Scene 1. Interior, night. Peacock Theatre, downtown Los Angeles, California. Although it seems like an eternity, June 15, 2024. On stage, relaxed, smiling, Barack Obama and Joe Biden make jokes in front of the great faces of cinema, television and global entertainment, who come together to raise funds for the Democratic candidate, their candidate, for the November elections. Among the invited friends are George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Barbra Streisand. The presenter Jimmy Kimmel, jokes against the enemyDonald Trump, calling him “the orange Julius Caesar.” With the $250 paid by the less well-off for the cheapest seat and up to the $500,000 paid by those who wanted a front-row seat, photo and VIP party, the sum comes to $30 million. [unos 27,6 millones de euros]the highest number collected by the Democrats in a single day. Joy.
Scene 2. Interior, afternoon, Atlanta, June 27. A disastrous debate between Biden and Trump. From then on, murmurs, criticism, fear in offices and mansions in Los Angeles, day and night. Only two weeks have passed since the great night of love between Hollywood and the Democratic Party when everything falls apart. On July 3, Netflix co-founder and mega-donor Reed Hastings asks Biden to leave the electoral race. That day, Damon Lindelof, creator of the series Lostsends a column to the specialized media Deadline: Biden has to go and the Democrats have to wake upOn the 10th, George Clooney nails the finishing touch in The New York Times: I love Joe Biden. But we need a new candidate. Chaos.
Third and final scene. Sunday, July 21, a summer sun is shining in the capital. Joe Biden announces in a letter that he is leaving the candidacy and that he wants Kamala Harris to replace him. Washington breathes. Hollywood breathes. The stars begin to support, en masse, one after the other, the virtual candidate (on Monday afternoon she would get the necessary support). Apathy turns to enthusiasm. Reed Hastings takes out his wallet again: seven million for Harris, his largest donation so far, according to the Los Angeles Times. Hope.
Harris’s arrival in the presidential race has created great expectations in the world of culture in the United States, in a self-reinforcing circle: this support from the cultural industry gives wings and strength to the vice president’s career. Hollywood is a very powerful agent in the vote. First, because it is a money-making machine that is essential for any political apparatus. And second, because of its visibility and ability to place messages in every corner of the planet – especially in its own country. The figures showed this from the first minute. An example: Harris’s memoirs (The Truths We Hold) have been placed as the best sellers in various categories of biographies on Amazon. Another: the series Veep (2012-2019), which portrays the adventures of a vice president who, when the president leaves the electoral race, decides to remain at the helm, quadrupled its views between Sunday (with 486,000 minutes) and Monday (with 2.2 million minutes) on the Max platform.
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Katy Perry let the world know on Monday that she was on the Californian’s side by posting a video montage of the candidate dancing to her song for her 200 million Instagram fans. Woman’s World (A world of women) in the background. Others did not wait a single day. On Sunday, on their networks, Barbra StreisandSpike Lee (under the message “once again, a sister to the rescue”), Jamie Lee Curtis (with half a dozen photos with messages full of exclamation marks), Mark Hamill or Sheryl Lee Ralph showed their support for the Democrats and Harris. Then came John Legend, Ariana Grande, Carole King, Rosie O’Donnell, Moby, Demi Lovato, Cardi B, Ariana DeBose, Questlove, Lizzo… and of course, George Clooney.
Was the mayor The Hollywood progressive and Democrat who gave Harris the final endorsement. “President Biden has shown what true leadership is. Once again, he is saving democracy. We are all very excited to do everything we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic mission,” Clooney said on CNN, paving a prosperous path for future mutual collaboration. Several acting unions have also supported the vice president. And it is not lost on her husband, Doug Emhoff, the so-called second knightwho until 2020 was a powerful lawyer with good friends in Hollywood, such as Dana Walden, co-president of Disney.
“We’ve seen the importance of George Clooney’s role in pushing for Biden to leave, and it’s not just because he’s famous,” Alexander Theodoridis, a political science professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, said by phone. “It’s because he’s involved, he’s a donor, someone who has interacted with Biden, who has written in The New York Times…but at the same time it’s all because he’s famous,” says the expert. “Celebrities are definitely important because they can do everything: get attention, have access, raise a lot of money. And that matters.” The Los Angeles and Hollywood press has been saying it these days: celebrities, but also donors, are happy. The Hollywood Reporter spoke of “relief and gratitude” among the check bearers; an anonymous donor stated in LA Times He said he was “more excited and motivated than he had been in months, and everyone is saying the same thing.” For the professor, many will join the Hello Kamala because “it is always exciting to be on the side of something that has the potential to be groundbreaking, which is what is happening here: it could be the first female president, the first woman of color, it brings with it a lot of ‘the first of’. And that is always appreciated.”
“I wouldn’t expect too much persuasion, particularly not from stars. But I would encourage people to vote. Especially among young people, who tend to be democrats but not very active.”
Alexander Theodoridis, Professor of Political Science at Amherst College in Massachusetts
Social media and culture, and pop culture in particular, are key to making Harris’ image resonate with the electorate after four years as vice president. TikTok recreates her dances and repeats her laughs in memes of: “Do you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”; the networks dye her green, the color of summer depending on the theme. Brat CharliXCX. Harris needs and relies on women, blacks and Latinos, as well as Asian-Americans and Hawaiians, to win in this election. And many of them will listen to what their idols have to say, even if it doesn’t exactly change minds. According to Theodoridis, “endorsements don’t change too many opinions. But what celebrities do effectively, besides raising money, is to excite people. You see Clooney’s fundraisers full of stars, with people who love to go, and you see politicians and celebrities, things that only Hollywood and stars can do. But they won’t change people’s minds, although they can make them act.” In other words: rather than getting them to change their vote, the expert says that celebrities can mobilize their fans to simply vote, a somewhat tedious process in the US because it requires prior registration. “Honestly, I wouldn’t expect too much persuasion,” he admits, “particularly not from stars. But they can encourage people to vote. Especially young people, who tend to be democrats but not too active.”
Kamala Harris has dozens of supporters among the most famous faces in the US. But there are two who would give a definitive boost to the candidacy. The first, the one who sings the song that the vice president used in her first act in Wilmington and that will be played throughout the 100 days she has left to try to reach the White House: Beyoncé. Her song Freedomfrom the album Lemonade (2016), is the soundtrack of the campaign (in fact, it appeared in her first ad) and it seems that that word, freedom, has become her motto. The artist has approved Harris’ use of the song; a not insignificant issue that has the Republican side in a tizzy, who are being bombarded with lawsuits from artists for using their songs without consulting. Tina Knowles, the singer’s mother, has also supported her. But Beyoncé herself is missing.
Her second major supporter would also be another woman, a singer, considered the biggest artist of the moment: Taylor Swift. Feared by Republicans, her influence can also be very powerful, especially among young people and women. In 2020, she already spoke out in favor of Biden (and Harris); this 2024, the Democratic team has been wanting her support for months. The two queens of 21st century music also have a loving personal relationship, supporting each other in their achievements, and it would make sense for them to support another woman, a progressive, to achieve her goal. Their fans, who have been dreaming of a mutual collaboration for years, even imagined a concert by both of them on Wednesday in support of the candidate. And with something like that, perhaps Kamala Harris would touch the presidency with her fingertips.
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