The Governator

By: Jackie Merkle

The Governator

            The first person that comes to one’s mind when they hear the word governator thinks of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  This actor has not only blown us away with all of his incredible works in the film industry creating movies such as; The Terminator 1, 2 and 3, Kindergarten Cop, and Junior. But also has taken over as the Governor of California in 2003.  One of our very own presidents has been in the acting business.  Ronald Reagan, who was the 40^th president of these United States.  Politicians are starting to get their own shows on TV and actors are starting to make their way into the political branches.  Would you ever think that maybe some of these celebrities get that position because the movies they are in or because they would actually do a quality job in office? Not only are celebs trying to use these social sites to get political spots but also more superficial things like ‘who wore what to the red carpet?’ Some would disagree that celebrities use such medias as TV, movies, radios, and networking sites to get the publicity they need. I believe it is actually a very ingenious way to psychologically get through to people, which in the end help the celebrity get what they want.

Anthony Elliot, a journalist helped me to understand more about why these celebs act the way they do. He talks about how they must know how and when to act as a celebrity. He mentions “But to underscore the increasing importance of celebrity to processes to self-formation, self-construction, and self-reflection is, certainly, to grasp the fundamental political importance of the mass media to individuals today…”(Elliot 836).   This quote really made me think about why they act the way they do.  When you think of the word celebrity you think; poise, fashionable, rich, exciting, and you think that they can do it all. So when these celebs get noticed for all the charities and all the hard work they do it looks good. We then all believe that these celebs can handle anything especially run states and even countries.

            Now I’m not saying they can’t, but maybe we need to rethink our values as to why and if they are running for the right reasons.  One guy Darrell West talks about how celebrities can run for these positions.  He states, “The television era advantages celebrities because these individuals are adept at using the medium, are photogenic, and are very good at attracting media coverage.” This is very true and people see these famous people’s lives all over these social networking sites, which makes it easier for us to compare to them. They are all over TV, in pictures, movies, and it makes us think that they can handle anything especially their busy schedules. So obviously they can handle being the next governor, right?  He also mentions, “celebrities are perfectly matched for the contemporary political era because of their wealth and fundraising capacity. With the high cost of political races and the large amount of money required to broadcast ads, fundraising is vital to electoral success” (West). This also brings up a very important point on how celebs can give lots of money away which makes them look like a savior to us who can give that much away. It’s great that they do that also, but money is not the answer to everything and money is just going to make everything bad disappear.

            There are over 500 celebrities on twitter today.  Not to mention the other social network sites but over 500 is an incredible amount.  Celebs young and old all keep the public updated with what they do. I also was looking on my twitter account and saw 3 different pictures of celebs posting themselves and what they are doing. They want to keep connected with their fans in some way.  They will do this whether or not they want to, but mostly because they know that there fans are the ones that keep them in the business.  Without all of the support from loving fans they would have nothing.  That is what is most important to remember though, because we can do just as much as them. So when we support them online it’s just like supporting them by voting for them.  You can see how all of these connect.

            Not all celebrities use their fame for political uses it could also be for such things as winning in a, ‘who wore it better contest.’  The New York Times, talks about the red carpet events and how men and women definitely dress to impress.  It’s interesting to think that celebs post on their social networking sites like twitter, and brag about what designer they will be wearing for the night.  It will then make those people who obsessively watched vote for our favorite celebrity or our favorite designer.  "The stakes for designers and actresses are high: wearing a lavender dress attributed to the house; or Michelle Williams saying goodbye to “Dawson’s Creek” forever in 2006 with a deeply V-necked, ruffled Vera Wang marigold frock she wore to that year’s Oscars."  Yes the stakes are high for the designers but they are also necessary to get publicity to themselves. The celeb is getting publicity for being at the awards and the designer is hopefully getting good results from the celebutante wearing the dress/tux. They even talk about how grueling the process is for these celebs that are trying so hard to get their name out there.

            Whether a celebrity is running for office or running to win the next spot in American Idol, they all need the love and support from fans.  We are the ones that keep them going.  They use their publicity to get into bigger and better parts.  Or even running for candidacy they use these social networking sites, such as twitter, to get all the help from us.  They may look responsible and acceptable to people to run this country but we have to think, that just because they are on these sites doesn’t mean they can do everything, especially take care of all of us.

Works Cited

Elliot, Anthony. "Political Psychology." Celebrity and Political Psychology:  Remembering Lennon 19.4 (1998): 833-52. JSTOR. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.  http://www.jstor.org/stable/3791877seq=4&Search=yes&searchText=Celebrity&searchText=politics&list=hide&searchUri=/action/doAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3DCelebrity%2B%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3Dpolitics%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26ar%3Don%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D%26dc.Psychology%3DPsychology%26dc.Statistics3DStatistics26Search3DSearch&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=18&returnArtcleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null.>

Malle, Chloe. "The Last Red Carpet." New York Times. 25 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/fashion/27RED.html?_r=1&ref=celebrities>.
West, Darrell M. "“Arnold Schwarzenegger and Celebrity Politics”." Inside Politics –     Your Guide to National and State Politics by Darrell West of the Brookings Institution. 2003. Web. 09 Mar. 2011.  <http://www.insidepolitics.org/heard/westreport903.html.>

"Who Has the Most Followers on Twitter? (Top 700) | Twitaholic.com." Top Twitter    
  User Rankings & Stats | Twitaholic.com. Web. 09 Mar.2011.<http://twitaholic.com/top700/followers/>.