In an unprecedented attempt to help get a candidate elected to the nation’s highest post, Hollywood is pulling out all the stops to assist Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to win the presidency.
Many of the Tinseltown residents with sizeable influence are busy supplying “in kind” contributions to the Hillary campaign. Playing their typical roles in the quadrennial Academy Award show of politics, they have been making personal donations, rounding up gobs of cash at left-leaning fundraisers, rushing stages to publicly endorse, appearing at campaign-stop junkets, and generally lobbing stink bombs at any political, entertainment, media, business, or high-profile individual or organization that dare express a semblance of objectivity or opposition.
Questions often arise as to whether political statements by celebrities and/or participation in liberal activism have an effect on the electoral process or the ultimate outcomes of elections.
A recent study by researchers at Washington State University indicates that “celebrity endorsements can be an effective political strategy for engaging younger voters and getting them to the polls.” The study finds that “appeals based on wishful identification with celebrities can increase young adults’ belief that participation can make a difference.”
The Clinton campaign of late has been using a technique that marketing advertisers have been frequently known to employ; that being, the use of an actor that plays the role of an expert on a television series or in a movie to market a related product or service (for instance, the use in a commercial of an actor who plays a TV doctor to sell a headache remedy).
Cast members of the politically charged television show “The West Wing” recently held group campaign appearances in the key swing state of Ohio. Oscar winner Sally Field, who received an Academy Award for her portrayal as a labor activist in the movie “Norma Rae,” also showed up in Ohio for Hillary.
And Tim Daly, who plays the character of the spouse of the secretary of state in the television program “Madam Secretary,” hit the stump in the Buckeye State as well.
Bellamy Young, who portrays a former first lady, and Tony Goldwyn, who plays the role of the president in the TV show “Scandal,” have been campaigning for Hillary in the state of Virginia.
Other Hollywood celebrities that have hit the campaign trail for Hillary include Sean Astin, Molly Ringwald, and Don Cheadle; they appeared in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Colorado, respectively.
Television producer-writer Shonda Rhimes was featured in a Hillary campaign commercial that also spotlighted three of the stars from her TV series: Ellen Pompeo from “Grey’s Anatomy,” Kerry Washington from “Scandal,” and Viola Davis from “How to Get Away with Murder.”
Joss Whedon, who directed “The Avengers” and also created the television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” seems to have moved way beyond typical Hollywood political advocacy. Whedon set up a pro-Hillary Super PAC that is producing video ads for the Democratic nominee’s campaign.
The first video in the series features a group of big name stars that includes Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore, James Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Martin Sheen, and Cheadle.
Emotions being the stock-in-trade of the acting profession, many celebrities have been incorporating it into their anti-opposition rhetoric. Some have even gone as far as to publicly express their desire to leave the country should Hillary lose to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Those who could potentially exit include the likes of Miley Cyrus, Whoopi Goldberg, and Barbra Streisand.
Celebrities from the music industry have also jumped on the Hillary-helping bandwagon. In an interview with the Rolling Stone as well as during an appearance on a Swedish-Norwegian talk show, Bruce Springsteen proceeded to heap praise on Hillary while bad-mouthing her opponent.
Rock star Bono, too, who incidentally does not hail from America but rather from Ireland, was practically hyperventilating during his interview with CBS's Charlie Rose as he trash-talked Hillary’s challenger.
Almost all of the late-night comedy hosts have been showing where their allegiances lie. They have for the most part been consistently doing their best to applaud Hillary and jeer at Trump. However, there was one aberrant event in which a late-night comedian failed to toe the liberal line and was viciously attacked in the social media and elsewhere.
During a recent segment of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” the host engaged in a friendly exchange with Trump that included the humorous tousling of the GOP nominee's hair, which of course created an exceptionally entertaining viral moment.
The Hillary abetting media were not amused.
The UK Guardian described the late-night comedy segment in the most polarizing of terms, characterizing it as “one powerful white man protecting another,” the New York Daily News claimed that Fallon had “nauseatingly gushed” over Trump, and the Huffington Post derided Fallon for “humanizing” Hillary’s rival.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read more reports from James Hirsen — Click Here Now.
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