Celebrity Priorities

The economic value of Hollywood may derive entirely from satisfying indulgences; but it is interesting to see how those who achieve celebrity status through this system can set their own priorities higher than the self-gratification rung of the Maslow hierarchy. This has been most recently apparent in the use of the bully pulpit of celebrity to speak out against the moral horror of genocide, particularly in Africa. It is as if Georges Clemenceau's advice has reemerged in parody form: Genocide is too serious a matter to be left to the diplomats, whether they represent specific countries or the United Nations. The key message in Kurt Joss' "Green Table" ballet was that diplomats prefer principles and theories to the people who will actually feel the consequences of the decisions they make. Perhaps celebrities feel as if the eyes of those people are upon them and, as a result, are more conscientious when confronted with blatant evidence of human suffering.

The primary focus of attention is probably still Darfur, and the diplomats continue to muddle. They would prefer to ignore the proposition that persuading the Sudanese government to act on behalf of the refugees and victims of Darfur is no different than trying to teach a pig to sing, particularly in light of the oil reserves, which that government controls. At least one celebrity, however, is trying to exert influence on a government with a lot at stake in the world community. Director Steven Spielberg has decided that one way to convince China of the importance of Darfur is by letting them know that he finds this situation more important than their precious Olympic ceremonies. Here is how his position was reported on the BBC NEWS Web site:

US film director Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as an artistic adviser at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled western Darfur region.

This action was apparently suggested to him by Mia Farrow, who was one of the signatories of an open letter about Darfur sent to the Chinese president. Other signatories included both Nobel Peace Prize laureates and former Olympians.

As I have previously suggested, China is very much the 800-pound gorilla in such matters. It is hard to imagine that either the Chinese government or the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will review this situation in terms of the implicit message of support that it sends to Sudan. At best the actions of Farrow and Spielberg may impact personal decisions about competing or going to watch the events. Like those diplomats the IOC has its own high-minded principles of keeping the business of government out of the conduct of the Games; but, as we saw with our own Olympic tit-for-tat exchange with the Soviet Union, those principles do not hold very much weight. Meanwhile, those voices that most need to be heard remain out of earshot; and the pig will still not learn to sing.