ABSTRACT
By means of mediated communication, society discusses ethical, social and political issues through the celebrity construct – itself a mediated interplay between a public, private and ‘real’ persona. Celebrities – of global fame and local appeal, from the fields of entertainment and other spheres of life – engage in philanthropy and activism. One dominant area in which celebrities have become involved is that of international relations and diplomacy, development and humanitarianism. The chapter discusses how, in the process, (1) celebrities become, are part of and endorse the marketisation of philanthropy and activism; (2) celebrities express public views on world problems and relations; and (3) celebrities’ image and actions affect the mediated stories that their philanthropy and activism generates. Celebrity’s societal engagement in this area is praised for raising awareness to all kinds of problems in the field of international relations and development, for sourcing funds to help solve these problems through humanitarian action and for lobbying politicians to help improve the plight of the underprivileged through soft power. Critics, however, point to how this celebrity involvement bears witness and further contributes to the spread of neoliberal modernisation and cultural imperialist paradigms with regard to global inequality (‘the West’ versus ‘the Rest’), while ignoring alternative views of international relations and development based on structural changes, self-reliance and an understanding of development as equal partners.
