It’s currently award season, the time of year where the ‘super’ critics decide what deserves the awards, and us common folk either get mad because their opinions don’t align with ours, or we nod in agreement when we feel they got it right. After all, we know best, right?
It can often become a controversial period since the race of the nominees get brought up more than their actual performances (remember #OscarsSoWhite?) and even this year with have the Moonlight vs La La Land debate that’s flooded the online world, which are both completely different films. Controversy always manages to make its way into pop culture, even when it’s completely irrelevant.
This award season, we’ve got the anti-Donald Trump speeches and the “don’t allow hate to win” cliches. The intentions behind these speeches are always coming from a good place, I can appreciate the sentiment to what they’re saying, but there are a number of reasons why what they’re saying isn’t helpful.
They’re empty words. “Spread love”, “don’t tolerate hate”, “we won’t be divided”. All these things are as empty as “Make America Great Again”, there’s nothing new being said here, they’re essentially echoing the same thing that the media has been saying for the past few years, and evidently, none of it works because look who’s the president of America. If you want a change to be made then maybe don’t just suddenly speak up when you’re on national TV with millions of viewers watching in order to gain some credibility, because you know, you could actually do something worthwhile instead.
This isn’t to say that I think you should just accept the political landscape of the country and not speak against what’s happening if you disagree with anything, because you have every right to. However, when it comes to celebrities, there is no obligation for this, at all. I’ve heard people say things like “use your platform to speak up about Trump” or “you should be using your fame to spread positive messages during these trying times” or something to that effect. And to this, I say no. They are not under any obligation to speak about things that they most likely don’t know much about. Sure, be a positive role model (don’t be a Chris Brown, please no), but I don’t go to Taylor Swift for validation on my political opinions, and why would anyone?
I’ve seen this kind of talk in the hip-hop community as well, “rappers should be speaking up about the issues black people face in America in their songs.” Should they? Who honestly wants Wiz Khalifa’s opinion, or Lil Wayne’s opinion on race issues in America? They can barely put a decent rap verse together.
They’re people, just like you and I. Sure they’re a lot richer and have more cameras on them on a regular basis, but they’re not superhumans with important political opinions because of their fame. In fact, the ones that have kept quiet about this are most likely Trump supporters who’re afraid to speak positively about him as it’ll destroy their careers. I can see the headlines now: “Taylor Swift, the Trump supporting Nazi, we knew she was trouble”.
Working class people don’t need incredibly rich and privileged celebrities telling them what’s best for the country they live in. Millionaires don’t represent the ordinary, 40+ working hours a week people that live in America. They do not know what it’s like to work a minimum wage job, and they certainly don’t know all the reasons as to why people voted for Trump, even if he is a complete buffoon at times.
This isn’t to say that celebrities don’t have the right to free speech and tell us their opinions on things, because that’s not what I’m saying. Their opinions on these issues don’t meet the needs of your average person. Why would they? They’re ridiculously rich, politics will most likely never affect them.
The Oscars are this Sunday, and no doubt there’ll be winners making speeches about the state of the country, despite the fact they live in their own rich bubbles and never have to encounter any issues that poorer people do. So please, actors and actresses, don’t virtue signal, just accept your award, make a charming speech about how grateful you are, and walk away.
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