Stardom, Sentimental Education, and the Shaping of Global Citizens

Wilson, Julie A.

doi:10.1353/cj.2014.0013

Stardom, Sentimental Education, and the Shaping of Global Citizens

Author(s)

Wilson, Julie A.

Date Issued

December 1, 2014

Abstract

When Danny Kaye became goodwill ambassador for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 1954, a process was set in motion that brought media industries, stars, and the United Nations into dynamic relationship and birthed a new concept of celebrity diplomacy. This essay historicizes the rise of contemporary celebrity diplomats like Bono and Angelina Jolie by theorizing how the stardom of Kaye came to function as sentimental education, that is, as a tool for teaching Western audiences about their emotional bonds and moral obligations to distant populations. In turn, through Kaye's performances as "Mr. UNICEF," stardom emerged as a potent cultural technology of citizen shaping for global governing.

Journal

Cinema Journal

Department

Communication, Film, and Theatre

Citation

Wilson, Julie. "Stardom, Sentimental Education, and the Shaping of Global Citizens." Cinema Journal 53, no. 2 (2014): 27-49. doi:10.1353/cj.2014.0013.

Publisher

University of Texas Press

Version of Article

Published article

DOI

10.1353/cj.2014.0013

ISSN

0009-7101

Rights

File(s)

Name

2014_12_Wilson_Stardom.pdf

Size

1.55 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

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