With the presidential election just over two weeks away, UW-Madison students can expect to be deluged with continued candidate endorsements and repudiations. It is worrisome, however, to think about the influence Hollywood celebrities can have on the minds of the college demographic. Members of Twinkletown elite have left the comfort of their multi-million dollar mansions recently to travel to Madison, graciously providing UW's star-struck undecideds with their political two cents.
Do not be swayed by the stardust.
These celebrities are no more qualified to impart political wisdom than that man on State Street who can play three instruments at once. Yes, Leonardo DiCaprio was in the blockbuster movie \Titanic."" But to which of these political analysts are we to turn for voting counsel? It's a tough decision.
This is not meant to devalue the intelligence of any State Street entertainer, but merely to point out the fact that, when seeking political wisdom, one amateur source of information is as good as any other. It's just that one makes more money and has really good hair.
So, Natalie Portman went to Harvard. That's all well and good, but the question must be asked: Were students flocking to see her because they were hoping to gain some political insight from a student of one of the most respected educational institutions in the country or because she is Natalie Portman? To put it another way, suppose some Joe Harvard poli-sci student comes to Madison for a political colloquy. How many students will show up?
Moreover, rarely do celebrity endorsers offer any additional information that is significant to a pressing political issue. They come in, tell their audience they are voting for so-and-so, regurgitate a few ""facts"" that support their endorsement, sign autographs and leave. In fact, it seems as though they bank on the fact that their celebrity status will be enough to sway the college undecided population their way. They rely on their filmographies rather than the content of their message. Portman spent more time signing autographs than she did speaking.
Based on the reactions of UW students during these visits from Portman and DiCaprio, it seems as though campus may be falling victim to the pearly whites and sparkling blue eyes of these walking, talking candidate billboards. Just the mere sight of Portman almost caused one Madison student to fall away in a swoon, and when Leo entered the Orpheum Theatre last Wednesday, the audience erupted into fits of screams and giggles usually heard at pre-teen slumber parties.
But there is hope. Larry Sabato, director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, has studied the effects Hollywood actors can have over the politically ill-at-ease, and though his studies do not pertain strictly to the college population, there is no reason why our campus cannot be a representative of his propitious findings.
Sabato told MSNBC reporter Michael Ross, ""very few Americans are empty vessels into which celebrities ... can pour opinions."" He refers to those who would vote for a candidate simply because a movie star is backing them as ""blithering idiots"" and assures that ""generally, the blithering idiots are in the movie theaters on Election Day.""
Madison is an intelligent campus with very few movie theaters. Hopefully, it will take more than Queen Amidala and Gilbert Grape's pesky little brother to influence its vote.
Abby DeBruine is a first-year graduate student in the school of journalism and mass communication.
