I'm often impatient with celebrity cause celebres – the endless parade of issues latched onto by famous names, sometimes with little knowledge of or passion for those issues' intricacies.
I believe in a celebrity's right to voice an opinion, of course, but that opinion should have no more weight than yours or mine because of their fame. But in our celebrity-obsessed culture, they are given more weight through more exposure and a perception of more authority. There's no chance of a fair debate on the cattle industry when the influential Oprah Winfrey uses her talk show to give her unrefuted opinion (though like her high-priced lawyers, except without the high price, I'd fight for her right to have her say).
When Dr. Jeffrey Sachs talks about poverty in Africa, we don't even get to the point of saying “Who? Said what?” because the average person will never come across his opinions. But when he teams up with Angelina Jolie for the documentary The Diary of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, it not only gets aired on MTV, it ends up as a feature on Entertainment Tonight. So while I can wish that we didn't need to hear it from her, I have to admire her for her efforts.
With no ties to the area, I was no more or less affected by Hurricane Katrina than the Asian tsunami or earthquakes in India. It's another horrible reminder of our powerlessness in the face of nature.
But with last night's Shelter from the Storm telethon, the collective voice of the stars who aligned to raise money and awareness for hurricane relief spoke to CNN-fatigued viewers like me, telling us we do have power.
Fame is a powerful force. It washed away my cynicism (for now) and leveraged an hour of primetime television on several major networks into A-list entertainment, creating a palatable platform to tell stories about the real stars in this story – the evacuees, the rescue and relief workers, and the everyday heroes whose stories we cling to for meaning out of tragedy.
(For more on the importance of entertainment in times of turmoil, read In Defence of the Trivial from my blog, Unified Theory of Nothing Much.)
Article comments
1 - Jeanette Carter
"I believe in a celebrity's right to voice an opinion, of course, but that opinion should have no more weight than yours or mine because of their fame. But in our celebrity-obsessed culture, they are given more weight through more exposure and a perception of more authority."....I'am getting very tried of hearing and reading this crap.
The news media has lost a lot of respect with me for the shoddy work it does. Before you show your ignorance please do your homework.
There are plenty of celebrities who are expert in the areas they speak about and are respected for their knowledge. Now, concerning Angelina Jolie, she is held in high regards and is treated as a colleague by the UN staff.
Her opinions is given more weight than yours or mine due to her leadership, hard work and putting her fame, money and time to these causes.
So, shut up and stop whining with envy,resentment and jealousy and tell me what you have done to support Jeffrey Sach. As it seem he support Angelina Jolie help.
2 - deekay
That's actually why I singled Angelina Jolie out as a celebrity spokesperson I admire - the cause is admirable, as is her passion for and dedication to it. My point is that while I might wish that we could pay as much attention simply because it's a worthy cause, it's a naive wish. Celebrities like Jolie and those who lined up for hurricane relief are using the power of fame to draw attention to important issues we might otherwise turn a blind eye to, and they deserve our thanks for that. But their power doesn't excuse us from delving into the issues ourselves, rather than believing something because someone famous tells us to.
3 - Ana Silva
I agree with the person's comment above. To the author of this blog, did you even know who Angelina is? She had been working as a UN ambassador for 3-4 years and I applaud Angie for her hard work and good heart. She knew that her celebrity status will bring attention to other celebrities to raise awareneess to the world. Before you criticize or complain about her works and her celebrity status, get a copy of her book, "Notes from my travel" and you'll understand why people like Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Jeannette or me appreciate Angelina Jolie.
4 - Betty
You all are falling all over yourselves in admiration for Jolie. Think about this. Thousands of american children langish in foster care just begging to be adopted but Jolie choses children from other countries. There are millions of Americans living in poverty and on the streets yet Jolie choses to help African's rather than Americans. And where is she during the Katrina crisis bringing her celebrity face? Once again airing her special on MTV about Africa. Hey, Angilina, no compasion for Americans? This is a woman to be admired? I think NOT!
5 - Jewels
Plus Angelina Jolie is gorgeous! Betty, you have to stop and think a minute; just because she is a celebrity does not mean she has to be on the scene for anything! There are plenty of air-headed celebs who do nothing at all for anyone but themselves. Her interests have been with the children of Asia and Africa for a long while. How can you expect her to jump into the New Orleans disaster? Her plate is full. Is yours?
6 - RJ
AJ is just eye-candy for photo-journalists. As such, she brings attention to things that would otherwise be ignored.
So, for that, she should be given credit.
But, let's not go overboard. AJ is as much an expert on "global poverty" as anyone else who spent a few hours googling the issue.
She's just eye-candy, folks. Eye-candy who is using her hot bod to bring attention to overlooked issues. For that, she deserves our praise.
But she's still a bubble-headed bimbo...
7 - Cerulean
I think that Angelina Jolie gives away a third of her income to address third world poverty. I just wish she'd stay away from other people's men, but you can't help but admire that.
8 - JOSEPH LENGMANG
IF ALL AMERICAN CELEBRITIES,POLITICIANS AND THE COMFORTABLE CITIZENS OF THE FREE WORLD WOULD DO WHAT ANGELINA JOLIE IS DOING IN HER UNFLINCHING COMMITTMENT TO THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY THEN I THINK THE WORLD WILL REALLY BE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.ANGELINA JOLIE SHOULD NOT ONLY BE ENCOURAGED BUT COMMENDED AS WELL.
9 - sarah
Everyone has different views and opinions and all opinions should be respected nevertheless. Everyone should be able to voice their opinion in society despite their social status. Despite this, wealth and fame always interferes and those who have got it will be portrayed as the better ones in society. Oh well, that's how life works. There is nothing we can do about it.