-shuts-down-brands-blackout-tuesday/, https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/17/18682588/taylor-swift-you-need-to-calm-down-gay-anthem. What is already being tried by local actors on the ground? Your email address will not be published. Credit Waging Nonviolence and link to the original. We demonize people or we put them on pedestals. You find like-minded people. Putting people on pedestals is part of the binary of how we categorize people into good and bad. In doing so, I was simultaneously detaching myself and the leaders I idolized from our respective humanity, which I will speak to more directly later on. Were all aware that when we view someones accomplishments on social media, we dont see the years of trying, failing, struggling, and compiling small scale victories to get to the flashier results social media is made to uplift. We struck up a conversation, and they said that it was a pity that I had not witnessed the event that had taken place not long before my arrival in town a few weeks earlier. Activism may go too far. This is because they draw on the self-serving guilt trips that lead many people to believe that their privileged position has invested them with the burden and the responsibility to save those less fortunate from their plight. When were in this mental place, it can feel easier to align ourselves with someone elses vision and framework that feels similar to our own. Perhaps we should also highlight some good examples of activist celebrities. But, as were constantly told in the climate debate, actions are what matter, and words are meaningless if we see that even the speaker doesnt appear to believe them. It is this mindset that has motivated celebrities like the rock star Bono to take up the causes of debt cancelation, the increase in foreign aid and the promotion of the Millennium Development Goals. Celebrities are capable of shedding light on an issue previously forgotten; in many ways, a sole celebrity could be the catalyst for profound social change. Three factors seem to be: 1) capitalist funding models, 2) uninspiring non-profits, and 3) experiencing personal, physical, emotional, or spiritual overwhelm. Required fields are marked *. Star power - but does the intervention of George Clooney etc.do more harm than good? However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the GO TO ORIGINAL links. The conclusion . If you undermine your argument, why should I buy it?

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