Sunday, July 7, 2024
X (the platform formerly known as Twitter, which always evokes Prince for me) is filled with nasty commentary from “celebrities” which is 99% directed against the Republican Party and Donald Trump. That is their right, and I would never deny them that freedom, even though it is highly vitriolic.
But I’ve always wondered about the “mixed media effect” that was originated my Marshall McLuhan. He maintained that expertise on any given area was often conflated to bestow expertise in unrelated areas. And I’ve found this to be exacerbated by visibility and fame (or notoriety). I mean, what difference does it make what anyone with the name “Kardashian” thinks or does?
Why would anyone feel that the opinions of an actor about politics are any more valid than one’s own opinions, or more valid than anyone else’s, for that matter? Actors are rewarded for portraying other people, reading and reciting others’ words, and are notoriously insecure.
The fact that social media are replete with actors’ and performers’ opinions about whom to vote for is kind of funny. It’s sort of like some of these people who have never played a sport professionally or with great accomplishment critiquing top players. One guy at a bar told me, between Tom Brady’s fourth and fifth Super Bowl wins, that he wasn’t that good a quarterback, and wouldn’t make the playoffs again.
Fortunately, he didn’t tell me how to vote in the next election.