They influence what we wear, what we eat, what we say and how we say it. And now, they are beginning to influence our environmental views and concerns.
These people being referred to are the stars and celebrities of Hollywood.
Today, the influence from the pop culture world is coming from all around us. It is in our music, films and television shows where we are exposed to celebrities’ political interests and beliefs.
“I think going green has definitely had some pop culture influence in the past year or so,” said Dina Franceschi, co-director of the University’s environmental studies department.
While society has been impacted by Hollywood’s influence for quite some time, it is only recently that this influence has shifted towards an environmental perspective in a sudden “wave of attraction.” The real question, though, is whether this wave will leave short term or long-term awareness.
“Of course, none of us can be certain of the term,” said Franceschi. “But we hope it is certainly long term. Otherwise, we’ll all pay the price!”
When it comes to environmental concern, one of the first major exposures in the mainstream world and the current generation came in 2006, through Al Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Since it’s release, the film has left a noticeable influence on the pop culture world, impacting most youth most of all.
One sign of that impact on the younger generation that Gores’ film had came in the popular television show, “The O.C.” Admired and idolized by thousands of teenagers, the show’s protagonist Summer Roberts became an environmental activist in the show’s final season, after watching the film, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Since the revelation, many of the storylines for the primetime drama revolved around the character’s environmental endeavors.
The film also helped inspire the idea for “Live Earth,” a one-day music festival where more than 150 musicians, including Kanye West and Fall Out Boy, united and performed on all seven continents, sharing the view that action needs to be taken toward climate change.
“It is a very good thing to influence youth, there is a greater potential for those people to carry the importance of the cause with them as they enter adult and professional life,” said Franceschi. With environmental awareness continuing to spread among the youth, the best place to look for answers would be right here on campus.
“We live in a society now that is so heavily influenced by popular culture that it overflows into all aspects of our lifestyles, the way we dress, the way we act, and the way we perceive different things,” said Will Dunn ’09.
“Naturally, if a celebrity makes it their point to go green, the mass will in turn fall a suit,” Dunn said.
“I do agree that pop culture is influencing the way our generation looks at the environment,” said Stacy Davis, president of the Fairfield Student Environmental Association (SEA).
SEA at the University originated in 1993, and has worked to promote environmental awareness on campus. With pop culture continuing to influence the youth to be more environmentally aware, it would seem like membership and awareness for the SEA would have sky rocketed.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. “The number of Student Environmental Association members has remained constant over the past couple of years, although I definitely think more people are more aware of the current green movement,” said Davis. While pop culture has gotten students more motivated to join the green movement, most haven’t furthered their signs of interest.
So while the campaigning of actors and musicians has significantly influenced the youth and students to become more environmentally conscious, the chances of this trend becoming short term may be great.
In late last year, television star and teenage sensation Hayden Penettiere made headlines after embarking on a dangerous mission to save dolphins from being captured and killed by Japanese fishermen.
Labeled as an environmental activist and a green celebrity, most of her credibility was soon lost after being spotted by paparazzi driving a gas guzzling SUV.
Does this mean Hayden limits herself as an activist only for animal rights, or does it mean that she herself fell victim to a short-term trend of being environmentally active?
Although having a big name celebrity like John Mayer promoting hybrid cars may be helpful for the youth and the environment, it is going to take more than this to eliminate the problems our future will soon face.
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