i don't know...seems less than convincing coming from a bunch of glamour boys and girls who have more money than any person could ever reasonably spend in a life time.
i'm no communist, but my problem with this ad is that poverty is the result of economic imbalance...inequity. it's a zero sum game. the fact that there are people in this world who starve to death is directly related to the fact that the world's wealth is held in the hands of so very few.
makepovertyhistory is great...but i think the world needs to revolt against a culture that says it's OK that CEO's make thousands of times more than line workers, and that movie stars get paid tens of millions to smile pretty for the lens.
i gotta say that ad has the exact opposite effect on me than the creative team behind it was probably expecting.
Posted by anon at May 18, 2005 12:48 AM
excellent comments, anon. i have to admit that this thought crossed my mind, however quickly it came in and out. unfortunately, i didn't take the time to think through it a little more.
you have to remember the target audience for any piece of communication. for the thousands (probably millions) of people out there who hold these artists and actors as practical idols, this commercial works well. its supposed intent is to act as a mirror to reflect the mezmorized consumer's gaze back to earth to remember what's really going on here.
it's no surprise that for the socially minded person like yourself, this ad has a bad effect. my mission is to "wake up" as many people as possible. the more the word gets out, in as many ways as possible, the more audiences it will reach, i hope.
"some things you shouldn't get too good at
like smiling, crying, and celebrity.
some people got way too much confidence, baby."
anon, i hear you. i get that. but i think we can assume every person in this ad would agree that the world's economic system is unfair, which is why they are in the ad. i would guess that someone making ludicrous amounts of cash for making movies might say, "man, this isn't fair. i want to give much of this back."
it has to do with sphere of influence. for example, my sphere of influence is pretty small. when i feel convicted about something, i post it on my website or talk about it with my friends or from the pulpit. further, when i meet with the Wall St men's group of which i am a part, i show up wearing slacks and a sports jacket, just like they wear. these guys make MINIMUM $400k/yr. now, just because they have worked on Wall St for years doesn't mean they "are" the evil system. you have to learn to hate the system, not the people. do my slacks and jacket invalidate my message to help the poor? to the contrary, if i showed up dressed like a scrub to my meetings the guys wouldn't listen to me, they are use to professionalism, like it or not. can i tell you how many millions (yes, millions) of dollars i have personally seen flow from this men's group into charities that aid poor people? so, does Brad Pitt's appearance in an ad about poverty invalidate his voice? to the contrary, it will encourage other people within this unfair system to act out and donate, donate, donate. and, it will probably encourage his screaming fans as well. should Brad Pitt stay silent because he's rich? c'mon. if i had the sphere of influence of a meat butcher, i'd still tell the people i know about my passions. if i had the sphere of influence of Bono, i'd do the exact same thing.
the system is unfair. true. so i'm happy to see major change being encouraged by those "at the top." the cry of the poor is not heard in this unfair system; only the cry of the wealthy.
Bono sings, for the poor:
"In the trees our sons stand naked
Through the walls our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall"
i think i'm arguing more along the line that our big problem is gross excess...not the middle of the road 'success' like your friends on wall street.
Took at quick look at makepovertyhistory.org again. Is there something governments can do to make a difference? Sure. But the greater power is with these prominent activists themselves. How long do you think poverty would last if people with the means of the ultra wealthy stopped crying over spilt milk and actually started mopping it up?
what i see in this clip is little more than lip service. what's it costing them? if they donate $50,000 or $5 million...do they even feel it?
they don't have to give all of their riches away...or maybe they do...i seem to recall a young guy who had a question about that, and couldn't face the answer.
clearly, there's a role for all of us to play in addressing the crisis of poverty. truth is, i'm rich by third world standards. so i'm not suggesting that those of us who 'work' for a living pass the responsibility of looking after the poor, fatherless and widow on strictly to those in the highest tax brackets.
but i do think poverty is symptomatic of how off course our values are. the fact that we don't rise up against excess, means we endorse the idea of players being signed to 5 year contracts for $80 million, or CEO's being canned and grabbing billion dollar parachutes. It's absurd, right? I don't even go to ball games any more. Not out of protest, but because I think it's quite literally damned nonsense.
wealth is like a blanket. if one person pulls it all on their side of the bed, someone else ends up out in the cold.
Posted by at May 18, 2005 12:00 PM
anonymous, your argument is full of straw men and is complaining about things the One campaign is designed to be against. you say you want celebrities to stop "crying over spilled milk" (mixed metaphor?) and do something about it. the One campaign, among other efforts, IS them doing something about poverty. what else do you want? Bono began a new line of clothing which is fair trade. that's one more example. Makepovertyhistory is a massive project doing something about poverty.
your complaints about big government, big business, and professional sports are straw men; i'm pretty sure everyone involved with MPH or One would agree there is massive corruption and need for change in the whole system. that's why they're doing what they're doing!
my advice to you: stop whining and sign the petition, donate your own money, use your own sphere of influence to turn the tide, follow Bono's example :)
"i think we can assume every person in this ad would agree that the world's economic system is unfair, which is why they are in the ad."
nathan, you have a good heart and give people a lot more credit than i do. perhaps i'm too much of a cynic, but maybe it's fair to think some of them might be doing this for more than just the cause.
"i would guess that someone making ludicrous amounts of cash for making movies might say, "man, this isn't fair. i want to give much of this back."
i've NEVER seen a celebrity exhibit that much humility. when's the last time you saw a movie star negotiate for LESS pay in a starring role?
not trying to be argumentative. i guess i don't understand how the One campaign is fundamentally any different than USA for Africa (apart from the fact that i don't own any of mr. jackson's albums and i have all of bono's.)
i'll concede that maybe i'm clueless...and i've got a penchant for mixing metaphors...and i also love to parse...so help me understand how this campaign is different from anything we've seen before?
Posted by at May 18, 2005 1:26 PM
"...i've NEVER seen a celebrity exhibit that much humility...so help me understand how this campaign is different from anything we've seen before?..."
Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by
And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table.
anon, i don't think i've heard anything more humble in my life.
Posted by dad at May 18, 2005 9:06 PM
i once saw Jim Carrey on Larry King Live say that, for his next movie in which he made $20million, he'd be giving his paycheck away. that was right after a discussion about something he had learned from his minister, the pastor at Malibu Presbyterian about idolizing things other than God. that was pretty cool.
here are a couple ways the One campaign and MPH are profoundly different than any celebrity-backed campaign you've seen before. one, Bono has audience with world leaders frequently, including the presidents/PM's of the U.S., of the U.N., and of European states. he has their ear (not just for photo-ops), which is more than anyone, including Michael Jackson, can say. two, Bono has made it a life mission, a front-burner issue, to help end extreme poverty. it's not a PR campaign; it's a calling. last night, at the concert i attended in NJ, during a 3-song anti-war set (Love and Peace OR ELSE!, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Bullet the Blue Sky), he cried out about the death of innocent children who are victims of both bombs and unjust economic systems. He stumbled to his knees and sang, "Father Abraham, look at your sons. Father Abraham, what have we done? Father Abraham. Father Abraham? Speak to your sons!" Yeah, pretty dramatic. But I do believe it was/is much more than just theatre.
Dad... you've been doing your U2 lyrics homework. (Coolest Dad Ever, btw). I love that song. Perhaps you didn't know that it was written basically as an open letter to his friend George Bush. Bush, in one of his State of the Union addresses, said he was committing $15billion to the AIDS crisis in Africa (which, Anonymous, was decided after several meetings he had with--drumroll please--Bono). Then, later, Bush invaded Iraq and then chopped that pledge into only $1billion. One night Bono and the boys were drinking in a pub and wrote "Crumbs From Your Table" Here are the lyrics that precede the ones Dad chose:
You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends
You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table
To me, this lyric says that you and Bono are the same page entirely. He doesn't want a nice photo-op with George Bush for good PR; he wants results. The $15billion would have been a humble "meal" for the collective AIDS victim; $1billion is like a patronizing crumb from the giant wealthy table of America.
I'll close this ever-lengthening comment with another (paraphrased) quote from the concert last night: "Think about it," he pleaded, "every day 6,000 people die from a misquito bite. We can fix that! We have the science, we have the resources, but do we have the will? Join me in having the will, won't you? (Music begins while the txt # is on the video screens to digitally sign the petition..., then, singing) Is it getting better... or do you feel the same? etc."
I'd like to add one, hopefully, balancing comment to the discussion so far. I think that Nathan and Paul are really trying hard to defend Bono, and I think that's rightly so. However, I think it is valid to ask the question, How many of those other stars in that commercial are of the same heart and mind? One of the problems that anon is bringing up is that a lot of times celebreties like to jump on causes, not becasue of the cause, but because it keeps them in the spotlight. I don't think anyone can question Bono though on his intentions.
Posted by Jamison at May 19, 2005 1:58 PM
jamison, that's probably true. clearly, Bono's motivation doesn't need to be defended, but rather just exposed for what it is, that is, pure. as for the others, i suppose a cynic (wink) could question their motives. i think we can assume, though, that if a group of people making an ad were in the room with him for more than 5 minutes, they would have at least witnessed his passion and could have been affected by it.
hey everyone. i was searching for this picture this morning for another discussion and i found an amazing photo gallery that i thought was relevant to this discussion. check it out. peace.
wow, it's pretty rare when an ad causes me to have goosebumps. this one did.
i don't know...seems less than convincing coming from a bunch of glamour boys and girls who have more money than any person could ever reasonably spend in a life time.
i'm no communist, but my problem with this ad is that poverty is the result of economic imbalance...inequity. it's a zero sum game. the fact that there are people in this world who starve to death is directly related to the fact that the world's wealth is held in the hands of so very few.
makepovertyhistory is great...but i think the world needs to revolt against a culture that says it's OK that CEO's make thousands of times more than line workers, and that movie stars get paid tens of millions to smile pretty for the lens.
i gotta say that ad has the exact opposite effect on me than the creative team behind it was probably expecting.
excellent comments, anon. i have to admit that this thought crossed my mind, however quickly it came in and out. unfortunately, i didn't take the time to think through it a little more.
you have to remember the target audience for any piece of communication. for the thousands (probably millions) of people out there who hold these artists and actors as practical idols, this commercial works well. its supposed intent is to act as a mirror to reflect the mezmorized consumer's gaze back to earth to remember what's really going on here.
it's no surprise that for the socially minded person like yourself, this ad has a bad effect. my mission is to "wake up" as many people as possible. the more the word gets out, in as many ways as possible, the more audiences it will reach, i hope.
"some things you shouldn't get too good at
like smiling, crying, and celebrity.
some people got way too much confidence, baby."
anon, i hear you. i get that. but i think we can assume every person in this ad would agree that the world's economic system is unfair, which is why they are in the ad. i would guess that someone making ludicrous amounts of cash for making movies might say, "man, this isn't fair. i want to give much of this back."
it has to do with sphere of influence. for example, my sphere of influence is pretty small. when i feel convicted about something, i post it on my website or talk about it with my friends or from the pulpit. further, when i meet with the Wall St men's group of which i am a part, i show up wearing slacks and a sports jacket, just like they wear. these guys make MINIMUM $400k/yr. now, just because they have worked on Wall St for years doesn't mean they "are" the evil system. you have to learn to hate the system, not the people. do my slacks and jacket invalidate my message to help the poor? to the contrary, if i showed up dressed like a scrub to my meetings the guys wouldn't listen to me, they are use to professionalism, like it or not. can i tell you how many millions (yes, millions) of dollars i have personally seen flow from this men's group into charities that aid poor people? so, does Brad Pitt's appearance in an ad about poverty invalidate his voice? to the contrary, it will encourage other people within this unfair system to act out and donate, donate, donate. and, it will probably encourage his screaming fans as well. should Brad Pitt stay silent because he's rich? c'mon. if i had the sphere of influence of a meat butcher, i'd still tell the people i know about my passions. if i had the sphere of influence of Bono, i'd do the exact same thing.
the system is unfair. true. so i'm happy to see major change being encouraged by those "at the top." the cry of the poor is not heard in this unfair system; only the cry of the wealthy.
Bono sings, for the poor:
"In the trees our sons stand naked
Through the walls our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall"
i think i'm arguing more along the line that our big problem is gross excess...not the middle of the road 'success' like your friends on wall street.
Took at quick look at makepovertyhistory.org again. Is there something governments can do to make a difference? Sure. But the greater power is with these prominent activists themselves. How long do you think poverty would last if people with the means of the ultra wealthy stopped crying over spilt milk and actually started mopping it up?
what i see in this clip is little more than lip service. what's it costing them? if they donate $50,000 or $5 million...do they even feel it?
they don't have to give all of their riches away...or maybe they do...i seem to recall a young guy who had a question about that, and couldn't face the answer.
clearly, there's a role for all of us to play in addressing the crisis of poverty. truth is, i'm rich by third world standards. so i'm not suggesting that those of us who 'work' for a living pass the responsibility of looking after the poor, fatherless and widow on strictly to those in the highest tax brackets.
but i do think poverty is symptomatic of how off course our values are. the fact that we don't rise up against excess, means we endorse the idea of players being signed to 5 year contracts for $80 million, or CEO's being canned and grabbing billion dollar parachutes. It's absurd, right? I don't even go to ball games any more. Not out of protest, but because I think it's quite literally damned nonsense.
wealth is like a blanket. if one person pulls it all on their side of the bed, someone else ends up out in the cold.
anonymous, your argument is full of straw men and is complaining about things the One campaign is designed to be against. you say you want celebrities to stop "crying over spilled milk" (mixed metaphor?) and do something about it. the One campaign, among other efforts, IS them doing something about poverty. what else do you want? Bono began a new line of clothing which is fair trade. that's one more example. Makepovertyhistory is a massive project doing something about poverty.
your complaints about big government, big business, and professional sports are straw men; i'm pretty sure everyone involved with MPH or One would agree there is massive corruption and need for change in the whole system. that's why they're doing what they're doing!
my advice to you: stop whining and sign the petition, donate your own money, use your own sphere of influence to turn the tide, follow Bono's example :)
"i think we can assume every person in this ad would agree that the world's economic system is unfair, which is why they are in the ad."
nathan, you have a good heart and give people a lot more credit than i do. perhaps i'm too much of a cynic, but maybe it's fair to think some of them might be doing this for more than just the cause.
"i would guess that someone making ludicrous amounts of cash for making movies might say, "man, this isn't fair. i want to give much of this back."
i've NEVER seen a celebrity exhibit that much humility. when's the last time you saw a movie star negotiate for LESS pay in a starring role?
not trying to be argumentative. i guess i don't understand how the One campaign is fundamentally any different than USA for Africa (apart from the fact that i don't own any of mr. jackson's albums and i have all of bono's.)
i'll concede that maybe i'm clueless...and i've got a penchant for mixing metaphors...and i also love to parse...so help me understand how this campaign is different from anything we've seen before?
"...i've NEVER seen a celebrity exhibit that much humility...so help me understand how this campaign is different from anything we've seen before?..."
Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by
And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table.
anon, i don't think i've heard anything more humble in my life.
i once saw Jim Carrey on Larry King Live say that, for his next movie in which he made $20million, he'd be giving his paycheck away. that was right after a discussion about something he had learned from his minister, the pastor at Malibu Presbyterian about idolizing things other than God. that was pretty cool.
here are a couple ways the One campaign and MPH are profoundly different than any celebrity-backed campaign you've seen before. one, Bono has audience with world leaders frequently, including the presidents/PM's of the U.S., of the U.N., and of European states. he has their ear (not just for photo-ops), which is more than anyone, including Michael Jackson, can say. two, Bono has made it a life mission, a front-burner issue, to help end extreme poverty. it's not a PR campaign; it's a calling. last night, at the concert i attended in NJ, during a 3-song anti-war set (Love and Peace OR ELSE!, Sunday Bloody Sunday, and Bullet the Blue Sky), he cried out about the death of innocent children who are victims of both bombs and unjust economic systems. He stumbled to his knees and sang, "Father Abraham, look at your sons. Father Abraham, what have we done? Father Abraham. Father Abraham? Speak to your sons!" Yeah, pretty dramatic. But I do believe it was/is much more than just theatre.
Dad... you've been doing your U2 lyrics homework. (Coolest Dad Ever, btw). I love that song. Perhaps you didn't know that it was written basically as an open letter to his friend George Bush. Bush, in one of his State of the Union addresses, said he was committing $15billion to the AIDS crisis in Africa (which, Anonymous, was decided after several meetings he had with--drumroll please--Bono). Then, later, Bush invaded Iraq and then chopped that pledge into only $1billion. One night Bono and the boys were drinking in a pub and wrote "Crumbs From Your Table" Here are the lyrics that precede the ones Dad chose:
To me, this lyric says that you and Bono are the same page entirely. He doesn't want a nice photo-op with George Bush for good PR; he wants results. The $15billion would have been a humble "meal" for the collective AIDS victim; $1billion is like a patronizing crumb from the giant wealthy table of America.
I'll close this ever-lengthening comment with another (paraphrased) quote from the concert last night: "Think about it," he pleaded, "every day 6,000 people die from a misquito bite. We can fix that! We have the science, we have the resources, but do we have the will? Join me in having the will, won't you? (Music begins while the txt # is on the video screens to digitally sign the petition..., then, singing) Is it getting better... or do you feel the same? etc."
I'd like to add one, hopefully, balancing comment to the discussion so far. I think that Nathan and Paul are really trying hard to defend Bono, and I think that's rightly so. However, I think it is valid to ask the question, How many of those other stars in that commercial are of the same heart and mind? One of the problems that anon is bringing up is that a lot of times celebreties like to jump on causes, not becasue of the cause, but because it keeps them in the spotlight. I don't think anyone can question Bono though on his intentions.
jamison, that's probably true. clearly, Bono's motivation doesn't need to be defended, but rather just exposed for what it is, that is, pure. as for the others, i suppose a cynic (wink) could question their motives. i think we can assume, though, that if a group of people making an ad were in the room with him for more than 5 minutes, they would have at least witnessed his passion and could have been affected by it.
hey everyone. i was searching for this picture this morning for another discussion and i found an amazing photo gallery that i thought was relevant to this discussion. check it out. peace.
found another article of relevance. nice chattin with you, anon and all.
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