The Activist and Commodity Activism
Conference Presentation
Authors | Sedgwick, C. |
---|---|
Type | Conference Presentation |
Abstract | In 2021 American network CBS announced new series The Activist in conjunction with Global Citizen, ‘an international advocacy organisation dedicated to ending extreme poverty’ (Davies, 2021). Using a competition format, the show’s contestants would talk part in challenges before attending a summit of world leaders. However, the backlash to the show was swift, especially on social media platforms such as Instagram and Tik Tok. This is ironic given that the show was framed around ‘insta- activism’ and social media savvy activists. Mukherjee and Banet- Weiser (2012) discuss the rise of celebrity activism as part of the commodification of activism in neoliberal societies where there is a declining welfare state. The original concept of The Activist fits within this mould, a CBS executive described the show as ‘combining philanthropy and entertainment’ (CBS, 2021) and images of the celebrity judges featured prominently. |
Keywords | Reality TV; Social Media ; celebrity activism |
Year | 2022 |
Conference | The Sociologies of Reality TV, University of Sheffield |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | 2022 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 22 Sep 2022 |
https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/98y96/the-activist-and-commodity-activism
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