Leonardo DiCaprio with his Oscar win for his performance in The Revenant (2015).
How celebrities can make full use of their popularity to be activists for numerous causes
Celebrities. We look up to them because they are the people we idolise. Celebrities are famous people whom we want to be like because of who they portray themselves to be in popular media.
Hence, saying that a celebrity's popularity is influential is a massive understatement. Depending on how big a star the celebrity is, his or her influence on people can range from shades of mediocrity to an almost religious level.
Take actor Leonardo DiCaprio (pictured above) as a good example. Over the past two decades or so, DiCaprio's work has made him a massive name to movie-going audiences worldwide, and the man has established himself to be one of the greatest actors of our generation.
With such an influence, DiCaprio makes use of this by being an environmental activist, going around promoting the need to do something in order to reduce global warming. His non-profit foundation (formed in 1998) is devoted to promoting environmental awareness, and the Oscar-winning actor continues to make this cause known through public appearances and speeches.
Speaking of speeches, his acceptance speech at the 88th Annual Academy Awards was devoted to promoting environmental awareness. Prior to his Best Actor win, DiCaprio had been nominated a total of five times, being the only actor to have been nominated so many times without actually winning the award. With him finally nailing it on the sixth attempt, one could only expect him to go completely bonkers in celebration.
What he did was the complete opposite of that.
DiCaprio graced the stage, oozing with class and sophistication, and accepted the award humbly before facing a standing ovation given to him by all in attendance at the ceremony.
After thanking the makers of the film, he used the platform to speak about the importance of conserving the environment, before bowing out to rapturous applause.
It was also interesting how DiCaprio talked about how the film was made - reportedly using only natural lighting.
Of course, Leo is not the only one to utilise his popularity for a good cause.
Thinking back, there have been many good examples of this from decades ago. I can think of a few concrete examples off the top of my head right now.
One was comedian Charlie Chaplin's speech for humanity at the end of his 1940 film, 'The Great Dictator', where he spoke about the need to remember our roots as human beings, that we are all equal and that we must stand by democracy to combat evil.
That speech could not have come at a better time. The world was in shambles as Nazi Germany conquered different parts of Europe during World War II. The speech Chaplin made served as a rallying cry for humanity to stand together, and the things he speaks of in it are still relatable even today.
The film itself was a satire of Adolf Hitler's regime which was extremely controversial given how there wasn't much about Hitler to joke about (at the time). Thinking about it from a 21st century point of view is different as Hitler has become somewhat of a joke through the countless memes on the Internet, but put yourself in the shoes of those who lived in that era and Hitler was undoubtedly the most feared individual in the world.
Releasing a film that completely made fun of the Nazi dictator at the time generated an insane amount of controversy surrounding the subject matter. People were wondering if it was okay to laugh at something so serious and so major that could potentially affect them personally.
That in turn created a huge buzz surrounding the film and hence, its message could be proclaimed to its big audience.
Watch the video below to see just how impactful the speech is, even today.
Truly spine-chilling.
There was also the ensemble musical piece called 'We Are The World' back in 1985 which was recorded by numerous distinguished recording artists in support of the famine-plagued Africa at the time.
The song was written by music giants Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, with the lyrics being an appeal to human compassion.
By getting so many famous singers to sing a verse for the track, it gained plenty of attention and the proceeds generated from the sales of the quadruple-platinum-certified single went straight to the aid of Africa.
Twenty-five years later, the song was re-recorded by a whole new group of artists for a similar cause, this time for the relief efforts in Haiti which was struck by the biggest earthquake in the country's history in January 2010.
My last example is the song Imagine by former Beatle John Lennon, released in 1971. I visited the city of Liverpool last Sunday and went to The Beatles Story at Albert Dock, where I was inspired to write this post after seeing an exhibit of John Lennon's famous all-white room which had the lyrics of Imagine on the wall.
The song encourages the listener to imagine a world at peace without the barriers of borders or the divisions of religion and nationality, and to consider the possibility that the focus of humanity should be living a life unattached to material possessions. A very strong message.
Like the other examples, Lennon had a very strong fanbase, especially due to his connection with The Beatles. Hence, this song reached many people, and with such powerful lyrics, there's no doubt that he did manage to send his message across to a significant number of people.
As seen in every example given, celebrities hold an unrivalled ability to influence through the media they produce. Celebrities can do so much to garner support through their fans, and it's an excellent platform to utilise to do something good.
From mega stars like Leonardo DiCaprio to stars of yesteryear like Charlie Chaplin, activism led by celebrities is here to stay and I hope more celebrities will pick up the torch to fight for a cause.
DiCaprio graced the stage, oozing with class and sophistication, and accepted the award humbly before facing a standing ovation given to him by all in attendance at the ceremony.
After thanking the makers of the film, he used the platform to speak about the importance of conserving the environment, before bowing out to rapturous applause.
It was also interesting how DiCaprio talked about how the film was made - reportedly using only natural lighting.
Of course, Leo is not the only one to utilise his popularity for a good cause.
Thinking back, there have been many good examples of this from decades ago. I can think of a few concrete examples off the top of my head right now.
One was comedian Charlie Chaplin's speech for humanity at the end of his 1940 film, 'The Great Dictator', where he spoke about the need to remember our roots as human beings, that we are all equal and that we must stand by democracy to combat evil.
That speech could not have come at a better time. The world was in shambles as Nazi Germany conquered different parts of Europe during World War II. The speech Chaplin made served as a rallying cry for humanity to stand together, and the things he speaks of in it are still relatable even today.
The film itself was a satire of Adolf Hitler's regime which was extremely controversial given how there wasn't much about Hitler to joke about (at the time). Thinking about it from a 21st century point of view is different as Hitler has become somewhat of a joke through the countless memes on the Internet, but put yourself in the shoes of those who lived in that era and Hitler was undoubtedly the most feared individual in the world.
Releasing a film that completely made fun of the Nazi dictator at the time generated an insane amount of controversy surrounding the subject matter. People were wondering if it was okay to laugh at something so serious and so major that could potentially affect them personally.
That in turn created a huge buzz surrounding the film and hence, its message could be proclaimed to its big audience.
Watch the video below to see just how impactful the speech is, even today.
Truly spine-chilling.
There was also the ensemble musical piece called 'We Are The World' back in 1985 which was recorded by numerous distinguished recording artists in support of the famine-plagued Africa at the time.
The star-studded group of artists in the recording studio for We Are The World.
The song was written by music giants Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, with the lyrics being an appeal to human compassion.
By getting so many famous singers to sing a verse for the track, it gained plenty of attention and the proceeds generated from the sales of the quadruple-platinum-certified single went straight to the aid of Africa.
Twenty-five years later, the song was re-recorded by a whole new group of artists for a similar cause, this time for the relief efforts in Haiti which was struck by the biggest earthquake in the country's history in January 2010.
My last example is the song Imagine by former Beatle John Lennon, released in 1971. I visited the city of Liverpool last Sunday and went to The Beatles Story at Albert Dock, where I was inspired to write this post after seeing an exhibit of John Lennon's famous all-white room which had the lyrics of Imagine on the wall.
The song encourages the listener to imagine a world at peace without the barriers of borders or the divisions of religion and nationality, and to consider the possibility that the focus of humanity should be living a life unattached to material possessions. A very strong message.
Like the other examples, Lennon had a very strong fanbase, especially due to his connection with The Beatles. Hence, this song reached many people, and with such powerful lyrics, there's no doubt that he did manage to send his message across to a significant number of people.
As seen in every example given, celebrities hold an unrivalled ability to influence through the media they produce. Celebrities can do so much to garner support through their fans, and it's an excellent platform to utilise to do something good.
From mega stars like Leonardo DiCaprio to stars of yesteryear like Charlie Chaplin, activism led by celebrities is here to stay and I hope more celebrities will pick up the torch to fight for a cause.
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