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Celebrity activism essay
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- Edge Hill University (EHU)
Celebrity activism essay
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Student number: 21505969 Assessment 2: Researching media and cultureDissertation proposal title: ‘Does celebrity activism have the power to influence and raise public
awareness of global crisis’ in developed countries around the world?’
Introduction
The rise of celebrity activism has become increasingly prevalent over the last two decades as
celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn, Princess Diana and Angelina Jolie are all examples of celebrity
activists that have shed light on war, violence and poverty around the world (Jeffreys and Allatson,
2015: p16). Subsequently, the overall reason for undertaking this research is because it will be
interesting to investigate how much influence celebrity status has over society and whether celebrity
philanthropists have the autonomy to promote public awareness of global crisis’ in war torn countries
(Clarke, 2009). Therefore, a various range of literary scholars associated with celebrity activism that
have argued how celebrities exercise a certain amount of institutional power through activism and
diplomacy in the media because they entice universal attention even though celebrities usually obtain
limited or absent institutional power (Tsaliki, Frangonikolopoulos and Huliaras, 2011: p9). Although,
this is a widely-discussed topic there is still much more unpackaging and analysis of the topic that
needs to be undertaken because celebrity activists have only appeared in recent years which suggests
that the public’s perception of celebrity activism is in development (Tsaliki et al, 2011).
Another reason why this topic is worth examining is because it will be insightful to see the role that
celebrity activists play when raising awareness about global issues (Clarke, 2009). Conversely, further
research has helped to discover that the main issue around the topic reinforces that audiences may
become apprehensive of celebrity motives when promoting activism (Tsaliki et al, 2011). Many
literary scholars have argued that public interest is only likely to be gained if a celebrity works
tirelessly to invest their time into acts such as policy making that relates to the issue they are actively
promoting otherwise the public are likely to question the motives of the celebrity (Jeffreys and
Allatson, 2015: p14). For example, the public will recognise when a celebrity is self-exposing
themselves through global causes as a way of gaining media attention for their own public image
(Kapoor, 2012: p58). The key theory that supports the hypothesis of the text relates to the theory of
social activism particularly the approach of the ‘public sphere’ which Habermas (1989) devised to
mark the rise of how members of the public come together to reach a common judgement about a
political or social initiative (Habermas, 1989 cited in Craig, 1992: p48). It could be argued that this
proposal better links to critical theory (1937) because the social media activism theory (1994) is
promoted through the internet and the proposal aims to determine how widespread influence and
power has occurred through celebrity philanthropy in war torn countries (Tyson, 2014). The critical
, Student number: 21505969 Assessment 2: Researching media and culture
theory movement (1937) was devised by Horkheimer which positioned towards critiquing and
changing society historically, socially and politically (Horkheimer, 1937 cited in Tyson, 2014: p68).
This theory may better fit the study as it focuses on making changes in society universally but the
qualitative data undertaken in this study will inform which theory better suits the topic or whether they
both correlate and accommodate the topics issues (Hart, 2004).
Aim: ‘Does celebrity activism have the power to influence and raise public awareness of global crisis’
in developed countries around the world?’
Objectives:
Review historical key literature that addresses the level of influence celebrity activism has
previously obtained in society.
Examine the perceptions and attitudes that society have towards celebrity philanthropy.
To analyse the role celebrity activists, play in promoting awareness on global crisis including
poverty, violence, AIDS and war that occurs in developed countries.
To determine whether celebrity activism is designed to make changes and shape international goals
or whether it merely shadows headline news in the media
Methodology
The research for this study will primarily focus on qualitative data and the forms of qualitative data
that will be used are as follows:
Historical research of the topic
Textual analysis of primary and secondary source material
Governmental research of the issue
The use of historical research as a qualitative measurement for this study is highly beneficial to the
subject because it is a systematic collection of data that examines events and actions from the past
(Wisker, 2007). This means that this dissertation project will take an in-depth account of key literature
that explores the beginnings of celebrity activism as a means of understanding how influential
celebrity activism has been in the past and this will help to form an argument as to how influential
celerity activism currently in society (Pawar, 2004). This form of qualitative research will be a great
starting point for the research because it is not a biased influence on the topic it is purely factual which
will make the literature review well informed before making further analysis of the issue (Olsen,
2011). Though, it will prove a challenge to organise the data because the historical data is likely to be
vast and complex which will require accurate selection of key historical movements that engage with
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