SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT WHERE IT’S NEEDED
Emma Watson’s UN Speech, Angelina Jolie’s efforts with the UNHCR, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Foundation are some of the examples of how celebrities can use their star power to affect change in the world.
There is a tendency in the world of business to view celebrities and the power they evidently wield in a way that renders them somewhat one-dimensional, which is how things usually get when everything is looked through the prism of potential profits. Celebrities make money for themselves, for their labels, for the movie production companies. The more money they make the bigger their potential to earn money through product, brand or service endorsement becomes. But the potential to create profit is not the only dimension of celebrities and their power.
There is a tendency in the world of business to view celebrities and the power they evidently wield in a way that renders them somewhat one-dimensional, which is how things usually get when everything is looked through the prism of potential profits. Celebrities make money for themselves, for their labels, for the movie production companies. The more money they make the bigger their potential to earn money through product, brand or service endorsement becomes. But the potential to create profit is not the only dimension of celebrities and their power.
The limelight that follows celebrities wherever they go, the media attention they get and the interest of people who like them or admire their work can be used for much more than selling products. The ability to make heads turn and make people look can also be used to shine the spotlight on social, economic, political, or environmental issues that would otherwise go overlooked and thus unchanged. Star power can make a real difference, whether by raising awareness, changing people’s minds, or raising funds necessary to change things.
In 2001, when she was filming a Tomb Raider movie in Cambodia, Angelina Jolie was greatly influenced by the things she has seen in the country which had a long history of violent conflict. The influence was so great that Jolie began visiting refugee camps around the world, became involved with humanitarian efforts and was named the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Goodwill Ambassador. Her work with the UNCHR saw her visit conflict areas like Darfur and Kabul in an effort to cast light on trouble spots that lacked media coverage from the Western world. 11 years after being named a Goodwill Ambassador, the actress was promoted to the position of Special Envoy of the High Commissioner, and she never stopped doing field work to this day.
Angelina Jolie is probably the celebrity whose humanitarian efforts have had the most visibility over the years. She is also a person who can say that her humanitarian efforts transformed from support and endorsement of worthy causes to a fully-fledged career as a humanitarian, which involves both casting light on issues that would otherwise be underreported, and getting involved with the politics of making change actually happen.
Emma Watson, the British actress best known for her work in the Harry Potter series, made a speech at the kickoff of the HeForShe campaign in September last year. The video quickly became viral, sparking interest in the campaign and the issues it is concerned with – gender inequality and the position of women in the world. The campaign quickly gained traction and backing from 100,000 men within three days of the video of Watson’s speech being released online. Elizabeth Nyamayaro, the head of the UN-Women initiated campaign, came out with the numbers saying that within a week of its start, the campaign led to over 1.2 billion conversations on social media, and many different actions taken by ordinary people around the world to spread awareness of gender inequality. All of this didn’t happen just because people were interested in listening to what Emma Watson has to say, but it is very unlikely that the effect the campaign has had would be achievable without Watson’s involvement and her heartfelt, mind-changing, speech.
Celebrities also have the option to take matters into their own hands. Leonardo DiCaprio, for example, established the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation back in 1998, with the idea of using it to protect wildlife and become involved in other environmental causes. DiCaprio’s dedication to addressing climate change and wildlife issues has led to him being designated a UN Messenger of Piece for Climate Change, and the Foundation has grown into a formidable grant-making operation, providing resources where they are needed the most. Just recently, the Foundation held its second annual gala, which helped raise over $40 million in donations that will eventually go towards wildlife conservation and environmental protection.
We see that the ways celebrities get involved with different causes vary, from helping raise awareness, to doing fieldwork, and raising money to finance change. We also see that the potential stars have to create actual, tangible change is real and is at least partially facilitated by their star power, which grants them greater visibility and better access to decision-makers, whether they are parts of governments or business leaders.
