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| Angelina Jolie illustrates the virtues of celebrity power | Angelina Jolie illustrates the virtues of celebrity power |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The media response to Angelina Jolie's announcement about having had a double mastectomy illustrated yet again the power of celebrity. | The media response to Angelina Jolie's announcement about having had a double mastectomy illustrated yet again the power of celebrity. |
| Her picture was very predictably on every national newspaper front page in Britain (though not in the United States, and not even on page one of the New York Times on the day it ran her op-ed article about the operation). | Her picture was very predictably on every national newspaper front page in Britain (though not in the United States, and not even on page one of the New York Times on the day it ran her op-ed article about the operation). |
| This says something about the difference between British and American journalism. (Discuss). It also raises the question of whether celebrity power is merely a media construct, and therefore foisted on the public, or whether the public responds to it positively without the need of prompting. (Discuss also). | This says something about the difference between British and American journalism. (Discuss). It also raises the question of whether celebrity power is merely a media construct, and therefore foisted on the public, or whether the public responds to it positively without the need of prompting. (Discuss also). |
| What cannot be in any doubt is that serious matters often achieve a widespread public reaction when celebrities get involved. | What cannot be in any doubt is that serious matters often achieve a widespread public reaction when celebrities get involved. |
| Indeed, Jolie's visit in March 2013 to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to campaign against rape in conflict zones was a case in point. | Indeed, Jolie's visit in March 2013 to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in order to campaign against rape in conflict zones was a case in point. |
| To use the appropriate cliche, it "raised awareness" of the crime across the world, because of the attendant publicity, which subsequently led to news features about the systematic use of rape. | |
| Jolie was accompanied by the foreign secretary William Hague. If he had gone alone, I doubt that there would have been a picture of him, let alone much coverage. | Jolie was accompanied by the foreign secretary William Hague. If he had gone alone, I doubt that there would have been a picture of him, let alone much coverage. |
| That's the reality. It's why Jolie is a UN goodwill ambassador, and an active one going back many years. I was in the Lebanon in December 2004 when she arrived to spend time with refugees and UN staff, including one of my friends. He spoke admiringly of the way she conducted herself and the genuine interest she showed. | That's the reality. It's why Jolie is a UN goodwill ambassador, and an active one going back many years. I was in the Lebanon in December 2004 when she arrived to spend time with refugees and UN staff, including one of my friends. He spoke admiringly of the way she conducted herself and the genuine interest she showed. |
| Her trip to the DRC was followed by the deployment of officials to war zones to help build evidence of rapes, so demonstrating that an obsession with celebrity can and does have positive results. | Her trip to the DRC was followed by the deployment of officials to war zones to help build evidence of rapes, so demonstrating that an obsession with celebrity can and does have positive results. |
| Remember Jamie Oliver's 2005 involvement in a campaign to improve children's diets by making a a series of TV programmes aimed at enhancing the nutritional value of school dinners? | |
| Such interventions often create national conversations about issues that otherwise pass under the media's radar or, like mass rape, go under-reported. | Such interventions often create national conversations about issues that otherwise pass under the media's radar or, like mass rape, go under-reported. |
| The same tends to happen when a celebrity suffers from a health scare, as in Jolie's case. In 2005, the singer Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer and it made front page news across the world. | |
| The result was a "raising of awareness", as Minogue herself reported at the time on her website. She wrote: "Being breast aware plays a major role in early detection so I was especially pleased to hear that younger women are being more proactive with breast examination and talking to their doctors." | The result was a "raising of awareness", as Minogue herself reported at the time on her website. She wrote: "Being breast aware plays a major role in early detection so I was especially pleased to hear that younger women are being more proactive with breast examination and talking to their doctors." |
| So it was no surprise that Minogue greeted Jolie's news by tweeting to her 1.7m followers: "#angelinajolie thank you for sharing your story and helping women around the world." | So it was no surprise that Minogue greeted Jolie's news by tweeting to her 1.7m followers: "#angelinajolie thank you for sharing your story and helping women around the world." |
| A celebrity tragedy can have a similar effect. When reality TV star Jade Goody was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2008, many thousands more British women applied to have smear tests. That continued in the following year after her death. | A celebrity tragedy can have a similar effect. When reality TV star Jade Goody was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2008, many thousands more British women applied to have smear tests. That continued in the following year after her death. |
| According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Screening, the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer increased by 14% around the time of her death. | According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Screening, the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer increased by 14% around the time of her death. |
| Similarly, the death of singer Amy Winehouse in 2011 from alcohol poisoning was followed by more people taking treatment for substance abuse and entering addiction clinics. | Similarly, the death of singer Amy Winehouse in 2011 from alcohol poisoning was followed by more people taking treatment for substance abuse and entering addiction clinics. |
| We may wish to deny the validity of celebrity, as I tend to do, but as one of my City University London students wrote in her assignment essay a month ago: "It is an inescapable truth that more people will read a story if it has a celebrity angle." | We may wish to deny the validity of celebrity, as I tend to do, but as one of my City University London students wrote in her assignment essay a month ago: "It is an inescapable truth that more people will read a story if it has a celebrity angle." |
| Watch out for more, much more, on breast cancer in the coming days and weeks. Yes, and more on Jolie, of course. Today's coverage is merely the beginning. | Watch out for more, much more, on breast cancer in the coming days and weeks. Yes, and more on Jolie, of course. Today's coverage is merely the beginning. |