Response to "Making Good Deeds Public"

This is a response to Sandra's "Making Good Deeds Public".
Original post can be viewed here: http://christandpopularculture.blogspot.ca/2012/03/making-good-deeds-public.html

Sandra, you brought up some really good points. I wanted to address this issue and your post reflects my thoughts completely! I question about the sincerity of celebrities doing charity work all the time. It depends on the celebrity I question, if I bring up the issue with my friends about Ellen Degeneres or George Clooney, they would probably disagree with me and think that I’m too judgmental or biased in some ways. I have brought up the same issue about Kim Kardashian who is seen engaging with some charity work recently, and almost everyone I talked to believe that she is just doing that for her reputation, since she has been under fire for her millions dollar wedding and 72 days of marriage.

The funny thing is that those are actually the same question, the question about the sincerity and authenticity of celebrity and charity. The difference is their popularity, well-liked celebrities like Degeneres and Clooney are likely to be questioned less than infamous stars like Kardashian, does that mean more likable people are more sincere? Some can argue that since there are rumors that everything about Kim Kardarshian is staged, including her wedding, marriage, reality show… her good deeds wouldn’t be an exception either. Though when analyzing the issue a little deeper, there is this possibility that all celebrities are somehow staged, and crafted for the public eyes, just some more “well-done” than the others. Of course, there is also this possibility that there are some celebrities who are doing charity work just because they really care.

The question of authenticity also reminds me of Lady Gaga, who we had discussed in class on her image and how she present herself as a Christian through her bizarre, outrageous appearance. Many scholars believe that her appearance is crafted to present her in a certain way, and though some may argue that her faith is her true self and believe that she is using her image to sell her religion, to me these are still questionable. Since the majority of America is Christian-centric, there is this possibility that she is presenting herself as a Christian to relate to the audience since her appearance is so bizarre. While charity work may be a tactic for some celebrities to build their image, for Lady Gaga, her faith could be a way to get her popularity. Either way, Lady Gaga’s image reflects the complexity of public figures, their beliefs, and authenticity.

It is difficult for us as audience to not question celebrities’ sincerity (whether charity work or their image itself), since there is this conflict of interest between their charity work, their publicity and reputation. As for Justin Bieber, though we may never find out his real motives behind his charity work or how sincere and authentic he is, using his fame as a tool to spread out issues about reaching out to others definitely does bring some degree of consciousness and awareness to the less fortunate. I guess celebrities and their authenticity are not always necessarily bad influence to the society, at least in this case, whether their intention is true or not, their popularity is a useful tool to spread their beliefs (whether charity or faith), influence audience, and bring awareness to the public.

Corona, Victor. “Monsters, Memory and Lady Gaga.” Journal of Popular Culture on-line publication March 2011, 20 pp