Sunday, April 23, 2006
Power of celebrity...can it really be used for good?
Recently a once brilliant popstar was charged with paedophilia. When it hit the headlines, I told my disbelieving wife that he would never be found guilty in California, because of his fame. Sure enough..
Never underestimate the power of celebrity.
At the memorial service held in New York days after S11, the religious leaders of America were invited to held officiate the proceedings. The Catholic Cardinals, Anglican Archbishops, Jewish Rabbis, Islamic muftis, and other representatives from other faiths. Sharing their ministerial duties equally alongside them was Oprah. Oprah - spiritual leader. (And don't get me started on the numbers of people swallowing Scientology due to TomKat). John Lennon was caned for his statement that the Beatles were 'bigger than Jesus'. His intent was not to question the authenticity of the Gospel - rather, he was cynically relfecting that 4 teenagers from urban Liverpool via several songs and a dozen TV appearances were more popular than a man who defeated death and changed history.
We now live in an age where a former Spice Girl and a Tomb (and marriage) Raider have become UN Goodwill Ambassadors. A friend of mine went recently to a post-war recovering Cambodia to marvel in an Asian society untouched by Western culture, only to find at every street corner Pepsi posters and vending machines baring Britney Spears in her pre-motherhood glory.
Many blame the Americans and their election of a B grade actor as their President. And 20 years later - indeed, would Dubya be elected dogcatcher if his last name was 'Smith'. Is Naomi Klein (of No Logo fame) correct in identifying the awesome power of 'branding' in our world today? Is 'celebrity' simply another evolutionary phase of pop culture? Has this chapter become so much a part of our story that we should simply embrace it?
Is the media to blame? Its ever-transforming technology that can encounter EVERY human on the planet with any of their five senses activated has changed our world. Yes, we can see missiles approaching their unsuspecting targets, the sickeningly addictive serial-reality TV shows, and exploitative entertainment. But we can also see events live such as the Berlin Wall coming down, the phenomenonly brave lone protester standing alone in front of tank in Tianamen Square, and watch several musicians globalise an anti-poverty movement that captured the world's ability to hope and subsequently led to billions of dollars of debt of poor nations being forgiven.
200 years ago democracy and the inalienable Rights of Man replaced the Divine Right of kings. Now we have a society where those who gain power through their fame are worshipped in all their tabloid divinity. Divisions of power once consisting of soldiers, now consist of websites, TV, movie studios and iTunes. The Digicamera is the new sword, fulfilling completely the cliche that one shot is worth a thousand words. Millions of magazines are sold weekly, thousands of TV channels are flicked through hourly, and millions of websites surfed by the minute. Ratings are our polls, newsagents and Google the new ballot box.
Can the power of celebrity be used for altruistic good?
Most celebrities are selfish, camera-hugging, stylist-absorbed clones whose insecurity is ruthlessly tapped into by producers and purchasers. Yet, there are those who 'get it', and try to envision another use for their success. In a recent interview (see ABC's Enough Rope with Andrew Denton), a decade after lampooning his fame as Mephisto in the world tour Zooropa, U2's Bono talks quite candidly about his sense of calling as a celebrity in yes, you guessed it, using this power for good and not evil. He is quite passionate in identifying his vocation as the representative of all those who subscribe to his values as expressed in the brand that is U2. Pope John Paul II understood this principle with his quote, 'I speak in the name of those who have no voice.'
What do you think?
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