Keyword: celebrity causes

Kim Kardashian: A Fitting Symbol for Late-Stage American-Style Capitalism

Picture: Kim Kardashian courtesy Hot Gossip Italia/flickr Lynn Parramore - Whether she is Instagramming her butt, or spending $827,000 on gold-plated toilets for her new mansion, or in her latest exploit, posing nude on silver sheets for GQ, Kim Kardashian has the American media in a fawning frenzy of non-stop headlines. Her body! “Kim Kardashian Flaunts Cleavage In Leather Dress For Made In America” (Hollywood Life) Her money! “Kim Kardashian's $28 Million Year: How She Made More Than Ever Before” (Forbes) Her fame!...

Bono's Good News on Poverty

Picture: As seen on TED. Video Human beings have been campaigning against inequality and poverty for 3,000 years - but this journey is accelerating contends celebrity activist, Bono. In this TED talk, Bono dazzles with selective data sets, which based on trends in a few African countries, show that the end of poverty may be in sight. According to Bono, if the world continues on its current trajectory, the number of people living on less than a US$1,25 a day is set to be eliminated by 2028. © TED

Bono and Bob Geldof: Give Us the Money

Picture: U2005.com/Flickr Video From Live Aid to Make Poverty History, celebrities have become activists against poverty. Bob Geldof and Bono have been the most prominent voices advocating on behalf of the poor. Their concerts have raised millions on behalf of the poor. But have their concerts and campaigns really lifted millions out of poverty? Geldof, Bono and Bill Gates speak candidly about how to lobby effectively and how to play to politicians' weaknesses for glitz and popularity. © Why Poverty

Lady Gaga: An Avatar for Our Times?

Picture: Lady Gaga courtesy ama_lia/Flickr Gillian Schutte - Madonna modelled herself on a sexually unrestrained, powerful and de-sanitised version of Marilyn Monroe and rebelled against patriarchal Catholic constraints of the feminine, using the notion of wanton sexuality as her arsenal. Michael Jackson refused to be categorised according to race and gender and mixed these up in both theatrics and surgery, to much public speculation and psychoanalysis. Freddy Mercury was openly sexually promiscuous and gay and celebrated his choices with an engaging...

Covering Poverty in an Indifferent World

Picture: Why Poverty Video "Why Poverty?" is an international multi-media campaign that seeks to answer some of the most pressing questions about the systemic causes of poverty through documentaries. As part of the series, the Frontline Club in London hosted a panel discussion this week about how to improve the media’s coverage of poverty in a world that seems largely indifferent to the problem. Related to this issue is the role of public figures in anti-poverty campaigns. An important question...