Arguably denoted, celebrities and politics ought to work to achieve socialization towards development issues on the same public platform. Whether humanity approves of the crossover relations or not, celebrity involvement in international affairs and global politics is bound to happen. Deiter and Kumar don't focus on this particular argument in the issue of hollywood endorsements, rather they delineate three components of the long term impact that international organizations might have if both political leaders and celebrities maximize a public platform that is not often attained by us 'regular' people. For Kumar and Dieter, politician and celebrity joint efforts can loose traction and even fall short based on the following oversimplifications of global issues: (1)Moral obligations and well intentioned campaigned are propagated, yet nuance is inevitably lost (2) Celebrities lack mandate and legal competence in global diplomacy (3) Participation of an 'ill-equipped' celebrity figure within a political discourse can raise questions to a global organization's legitimacy.
It's understandable that popular figures do not epistemically relate to experiences that deal with: poverty reduction, foreign aid, institutional and economic inequality. But, I gather that "beyond hollywood" diplomacy can inhibit the long term causes of a regional organization by the same token that an ill fitting celebrity figure can do so without proper guidance and recognition of roles. Here, A critical assessment of hollywood influences on the field of development and IR exists in what actors, musicians, and models do best: role play. Celebrities ought to act as the "door opener" and diplomatic figures can benefit from the "diplomatic profile" of a celebrity figure especially in a fast-paced environment that the world continues to . The average citizen connects to relatable figures that are essentially contributing to a cause that is larger than their own self importance. Dieter and Kuman also note that, in most cases, celebrities are self-appointed and their credibility rests on charisma and the 'power play' value of their backpackers.
Yet, where do celebrity figures such as Alek Wek exists in Dieter and Kumar's conceptualization of good global governance -ones that have legitimacy on both sides: personal exposure to the issues and celebrity standing?
Alek Wek, a Sudanese High fashion model arrived to Europe as a refugee -long before the had any relatable connection to a public platform. At the time she was unable to return to her war torn homeland nor was she able rekindle the relationships that she had once established as a resident of Sudan. Because of her lived experience in both realms she desired to raise awareness for others who have suffered a similar circumstances via UNHCR as a National Goodwill Ambassador. Clearly, her anomalous presence and public platform in to both discourses sheds light on the value of broad political interests, good global governance, and celebrity evolvement.
http://www.playagainstallodds.ca/factualweb/us/2.3/articles/alek_wek.html
http://www.bellanaija.com/2013/06/19/international-model-alek-wek-joins-angelina-jolie-sophie-lauren-as-the-newest-un-refugee-agencys-unhcr-national-goodwill-ambassador/
Does the author regard her to be on the same tier as Bono, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, or Ronald Reagan?
Excellent point Greg!
ReplyDelete