Globalization, Mass Media and Star Power

Celebrities are setting new trends in charitable giving by attracting attention to the otherwise neglected issues such as refugees, genocide and global poverty.

Hollywood film star Matt Damon led a delegation from Debt, Aids, Trade, Africa (DATA) on a study tour through Zambia in May 2006. Photo courtesy of UN Volunteers.

Celebrity goodwill is not a new phenomenon, but the way celebrities are giving to charitable causes has evolved, thanks in part to the global media. A growing number of stars are using their celebrity as a vehicle to negotiate more media coverage for the global issues they care about. Accustomed to setting fashion and lifestyle trends, celebrities are moving beyond the superficial and setting an example by traveling to poor, remote, high-risk areas and providing new incentives for international aid.

Lately, the media spotlight on the high profile charitable acts by big name stars such as actress Angelina Jolie and rock star Bono have focused our attention on the issues they espouse. But well before the advent of 24 hour news, charity work became a mainstay of Hollywood. Comedian Jerry Lewis has been the Muscular Dystrophy Association's celebrity spokesperson for 40 years. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby hammed it up for the cameras at televised charity golf tournaments for four decades and popularized the live overseas shows for United States military personnel that made "USO tour" a household name. Doris Day has given years of her life to the humane treatment of animals, Joan Crawford adopted 6 at-risk children, and the list goes on.

Two Generations, Similar Star Action

The activism of veteran actress Mia Farrow may well be the inspiration for top celebrity Angelina Jolie, who currently serves as one of five Goodwill Ambassadors for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Farrow is a longtime UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She has traveled to Africa many times on behalf of UNICEF, and is also the mother to fourteen children, ten of them adopted from all over the world.

Currently, Farrow is a devoted advocate for preventing the continued genocide in Darfur, a cause championed by many other celebrities and prominent people, including George Clooney and his journalist father with their recent visit to the region. Farrow also recently traveled to Darfur with her son Ronan, a UNICEF Spokesperson for Youth, on behalf of the Genocide Intervention Network to advocate for "the need for civilian protection in the face of ongoing genocide". The past months have demonstrated that the small peacekeeping force deployed by the African Union (AU) is not sufficient in the face of this ongoing tragedy. The AU forces have been trying to halt the bloodshed that has claimed the lives of more than 400,000 civilians and displaced 2.5 million Darfurians, but clearly they need reinforcements and supplies, not to mention greatly increased international diplomatic support. While the celebrity visits and endorsement do draw media cover, it remains to be seen if the attention given by these stars will have the desired outcome of effecting change on the ground for native Darfurians.

At the same time that Farrow was advocating for peace in Darfur, Jolie participated in an extensive interview with CNN journalist Anderson Cooper in New York. Her purpose was clearly stated -- she was there to bring attention to World Refugee Day. Very little was discussed about her personal life, though it is perhaps the details of her private life that most attracted viewers. Even so, Jolie managed to keep the attention of millions of viewers focused for two hours on her causes rather than her personal life.

Angelina Jolie is one of the most watched celebrities helping to draw the world's attention to poor, otherwise forgotten places. Thanks to Jolie and Brad Pitt's choice to have their much anticipated baby in the African country of Namibia, more people now can locate this country on the map. And although promoting tourism is not the primary goal for celebrity efforts to direct media attention to developing countries, in many areas it is a welcome side effect. Namibian officials wish to take full advantage of the spotlight on Namibia and are working hard to make it a tourist destination. Though diamonds and uranium are Namibia's official exports, the country is plagued by high unemployment and a devastating AIDS epidemic. To help develop a tourism-based economy, Namibia has designated English as its official language and built luxury hotels along its shores. An ad posted on a billboard in a town near where Jolie had her baby states: "Local is Global." And Namibia will not only provide state-sanctioned privacy for celebrities -- but for all tourists who request it.

"When does it take us as an international community to just get together and say, OK, that just has to stop?" - Angelina Jolie in her interview with Anderson Cooper.

A Geography Lesson: Find your Favorite Celebrity

Such celebrity trips to previously unfamiliar areas of the world - be it Clooney and Farrow in Darfur, Jolie in Cambodia, Matt Damon in Zambia, or wherever it is that Cameron Diaz is currently exploring with pals on her MTV show Trippin' - they are prompting people to look up developing countries on the map to see where their favorite celebrity is and to learn a little more about why they are there. Bob Riels, writer of "Travels in the Riel World" says it best, "If more students saw geography as a trendy subject, it would be one step on the way to making them more globally aware citizens. Students who enjoy geography may become adults who enjoy travel, for there is no better way to understand the world than to experience it personally."

Twelve of today's most compelling, up-and-coming rock and roll artists banded together in early 2006 to release Rock for Relief, an album to benefit Mercy Corps' emergency relief efforts around the world. Photo courtesy of Foundations and Zoë/Rounder Records.

But celebrity support also happens closer to home. George Clooney joined a number of other stars, from musical, political and sports backgrounds at a April 2006 Washington D.C. rally to draw attention to the crisis in Darfur. The ONE campaign, a fight to end global poverty and America's counterpart to the UK's Make Poverty History Campaign, has a lot of big name support, from Bono to Bill Gates to Penelope Cruz. Jewelry legend Cartier has also joined with celebrities and charities, including Mercy Corps and UNICEF, to support various causes through the purchase of Cartier LOVE bracelets. Stars are also contributing their talents directly to various causes as well, such as Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M. and one of alternative rock's most innovative and respected pioneers, releasing a six-song EP (mini-album) to benefit Mercy Corps' recovery efforts for hurricane survivors along the United States Gulf Coast.

Celebrity Goodwill Draws Some Criticism

There is also some disapproval about some of the ways celebrities have promoted the causes of developing countries. Where there were once mass protests against world bankers and corporate executives at the annual G8 gatherings, in 2005 there were also protests of Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert, meant to draw attention to the need for greater charitable giving and debt-forgiveness by developed countries, and particularly the G8. Senegalese economist Demba Moussa Dembele of the African Forum on Alternatives complained that, despite promises, "Africa got nothing" from this event. "People must not be fooled by the celebrities," said Dembele, according to a report in Z Magazine. The article said NGOs in the UK were furious with what they viewed as G8 propaganda delivered by Live 8 stars, which included Bono of U2, who has since organized and implemented his own plan of activism that includes working directly with political leaders worldwide. According the article, the event was said to have generated as much or more media attention and promises for aid than any Live Aid event of the past, but several non-celebrity organizers admit that much of the "new" aid touted by the rock stars was actually the reiteration of "old pledges or future aid budgets".

"So far the campaign has been too superficial. Numbers have been more important than politics and we have placed too much emphasis on celebrities with strong connections to those in power. Consequently, we have not pursued a campaign of struggle against power." -- Charles Abugre of Christian Aid about Live 8

Other major criticisms included the lack of African performers at the Live 8 concerts, and the failure of the event organizers to address the issues of corruption and governance that are as much a part of the problem in Africa as lack of funds. The event also accepted corporate sponsorship from businesses involved in Africa, further angering some activists. As for the celebrities themselves, some called the Live 8 performances a stunt to boost status and noted the increase in sales and profits that followed the event. "So far," said Charles Abugre of Christian Aid, "the campaign has been too superficial. Numbers have been more important than politics and we have placed too much emphasis on celebrities with strong connections to those in power. Consequently, we have not pursued a campaign of struggle against power."

With such a bright spotlight cast on celebrities and their activities, it is not surprising that they receive criticism as well as praise. Regardless of the actual impact of their efforts -- much of which is achieved is in the realm of public opinion and difficult to measure -- the latest celebrity surge in activism is a positive one. While the outcome to date may not include specific and quantifiable achievements for African debt relief, or refuges, no one can argue with celebrity interest in ending war and poverty in all too often forgotten places.

Contributed by Terri Kelly, a free-lance writer and contributor to Global Envision