Celebrity politics

[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]

[av_heading heading=’Celebrity politics ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY JED JALECO DEL ROSARIO
[/av_heading]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
January 14, 2018
[/av_textblock]

[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
AFTER delivering her speech at this year’s Golden Globe Awards, American celebrity Oprah Winfrey found herself being pushed to run for President by most of Hollywood. For those of you who don’t know, Hollywood is a Democrat stronghold, and the Democrats are still very angry that Donald Trump won the 2016 Presidential race.

Their push to have Oprah Winfrey, another popular self-made celebrity, is an attempt to find their own version of Trump. Winfrey checks all the right boxes as a Democrat candidate. She is erudite, a “person of color,” female and popular. And because the Democrats seem to be lacking a charismatic candidate to challenge Trump in 2020, it’s only logical that they would choose Winfrey to be their standard bearer for the next Presidential election.

Although 2020 is a long way off, the excitement over Winfrey’s possible candidacy is an interesting look at the nature of representative democracy. In theory democratic elections are all about policies and political convictions, but in practice it’s a little more complicated than that.

Brands and symbols can be just as important as actual political promises during elections, and this is why celebrities often find it easy to transition into politics. The Philippines is a good example of this. We have elected Estrada, Pacquiao and various other celebrities into their respected positions.

Aside from the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Brazil, the UK, Russia, and of course, the United States have also elected people who used to be celebrities.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with celebrity-candidates. Personally, I am prepared to vote for a porn actor/actress if he/she holds my own policy positions, and if he/she can demonstrate that he/she is fit for the job, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how distasteful a politician is. What matters is that he or she can get the job done.

What makes celebrity candidates problematic is that they cause people to vote for all the wrong reasons. What I mean by this is that people will sometimes vote for celebrities because they are famous, or because they are their fans, not because they hold a certain position or belief. This was certainly true for Estrada and Pacquiao’s fans, and if the late FPJ had run for the presidency, there’s no doubt that many of his fans would have voted for him simply because they love his movies.

Contrast this with Trump’s own candidacy. Although I’m sure that a portion of his voter base voted for him because of his brand, most of his success is due to his MAGA message, which is essentially a combination of economic nationalism, immigration restriction and perhaps American isolationism.

Will Oprah Winfrey be able to offer a message that consists more than just her brand? Only time will tell. (jdr456@gmail.com/PN)
[/av_textblock]

[/av_one_full]