"I know I might be excessively hating on Bieber right now, but I can't take this whole thing seriously. He's a manufactured, cookie-cutter, marketed child pop star."
I think it’s a harsh judgment to say “Who is Justin Bieber trying to be by showing extreme poverty of third world countries when in reality, he hasn't even seen it with his own two eyes?” and use that as an argument against him is portraying them through his music video. Reality is, there are tons of people who have not been in, or ever experienced what a third world country is like. But does this mean they should not talk about them? Or support them? Or try to make a difference in the way they can? How can we fully know that Justin Bieber is one of these “celebrities [who] unabashedly use third world imagery to primarily stir up emotions in viewers without any real resolution”? I don’t think it is fair to make this assumption. If I had musical talent and truly cared about my world, I would try to promote it in ways that I could. Regarding your point about only 1$ of each ticket going towards “Pencils of Promise”, if you look at many other people around us, I believe that all those $1 dollars will amount to much more than the average person gives regularly.
I was born in Kenya, spent my last summer in Colombia, and am going to South Asia this summer – and I have been exposed to many of the sufferings that people experience in third world countries. But unlike you, I was encouraged to see a pop star raising awareness through his music video, because I feel that so many of us in North America are not aware of the pain felt in other countries. There are many times when I try talking to my own sister (13 years old) about these issues, and she has put on view of apathy. My hope is that all these fans of Justin Bieber will be inspired or motivated to do more and try to change the world in the way they can.
Will Justin Bieber continue to be this ideal role model? I don’t know. I can’t guarantee he won’t turn out to become like the other celebrities you mentioned. But I won’t doubt yet.
Georgia's response to my response:
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see that my extreme hating on Bieber has brought out an interesting debate!
Khevna: You bring up some really good points to counter my argument. Like I said, I can respect Bieber for trying to do his part. But at the end of the day, I believe that celebrities hold too much trust from the general population to be genuine, like everything they do isn’t with their own intentions in mind. Point blank, I don't trust celebrities; I think their image and their actions are a product of executives, publicists and agents who have been creating stars for years behind the scenes. They know how to effectively create a boy-wonder who is talented, cute and most importantly Christian and therefore compassionate. Why else would a marketing brochure targeting young Christian youth and Bieber's movie be circulating? Because they've created the image and they want it to be followed through with numbers, which inevitably equals MONEY! They want the demographic, they will do anything in their power to reach out to those people; and by whatever means necessary; in this case, speaking to the young Christians who listen and can relate in whatever ways, to Bieber. Justin Bieber is a brand at the end of the day and they want to make sure that to sell this brand, he needs to hit several target areas to truly become larger than the biggest pop star of all time: Michael Jackson. I’m sure once he turns 18 they’ll really sex him up and make sure the cougars start listening and paying attention to the adult Bieber too. It’s all a marketing scheme and that’s what people don’t seem to understand. There is always an ulterior motive and that’s ultimately fame and fortune.
You mentioned “Reality is, there are tons of people who have not been in, or ever experienced what a third world country is like. But does this mean they should not talk about them? Or support them? Or try to make a difference in the way they can?” I have problems with the fact that Bieber is preaching something to children that he himself doesn’t even know about. You don’t really know poverty until you see it right smack in front of you Comparing his life in a shelter to children in third world countries who have it a million times worse is not something he should be alluding to if he hasn’t been there and seen the harsh reality. I know for me prior my trip, there was always a bit of hope that maybe things aren’t so bad; that maybe those world vision ads are fabricated a bit to make viewers more inclined to donate. But when you go somewhere like Cambodia and poverty is thrown in your face, it’s earth shattering and an experience I think everyone who preaches charity to others, should encounter. Harsh as you may think my opinion may be, I just think Bieber needs to witness it himself if he’s going to have the audacity to try and relate to these extremely less fortunate individuals.
Georgia's response to my response continued:
ReplyDeleteYou also mention that your sister is apathetic towards the issues occurring in third world countries. Do you blame her? She’s thirteen! Why are we trying to get pre-teens to grow up so fast? So that they can realise the world is a scary-ass place, full of poverty, hunger, and violence? Most kids can’t even grapple with the fact that there are over six billion people in the world (I can’t even handle that!), let alone that people are starving and homeless, living under corrupt governments and what not. I’m not saying kids should be ignorant to world issues, I just believe there’s a time and a place for everything; but when you’re thirteen, it’s the only time you can be young and not worry about these threats to human existence. How many thirteen year olds have the power to change the world? How many parents would even let their child attempt to change the world at thirteen? Very few. Sometimes I wish I didn’t even see what I did in Cambodia because I know I can only do so much and it sucks knowing that while I live a fortunate life, in which many take for granted, many worldwide weren’t as lucky. Just thinking about this brings up whole slew of questions that I don’t think thirteen year olds are capable of dealing with.