Polebrity

The fusing of American politics and celebrity has created an atmosphere among our culture where real life and fantasy have been blurred.  The credibility of both sides have suffered due to this cohesion. These days it is getting harder to distinguish true character from one that is created or manipulated behind the scenes. Celebrities try to play a more important role in society and it is as if politicians are trying to perform for an audience. The sad part is that this type of politics works. Politicians are able to bring in celebrities to campaign for them to bring them a level of legitimacy and often times it does. People begin to associate the politician with the celebrity and they already associate the celebrity with whatever vehicle made them famous. So in a sense the politician is trying to make a connection to the celebrity's fictional character and not the person themselves.

We also see a desire of both sides being drawn to the others whether for more recognition or a sense of legitimacy. There many examples of this such as the recent turn of Rod Blagoevich from shamed Illinois Governor to semi-famous reality TV star. The same can be said for famous actors who are thinking about throwing their hats into the political arena like Ben Affleck and Alec Baldwin.

Celebrity has always been used to bring awareness to important issues by using the power of their platform but these days, when the shift of power and idolatry has changed from the politician to the celebrity it is more important than ever to have an association and plug from a popular celebrity.