Perhaps nobody defines our current culture quite like Lady Gaga. Her music is everywhere, her image is everywhere and (most importantly) her message is everywhere. Gaga is known for promoting gay/equal rights for all through her music, image and public appearances such as when she attended the National Equality March (pictured) or when she held a rally in late 2010 for the repeal of the U.S. Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. As a result, the policy was struck down in late 2010. Should this be attributed to Lady Gaga and her power in American politics? No. However, she can be credited for raising the issue and bringing it into public attention.
This is the power of celebrities. They have the ability to bring issues they care for to the forefront of politics. Our personal ideology affects how we view these issues and, thus, whether we agree or disagree with their views. Ultimately, if an issue becomes strong enough (such as gay marriage in recent California state elections) it can have a strong impact on elections and a population's political behaviour. If we stay with the gay marriage debate (Prop 8) during the California elections, the majority of campaign activity placed some kid of focus on Prop 8 so that each candidate clearly stated where they stood on the issue. There were also protests that supported both sides of the issue (remain illegal/legalize). In the end, Prop 8 was defeated and gay marriage in California is still illegal (despite being legalized for a bit). This post-materialist issue is still a hot button issue moving forward in 2011.
(Another example of a celebrity affecting political behaviour could be Bono's Aids campaigns in late 90s/early 2000s)
Another way that celebrities affect politics is through endorsements. There are many examples that I could have examined for this but (to me) the most obvious one is Barack Obama's celebrity endorsements and the famous "Yes we can" video that featured artists such as Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas. That video was everywhere in the fall of 2008 while there were also campaign commercials that featured celebrities telling voters why they should vote for Obama: "Change....Hope..." The power that Obama had just from these endorsements was unfounded as it persuaded many to think that "If so-in-so thinks that I should vote for Obama than I will." There's really no way to tell how this affected election results but I have no doubt it did. Plus, when you consider how close the 2008 Presidential Election was, the celebrity factor could have played a major role.
The Obama "Yes We Can" celebrity video.
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