In the South celebrities perform site visits, establish development organizations, serve international governmental organizations, and behave as “disaster tourists.” In the North they act as witnesses, ambassadors, fund-raisers, and activists. Instead of relative insignificance, celebrities as elite actors have varied and even contradictory impacts on the politics and processes of helping as part of North-South relations. However, the actual practices of celebrities are quite diverse and function at multiple levels. Littler (2008) used the term “global do-gooding” to describe a particular type of celebrity response to suffering at a distance-one that “generates a lot of hype and PR but is relatively insignificant in relation to international and governmental policy” (240). Their presence is lauded for drawing extensive media attention and building popular support, yet derided for promoting superficial and misguided interventions across borders. The high visibility presence and varying humanitarian activities of celebrities have become topics of considerable debate in academic circles and mainstream media. Keywords: humanitarianism, celebrity, international affairs, North-South relations, development, NGOs, media, Third World, aid practices, elite politicsĬelebrities are now considered influential actors in international affairs, particularly in the shaping of North-South relations. These celebrity practices as diplomats, experts, and humanitarians in international affairs illustrate the diverse and contradictory forms of engagement by celebrity “helpers” in North-South relations. It traces the emergence and practices of the elite politics of celebrities in North-South relations, an evolution made possible by recent changes in aid practices, media, and NGOs, then considers exemplary cases of Angelina Jolie in Burma, Ben Affleck in the Democractic Republic of Congo, and Madonna in Malawi. This article argues that celebrities are acting as other elite actors in international affairs: investing considerable capital into processes that are highly political.
Celebrity engagement in global “helping” is not a simple matter of highly photogenic caring for needy others across borders it is a complex relationship of power that often produces contradictory functions in relation to the goals of humanitarianism, development, and advocacy.
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