Is a celebrity capable of shaping the way we perceive human rights issues?

Let's think critically here. If we consider the social impact celebrity has on the masses, we should then take into account how major broadcast media events, such as the Grammys or Oscars have evolved into a platform for cultural elite to participate in social struggles. Nevertheless, because they can heavily impact our perceptions ,we should remain mindful about a celebrity's motives behind endorsing a specific cause.

On February 28, 2016, Lady Gaga performed her original song: “Till It Happens to You”, at the 88th Academy Awards.This performance had particular depth as it resonated with her personal experience of victimhood while also catering to that of other victims alike. This song was written and recorded for the 2015 documentary, “The Hunting Ground”, which examines the prevalence of sexual assault cases on American college campuses.

To back track, Gaga was a victim of sexual assault at the age of nineteen. This performance allows the celebrity the opportunity to dig into the past and disclose her story to the public realm. Onstage she is accompanied by young survivors alike, who also were victims of sexual violence; a demonstration that gestures symbolic support and solidarity for this social injustice. Each of these victims stand with bold statements written on their arms, condemning American culture for stigmatizing victims of sexual assault. These statements are intended to undermine cultural oppressors, who systematically fail to address and refuse to discuss rape culture within society, perpetuating this culture of silence.

Performances like this can have profound ramifications on the way society conceptualizes issues of rape culture. What differentiates this performance from previous ensembles, is the way that the ideal victim card comes into play. When I say “ideal victim” I refer to the ideology that depicts a person as one with an assumed innocence and impartiality that is interpreted through a humanitarian narrative, constructed by the subjective mass audience of the time. This identity is attributed to our understanding, comfort level, and cultural acceptance of who can and cannot be classified as the ideal victim. Additionally, this characterization of who can play the victim card- is a useful tool when shaping celebrity identity and promoting certain political agendas. By marketing the ideal victim through the celebrity, media events that strategically expose these narratives- become a vital communication platform to capture audience attention and sustain high ratings (industry profits).

Linking the ideal victim with the concept described as “the politics of seeing”, where media content is arranged based off of sensationalism, we can evaluate the authenticity and genuine nature of celebrity performances. Effective viewership solidarity is dependent on how the media constructs audience engagement. If successful, the media event can activate certain sectors of the public sphere to sense political agency. It is critical to think about the following questions: what content can be shown and why? How do we determine the distinction between content that is shocking and based off of sensationalism in contrast to content that is necessary, authentic and informative for public exposure? Integrating these theories with the concept of spectacle, we then ask: is the presence of the celebrity who promotes a social justice agenda seen as trustworthy, and is this performance helping or hindering political solidarity?

In “The Society of Spectacle” explored by scholar Guy Debord (1967), he explains how social life and human relationships are replaced by their representations (in this case the representation is harnessed by the celebrity performance). Using this critique, media events can affect how relations between commodities have replaced relations between people. This is important when linking concepts of witnessing and thinking about the structures of participation in televised media environments in terms of opened, closed, and interactive. Analyzing these audience arrangements constructed by the media helps us to understand how meaning is shaped through participatory culture engagement. In Gaga's performance, the ideal victim is challenged by the sheer assortment of humankind onstage- men and women of different backgrounds and orientations are dispersed onstage to demonstrate how the matter of sexual assault is a matter that does not only impact what we believe to be the ideal victim.

Details of the Gaga performance of “Till It Happens to You,” is emanated during her dramatic show where she alludes to her troubles as a survivor of sexual assault. In an interview withVanity Fair in December of 2015, the meaning and delivery of the song is interpreted as: “raw and haunting, and obviously personal to the singer. But until late this week, Gaga hadn’t opened up about exactly what the song and the documentary meant to her.” It is noted that themes of the ideal victim of both the celebrity as well as the demonstration of victims alike, captivate the audience: Ideal Victim is exercised through Gaga’s appearance during her performance where she is dressed in a white outfit resembling purity, and minimal makeup denoting innocence. This facade juxtaposes many of her other performances wherein she uses extreme and eccentric costumes as sexual commentary (i.e. meat suit). Gaga acknowledges her tendency to exude sexuality through her celebrity persona inVanity Fair, when she states: ‘Because of the way that I dress, and the way that I'm provocative as a person, I thought that I had brought it on myself in some way,” she said. “That it was my fault.” She added that the physical consequences of the rape were just as painful as the emotional” (vanity Fair). Gaga’s decision to contradict her public image brings authenticity to the idea that sexual beings can also be victims of assault, generating credibility among her fan base and celebrity supporters.

American primetime broadcast award shows are constantly undergoing cultural transformations. These media events have transitioned from a platform with performances based on sheer entertainment, to performances where celebrity activists produce content with humanitarian substance. These changes have enabled new forms of participation, where celebrities are seizing opportunists to get involved in causes pertaining to socio-political issues. This changing media landscape has major implications on the expectations and role of the celebrity, redefining the identity and power of fame. Through this political representation, the celebrity is noted to embody attributes of agency, which is vital for influencing fan and participatory culture. This may offer a new take on the celebrity role in social justice and humanitarian- based performances where the celebrity offers their talent but takes a backseat to “real people”.

Celebrity agency during media events should continue to develop as an approach worth investigating for future solidarity efforts and political mobilization. The influence and prestige associated with celebrity and their ability to appropriate discourse to the public sphere, are major signs of power, instrumental for altering social discourses within civil society. With an influential aura in their favor, if celebrities can discover a media platform that enables the raising of consciousness, without the intervention of industry culture in defining their motives, the celebrity may be able to lead as an agent of social change and mobilize citizens on the ground.