Does celebrity activism do more harm than good? Worse yet, we may even start to feel as though proving our commitment to a social issue, or to our communitys wellness requires us to suffer for our work, that celebrating or experiencing joy or fun is somehow a betrayal to our community, an idea articulated by Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk in their book, Trauma Stewardship. . However, critics argue that some celebrities are doing more harm than good and question where their true motivations lie. 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. . The ideas Im sharing here are grounded in stories, practices, and frameworks rooted in the transformative justice and disability justice frameworks, and from what Ive learned following the work of the Bay Area Transformative Justice Collective, Transform Harm, Project NIA, API CHAYA, Emergent Strategy Ideation, Detroit Safety Team, Detroit Represent!, and so many others. 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. This is because many lacks of awareness to be able to resolve them. With the embrace of complexity we are able to discover that the way we seek to approach and work within a conflict must be incredibly flexible and diverse. Rancho Cucamonga High. We have to acknowledge celebrity culture and how it stretches well beyond formal celebrities and into our movements, organizations, groups, relationships just as punishment does. If only enough people knew and cared about a certain conflict or problem, the assumption goes, then the combined energy and support could be harnessed in order to trigger an immediate flood of solutions. If only enough people knew and cared about a certain conflict or problem, the assumption goes, then the combined energy and support could be harnessed in order to trigger an immediate flood of solutions. Being told that you have an urgent responsibility to act in order to help solve a conflict that you hardly even knew existed in the first place is the first step down a slippery slope of continuous despair, wasted goodwill and neo-colonialism. Putting people on pedestals is part of the binary of how we categorize people into good and bad. Certainly Harry Belafonte stands out as clear example of a well-known personality whose activism work has significantly advanced the fight for civil-rights in the United States. And while celebrities undoubtedly help bring serious issues to a larger audience often encouraging pledges from governments, policymakers and businesses the problem lies in that they are much less effective at transforming all this into appropriate, tangible policies. The gesture is nice, but Thunbergs choice hurts the environment more. Celebrities don't intentionally go into humanitarian work and political activism with the intent of causing more harm than good, although recent studies reveal that the involvement of a celebrity with a cause tends to de-politicise activism. There are a lot of reasons why celebrity culture and individualism are so present in our movements. It may be convenient for a while, giving us a fabricated sense of security, but I fear as we continue to collectively refuse to hold these uncomfortable truths, and include them in the image we build of our leaders ultimately, we are opening gaps for potential harm to go unacknowledged, and are creating opportunities for our communities to disempower, silence, and neglect those speaking out against harm caused by our leaders. My new friends began to describe how there had been a massive gathering in the stadium for the screening of a video put together by a foreign NGO. To trot out an old clich, they talk the talk (boy, do they talk), but they refuse to walk the walk. From conversation with friends, and what Ive experienced and witnessed, what we cut out often includes investing in personal relationships, acting in solidarity with movements that our work does not center, and contributing to community care in spaces we inhabit. Activism Pros. Im sharing this from my personal perspective, but this train of thought is something I see in many social and progressive movements today. Its hard to take those dire warnings seriously when theyre immediately undercut by the actions of the speaker. To do so, email. Okay, wait, let me calm myself, andhahahahaha! 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. Image: Office of the Governor General / Wikimedia Commons. It is not meant to focus on mainstream celebrities. Activists do more harm than good to their cause. Activism may be misused by radical forces. September 17, 2020 4:44 PM EDT. When we mainly value our work by how visible it is to another person, or how others view our work in relation to someone elses, it becomes easy to lose touch with ourselves, making it difficult for us to identify and trust our own experiences, and capabilities. However, far from being deterred, celebrity activists find solace in the assurances of so-called experts, specialists and analysts who fill the ranks of leading international organizations, Washington think tanks and Ivy League universities. It is not uncommon for a celebrity to use their status to start. Activism may go too far. Which leaders we do and do not select into celebrity status is connected also to visibility and absolutely intertwined with oppressive structures. Before and while I was burning out, whether or not I was willing to admit it, I frequently perceived the accomplishments of certain individual leaders as purely individual efforts and achievement. Study Resources. 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. This pushed many individuals either towards the illicit mining industry or a rebel group, paradoxically exacerbating the very violence it set out to reduce. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. 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. Bellafonte is one, for sure. Locking broken people up for decades often makes them worse. Credit Waging Nonviolence and link to the original. Whose interests are they serving? When we see stories such as these, your response can only be disbelief sure, they claim that climate change is a major issue thatll affect our future, but they arent quite concerned enough to curb their own lifestyles. Activism Cons. I realized that, of course, they were talking about the launch of the first Kony 2012 video campaign by the U.S.-based organization Invisible Children. While Milanos tweet brought the phrase to the mainstream, the movement gained momentum because the phrases creator Tarana Burke had long been doing the work of empowering sexual abuse and harassment survivors. How, according to Jimenez, According to Andres Jimenez, what fuels "celebrity-fueled, do-good awareness campaigns"? They are currently part of a collective living project, Brick & Mortar Collective, as well as a creative disability justice collective, Relentless Bodies. This pushes us further into individualist thought. To first lay some groundwork, mainstream celebrity culture is rooted in violent and oppressive systems, and perpetuates falsehoods that argue human connection and value is most efficiently achieved and effectively experienced through commodified goods, individual success, and popularity. Hacking the Syllabus; critical solidarities, How We Get Free Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective, Mariame Kaba: Everything Worthwhile is Done with Other People, Leaders Need to Build Peer Accountability. Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com. Hi Ho! And Im sure we could come up with others that are more recent. We are mapping the world's opinions to help improve civil discourse. How Can the Peace Movement Be More Effective? In particular, I would like to acknowledge and express my appreciations for Sariah Metcalfe, Ian Matchett, Teiana McGahey and Owolabi Aboyade for your support, input, and collaboration, and for being continuous thought partners with me in a struggle towards liberation. But in that case, it was . It pushes non-profits to compromise on their goals and ability to remain genuinely accountable to the communities they are working with, and present themselves as independent, innovative, and visionary while also presenting as measurable and palatable. And while I support leadership that is accountable and structured according to collective need, I question if and how successfully our current leadership culture fosters this, when we are more readily willing to follow someone based on their charisma, rather than their relationship to the movement and critical analysis. It also isolates leaders from their communities and makes it difficult for us (their communities, neighbors, friends, and families) to see when they are struggling and offer care. But this kind of celebrity advocacy isnt new, either. The video had profoundly upset a significant amount of those present that evening, and a riot broke out. Often unknowingly, I was contributing to this larger dynamic propped up by this celebrity culture mentality. This can also look like believing a celebrity activists analysis and beliefs to be irrefutable as well as universally applicable and relevant. They also model tenderness, fierceness, and tenacity to achieve healing for their communities and realize solutions that will bring us to a liberatory future. The tragedy behind these sorts of campaigns is that they are motivated by the belief that problems around the world remain unresolved due to the lack of international awareness of their existence or global commitment to resolve them. Waging Nonviolence content falls under a, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/magazine/12wwln-idealab-t.html?_r=4&, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii_k_AUqo8I&feature=share&list=TLE94OXxqmE7E, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxASM44gPlU. I want to see us hold ourselves and our leader in the full potential of each others humanity, something I do not see us doing when we place individuals on pedestals, refusing to hold space for potential mistakes, let-downs, and harm we all of the potential to cause. The FBI Paid a Violent Felon to Infiltrate Denvers Racial Justice Movement. Yeah, theres a sense in which your damned if you do and damned if you dont. 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. With the embrace of complexity we are able to discover that the way we seek to approach and work within a conflict must be incredibly flexible and diverse. Well known personalities can even play a powerful role in shaming and holding to account politicians and government leaders regarding their actions and policies. What Im asking in this piece is for movement leaders, not movement celebrities. It was presented by the Enough Project as an essential precursor to preventing conflict and sexual violence in the DRC. Perhaps we should also highlight some good examples of activist celebrities. The crowd ended up having to be dispersed by police and tear gas. In the same moment, we also expand the potential for our leaders to experience harm and isolation themselves. 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. 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. Anthropological critics have argued that specific kinds of activism can do more harm than good by imagining people in the "wrong" kind of subject position. you know how many people are inspired by my story?. Why Celebrity Activism Does More Harm Than Good 3. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital As we work to be free of a culture of punishment/revenge, we also have to confront the other side. The 6 Most Interesting Things Apple Just Announced, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. 2018 Waging Nonviolence. 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. TV personality Kim Kardashian and model Naomi Campbell take a selfie in 2016. As Ive delved into these issues, I found a great resource in the book Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement edited by Ejeris Dixon and Leah Lakshmi-Piepzna-Samarasinha which shares occurrences of this harm as well as instances of transformative community response. Just like Obamas is. . Disengaging from our leaders humanity also means disengaging from their ability to change, evolve, and transform. Taylor Swifts platform, reach, and support - although influential - do not exalt her to the status of a gay icon, especially since there are non-celebrities doing the same work, and far more sustainably. I see continually see a massive gap between what is internationally applauded and promoted, and what the local communities actually want, need, or even find relevant. If you undermine your argument, why should I buy it? You might find new friends among activists. Star power - but does the intervention of George Clooney etc.do more harm than good? Well said. Andrs has worked for NGOs in Costa Rica and Uganda in justice and conflicts. . When you post an image with a tag on, say . As Mingus states in her quote found above, this pushes us back into binary thinking. Crucially, celebrities may use soft power techniques to facilitate a 'politics of attraction' to reconfigure concepts of global identity, citizenship and solidarity. This is not to be confused or conflated with activist celebrities, or mainstream celebrities (pop stars, actors, etc.) not all celebrities act or are the same. If you do decide to take that leap, then start by listening rather than preaching, facilitating rather than commanding, cooperating rather than defeating, creating organically rather than planning mechanically, and seeking to unsettle the status quo rather than trying to control it in its entirety. 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. One of those activists, Chonthicha Jangrew, is a candidate for the Move Forward Party. And, most importantly, why should you become involved? Why is this Happening? You can love, admire, adore, learn from, or follow the leadership of someone without putting them on a pedestal. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. Causes are to celebrities what corporate social responsibility is to business Between the 1930s and 1950s, suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst fought for a fascist-free, and later independent, Ethiopia,. Yet if the cycle of simplified celebrity messages leading to ineffective even harmful African policy is to be broken, genuine engagement with, and commitment to, the people they advocate on behalf of is critical. Right on, Leo! Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Allowing space for the potential of certain leaders to cause harm left me feeling vulnerable, conflicted, and defensive. It is an offering to strengthen where we are unsteady, and build on where we are succeeding within many of our social justice movements and spaces. Thank you to the Michigan Student Power Network for giving me a space to unfold and explore these thoughts. As I sat in the stands of Pece Stadium in the northern Uganda town of Gulu on a sunny Sunday morning, a couple of young men made their way close to where I was sitting. I am currently getting involved in the LGBTQ movement here in Chile and I will most definitely be asking myself some of the questions you posed. I felt that I had made the right decision when Kony 2012 was released and, for the first time, I clearly saw what other people had been saying about IC for years. A politically skewed or blatantly inaccurate post may urge viewers to formulate misinformed opinions. How Misguided Celebrity Activism Does More Harm Than Good. The critiques paralleled similar concerns about two other major social-media activism campaigns in recent months: #BlackoutTuesday, for which Instagram users posted black squares to show support for Black Lives Matter, and #ChallengeAccepted, a campaign that involved users posting black-and-white selfies in a declaration of womens empowerment. We need to distance ourselves from the powerful desire to follow simple solutions drafted by experts in conference rooms half a world away. (A Facebook spokesperson told the New York Times on Tuesday that it had no comment about the situation.). 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. Now he is interested in responsible travel and community tourism. If you undermine your argument, why should I buy it? 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. Our fascination with pre-packaged solutions and our short attention spans are incompatible with appreciation for true complexity, humility and unpredictability. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Celebrities actors, musicians tend to react emotionally and inexpertly to complex political and economic problems, drawing attention to . Unfortunately, many of the policies and remedies promoted by this ever-growing influx of celebrity activists have been heavily criticized for being paternalistic, detached from reality and often dangerously counterproductive. Or create a free account to access more articles, Can Celebrity Activism Campaigns on Social Media Actually Make a Difference? It provides them with access to new outlets political talk shows or international forums and helps polish their personal brands. Excellent article, Andres. For political issues which are binary in nature, all you have to do is be right more than 50% of the time in order to have an expectation of improving the world. What better way to liberate ourselves from this burden than by taking up a global cause in a far-away land, and who better to show us the way to do it than our favorite celebrities? Applying these same practices of adoration in celebrity culture to movement leaders, especially when this is how we determine who we place on top to receive the most resources and the attention, recreates the same value systems our movements resist. 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