Zahryia Paul

Celebrities in Politics

“Celebz for Prez”

Piece 1- Article
Majic Samantha, O’Neill Danie and Bernhard Michael. “Celebrity and Politics”
Google, Cambridge University Press, published on February 17th 2020
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/celebrity-and-politics/
CDAD6C1D9B75195D1E4EDD1433C7203C

Celebrity and Politics

In airports and grocery store lines, you’ve likely passed displays of US Weekly, Star, Hello!, In Touch, and
People. They scream out with headlines such as “Jenn and Angie: DUMPED AT THE SAME TIME” or
“Beyonce to Jay-Z: IT’S OVER!”;
Footnote

2
you might thumb through or even purchase these magazines. Sometimes, you read them more often
than you read this important scholarly journal. But we are not here to judge. Instead, this special issue of
Perspectives on Politics places what some may dismiss as a guilty pleasure—celebrities—at the forefront
of political science analysis. Why? Because these individuals—defined broadly as persons well known for
their work in entertainment, sports, and a range of other fields––are increasingly visible players in
American and global politics, doing everything from endorsing electoral candidates to protesting policy
developments. And with their massive fan bases and media reach, celebrities have a vast platform to
advance their issues and views, and they are often granted access to national and international governing
bodies such as the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. When they engage in political activities, then,
they potentially shape opinions and outcomes, but they are not subject to traditional mechanisms of
democratic accountability such as elections.

References

Bang, Henrik. 2007. “Parties in the Swing: Between Democratic Representation and Communicative
Management.” Unpublished manuscript, Department of Political Science, University of
Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Bernstein, Elizabeth. 2012. “Carceral Politics as Gender Justice? The ‘Traffic in Women’ and Neoliberal
Circuits of Crime, Sex, and Rights.” Theoretical Sociology 41(3): 233–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Biccum, April. 2011. “Marketing Development: Celebrity Politics and the ‘New’ Development Advocacy.”
Third World Quarterly 32(7): 1331–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Boorstin, Daniel J. 2012. The Image : A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America. 50th anniversary ed. New
York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar

Brockington, Dan. 2014. “The Production and Construction of Celebrity Advocacy in International
Development.” Third World Quarterly 35(1): 88–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Choi, Chong Ju and Berger, Ron. 2010. “Ethics of Celebrities and Their Increasing Influence on 21st

Century Society.” Journal of Business Ethics 91(3): 313–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Demaine, Linda. 2009. “Navigating Policy by the Stars: The Influence of Celebrity Entertainers on Federal

Lawmaking.” Journal of Law and Politics 25(2): 83–143.Google Scholar

Drake, Philip and Higgins, Michael. 2012. “Lights, Camera, Election: Celebrity, Performance and the
2010 Uk General Election Leadership Debates.” British Journal of Politics and International Relations
14(3): 375–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Drake, Philip and Miah, Andy. 2010. “The Cultural Politics of Celebrity.” Cultural Politics 6(1): 49–
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Driessens, Oliver. 2013. “Celebrity Capital: Redefining Celebrity Using Field Theory.” Theory and Society

42(5): 543–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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Piece 2- Meme, Anonymous, Google, Imgflip, 5 years ago, https://imgflip.com/i/1b4tig

Piece 3- Poem, Windram Domonic, Social Media 3, PoemHunter.com, September 23rd, 2018,
https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/social-media-3-2/

It seems like somewhat of a double edged sword.

Is it a novel way to communicate,

Or just a playground for rambling narcissists?

Curiously, it reminds me of a circus;

Overrun with two bit clowns & fantasists.

What kind of conveyor belt mentality

Ponders the lurid lives of celebrities?

There's lots of information available

To satisfy pseudo intellectuals.

At times, it's a blurring of fact & fiction:

Where research surrenders to absurdity.

Do we need a plethora of puerile jokes

Juxtaposed with crass political intrigues?

Does social media fabricate events

Or allow the 'peasants' to participate?

Perhaps, it is a form of passive protest

That takes away the need to actually

Do anything of merit in the real world.

As for me, I take it with a pinch of salt,

For in truth, it's really not that important