Essay about Celebrity Activists in Contemporary Society

According to Webster dictionary, a celebrity is defined as a famous or celebrated person. Celebrities serves as role models, heroes, cultural commentators, charity spokespeople, and political candidates. An exploration of celebrity culture uncovers changing conceptions of legitimacy, authority, and credibility at play in our culture (The Hedgehog Review, 2005) .There is a celebrity culture that has engulfed Canada, and indeed North America for a while now because celebrity culture is alluring, even to those who are embarrassed to admit it. There has been increasing infiltration of celebrity culture into politics. The media might have deliberately and unwittingly contributed in perpetuating this celebrity culture.

Ever since the start of commercial radio in the 20’s and the since the first silver screen entered the market, broadcasting messages by celebrities has been a tool employed to endorse products.”Just about every star was associated with one sponsor’s product he or she plugged.”(1). Over the years celebrity endorsement became an essential part of marketing (more than 25% of television ads feature celebrities)(5), for the endorser it became an easy way of generating an income while for the endorsing company it became a guaranteed way to reach a wide segment of potential clients.

As prominent leaders of the digital sphere, the value of the celebrity voice as a vehicle for political endorsement is rising. It is not the idea of celebrity endorsement that is new but the platforms and the reach that they afford has expanded. Wheeler (2012) has described this shift as the ‘interlinkage between political rhetoric and behaviour’ as ‘part of a historical continuum which offsets the modernist dismay directed to the

“Name recognition can help early on, but eventually a celebrity politician will still have to run on a well-articulated agenda and set of policy beliefs, and this is where most end up falling short,” Barreto said in an interview with The Washington Post. “However, some have been able to crack into the political arena, and once they do, they face the reality that nobody can govern alone. They have to meet, negotiate and make compromises with the other members of

The U.S. Chamber of Congress, will reach out to known personalities to help run campaign ads. This can make or break a campaign. Depending on the celebrity. Think about it, with the way media plays these add all the time we tend to listen to celebrities that we really like. We will listen to what their opinions are, and lobbyist know this, (in this case the special interest groups.)

Celebrities are able to reach out to larger audiences and able to get their attentions, Oxfam America is partnering with wide variety of artists in the music industries and makes them as supporters in their advocacy. These artists are disseminating the mission and messages of Oxfam to their music fans who has habit of watching them and listen to them regularly.

Because of their fame, celebrities have an advantage when it comes to entering the political arena without experience. Perhaps the most successful example of this is Ronald Reagan. Reagan is widely known for his acting abilities but he makes the jump into the political world when he is elected as the Governor of California. This advancement allows for him to later go on to become President of the United States. In addition to Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, of The Terminator, also has been elected as Governor of California despite having no background in politics. Those are just the two instances of successful celebrities-turned-politicians. Indeed, other famous candidates are less than successful in politics. An example of a celebrity

[where] media stars… [can bring] themselves to national attention.” The narcissist contributes to the dramatization of politics either as a voter or as a politician, and thereby creates a distortion between power and

However, although the industry has changed significantly, celebrities are only as powerful as they are popular. Butler points out that the media can still be a “slippery slope” for entertainers. “Look at what happened to Kathy Griffin; she's all but lost her career and has been threatened on a daily basis after her photo shoot with the mannequin head of Trump,” says Butler.

Nowadays there are many causes to fight for. Whether it be humanitarian, for the planet, or for the animals, each cause requires a champion. A cause needs advocates and educators, but usually the champions for these causes are people who have devoted their whole lives to righting these wrongs. Recently, however, celebrities have joined the cause, and it raises many questions. While they do bring publicity to the issues, celebrities should not be humanitarians Celebrities shouldn't be humanitarians because they cloud the issues with their star power.

Celebrities are everywhere in the news, the latest gossip appears in the weekly magazines without fail. Whether they be an actor, athlete, dancer, designer, model, singer or just rich; there is someone out there who is watching that person like a hawk, not letting a single breath go unnoticed. Such is the life of the rich and famous, under the incessant gaze of journalists and the paparazzi. Lives that many people take a great interest in and admire to the point where others would liken this great interest and admiration to a cult-like worship of celebrities. This is a brief description of what I think to be celebrity culture.

Today there are two major parties, the Democrats, and the republics and each of them has a large backing from Hollywood actors. Chris Rock is believed to be a Democrat, as is Orpah, Katy Perry is known to be a liberal, and supports gay rights. As for Kanye West and Dwayne Johnson, it is unknown what exactly their parties are. Dwayne Johnson is affiliated with both major parts providing a strong backing for him. While Kanye West has simply too diverse to be known for

Celebrities are famous for having issues with the IRS in regards to taxes. Their stories get published all over the news and articles are written about the situation. Abby Lee Miller is an examples of a celebrity that has a case with the IRS and is being reported in the news and articles written.

Many have thought the entertainment world should be separate from the world of politics. Some celebrities go on to be involved in politics, such as Ronald Reagan and Sonny Bono, but rarely does an entertainer command a large sphere of influence in the world of entertainment and politics simultaneously. While entertainers can move the masses, their voice is usually discarded among politicians. In addition to this, many have highlighted the negative influence of the entertainment industry, and particularly rock music, on American culture. Often, it is seen as a corrupting force that leads people astray. For many people, rock and roll seems to highlight all that is wrong with American popular culture. These critics fail to take note of

Another proof of the pedestal the American public has put entertainers on is the celebrity status these people achieve. Adolescents practically idolize movie stars, singers, and professional athletes and dream about “being like them” when they grow up. In comparison, individual police officers or fire fighters are rarely household names. They are not usually recognized for their actions outside of the people directly affected by their efforts. Even innovative surgeons (with the current exception of Ben Carson) are generally not very well known outside of the medical