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  • On her 82nd birthday, Jane Fonda was arrested. Approaching the capitol steps, Fonda was grabbed

  • by the capitol police and put into handcuffs. But Fonda wasn't alone. She and 138 other

  • people were arrested, and they were all there for a reason: the U.S. government's dismal

  • response to the climate crisis. This kind of celebrity direct action is rare, and especially

  • among the Hollywood elite who are advocating for climate action as their new pet cause.

  • (Play some clips), And because of this it's more important than ever to dive into the

  • celebritization of the climate crisis. Today we're going to figure out if celebrity advocacy

  • is actually working as well as determine who is actually doing the work to build the movements

  • we need to effectively foster a just transition.

  • This video was made possible by the people who support me on Patreon. Get early access

  • to all my videos by becoming an OCC Patron

  • Are Celebrities Influencing Climate Action? Before we dive into the specifics of celebrity

  • climate action culture, we need to first understand if their advocacy is even effective. The answer

  • isit's complicated. Indeed, as one paper puts it, celebrities like Al Gore and Leonardo

  • DiCaprio have become the new polar bears, assuming the imagery of the new harbingers

  • of climate change. But the ramifications of celebrity influence on various environmental

  • issues can differ wildly. With their widely watched personas comes some amount of power

  • as well as the filtering of political ideas and theories of change through that persona.

  • Essentially, celebrities have become nodes through which many people learn about climate

  • issues or perhaps are inspired to take action. So the result of this celebrity influence

  • is very much dependent on the celebrity's politics. Some figureheads like Prince Phillip

  • and David Attenborough champion false ideas of overpopulation and propose neoliberal and

  • eugenicist solutions, while others, like Jane Fonda push for movement-based direct-action

  • to end fossil fuel extraction. The spectrum of celebrity solutions to the climate crisis

  • is almost as broad as the number of climate celebrities. But the way celebrities relate

  • to movements, usually as figureheads rather than as comrades, perpetuates a “heroic

  • individualnarrative that runs counter l to anti-hierarchical, grassroots movement

  • philosophies.

  • The Personal is Hypocritical? With every cry for climate action from a celebrity,

  • comes an equal cry of hypocrisy. This is due, in part, because of the nature of celebrity

  • and our desire for heroic leaders. It positions celebrities as individuals, which means it's

  • easy to delegitimize climate advocacy by attacking the personal actions of celebrities. After

  • all, cries of hypocrisy are extremely effective tools of dismantling movements, especially

  • those focused on the climate crisis. If you somehow have to already have shed all your

  • fossil fuel use in order to start the work of shedding fossil fuels, then very few people

  • will ever take action. But here's the thing, while being mindful of how we use resources

  • and, for those of us in wealthy countries or who have personal wealth, reducing our

  • use of resources is important, it should never be a prerequisite to dismantling the systems

  • of capitalism and environmental destruction. In fact BP invented the carbon footprint so

  • people would think their own lifestyles were to blame and not the exploitative capitalist

  • actions of the 100 companies that emit 71% of the world's greenhouse gasses. Paying

  • attention to our own or a celebrity's carbon footprints will never solve climate change

  • as long as fossil fuel companies continue to build pipelines and pump oil and gas out

  • of the ground. As journalist David Roberts puts it, Leonardo DiCaprio's carbon footprint

  • is a “fart in the windcompared to major corporations and fossil fuel companies. That

  • being said, Hollywood elites are still elites. Hopping around on private jets, partying on

  • yachts, and lounging in lavish mansions is unethical in a world where whole nations are

  • getting swallowed up by sea level rise, and millions are starving. It's hard to take

  • celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio or Al Gore seriously when they seem so disconnected from

  • the masses. A world without climate change and inequality means a world without yachts

  • or private jets. Much like Kim Kardashian driving fashion trends, celebrities have the

  • power to drive climate action trends, and their personal actions can signal possible

  • avenues of change. So, let's look at both Leonardo DiCaprio and Jane Fonda in order

  • to understand two very different celebrity approaches to climate action.

  • The DiCaprio Way: After leaning over the bow of the Titanic

  • declaring himself king of the world, Leonardo DiCaprio decided to do something about that

  • world. So, like most rich people he started a donor-advised fund, and he called it The

  • Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Since 1998 DiCaprio's foundation has handed out $100 million in

  • grants to over 200 projects. But if you've watched my video on billionaires you'll

  • know this isn't the whole story. While $100 million is great for the cause, DiCaprio is

  • often reaping the benefits both in terms of tax dodging and reputation. The watchdog group,

  • Charity Watch, decried the lack of transparency of the fund, writing that the Leonardo DiCaprio

  • Foundation uses its donor advised fund status toavoid the financial and other transparency

  • requirements that must be met by stand-alone charities.” That being said, DiCaprio has

  • made a number of speeches and produced films calling attention to the climate crisis. But

  • like many of his elite friends, his framing of the crisis and the solutions he proposes

  • often veer on the side of quick techno-fixes that ignore the systemic drivers of climate

  • change like capitalism. In short, DiCaprio certainly isn't doing terribly compared

  • to the actions of other celebrities, but it's not possible for the multimillion dollar galas

  • he throws and flying around on private jets to address the root causes of climate change.

  • If anything, they highlight the importance of finding another way to wield celebrity

  • and fame to build movements and action. Which is where Jane Fonda comes in.

  • The Fonda Way: In the fall of 2019, Fonda decided to turn

  • her climate despair into action. She set up a base in a Washington DC hotel room near

  • the White House and for 4 months she held weekly climate rallies on the doorstep of

  • the U.S. government, often ending in arrests. Unlike big ticket galas or UN speeches, Fonda

  • was wielding her fame and privilege to build a movement. Using the shocking headlines of

  • her multiple arrests, as well as enticing her celebrity friends like Sally Fields and

  • Lily Tomlin, Fonda grounded climate action in direct action. At the same time, Fonda

  • seems to be trying to take a back seat, offering her podium to indigenous activists and activists

  • of color. In essence, Fonda knows that where she goes headlines will follow, so she seems

  • to be using that spotlight to illuminate the real work of those at the frontlines of the

  • climate struggle. Like her recent appearance at the Line 3 protests. At the end of the

  • day, however, no one person will save us from climate catastrophe. We all need to lower

  • our expectations about the impact that celebrities can have on movements. At best, they can actually

  • be part of a movement, like anyone else, and use their celebrity to raise funds for democratic

  • distribution, create media to shift mainstream narratives about injustice, or get attention

  • on specific campaigns. At worst, they can use shady fundraising methods for tax breaks

  • and good PR.

  • Heroes and Movements: The true heroes are not just one person, they

  • are movements across the world blocking fossil fuel infrastructure, divesting from capitalist

  • exploitation, and building communities based in abundance. The water protectors and the

  • hundreds of people blocking the destructive progress of Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline are

  • the ones who we should be paying attention to. These are the people who, for over 500

  • years, have fought the systems of exploitation that now fuels the climate crisis. The Hollywood

  • elite can certainly do their part by supporting and lifting up these movements, but the capitalist-imperialist

  • system that underpins our climate crisis will never fall at the hands of the famous. They're

  • famous because of that system. Celebrities need to get their hands dirty, listen to those

  • that have known the land for thousands of years, and struggle directly for a world where

  • land, air, and life are deeply treasured.

  • Unfortunately, videos like these, while very important, do terribly with the YouTube algorithm

  • and sponsors don't want to touch them. But there is a way you can help. Becoming a patreon

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  • only discord channel. In addition, each month my supporters vote on an environmental group

  • that I then donate a portion of my monthly revenue to. Patreon supporters are the financial

  • backbone of the Our Changing Climate operation, without them I wouldn't be able to take

  • creative risks and dive into difficult topics. So if you want to help keep this channel alive

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  • You can help by subscribing, liking the video, and commenting. I hope you enjoyed the video,

  • and I'll see you in two weeks!

On her 82nd birthday, Jane Fonda was arrested. Approaching the capitol steps, Fonda was grabbed

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为什么名人不会拯救我们(Why Celebrities Won't Save Us (From Climate Change))

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    joey joey 發佈於 2021 年 07 月 03 日
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