Acclaim or Negation for George Clooney’s Role in South Sudan’s Independence?
Who deserves credit for bringing the Republic of South Sudan into existence as the 193rd country in the United Nations?
One strong candidate for acclaim is the phenomenon of celebrity activism led by Hollywood’s paramount leading man, George Clooney.
In a cover story back in January, at the time of the ultimately successful referendum in South Sudan, Newsweek magazine elevated Clooney’s status to that of the quintessential 21st-century statesman.
Not only did the article showcase Clooney’s pivotal role in achieving this decisive result after many decades of fighting, it implied that these activities served as a catalyst for the so-called Arab Spring.
But not everybody has been convinced.
As might be expected, there continue to be ripples of outright dismissal of Clooney’s efforts from the usual suspects.
Some professional skeptics, such as NYU economics professor William Easterly, have been dismissive of any celebrity efforts of an issue-specific nature — whether on Sudan or development.
Conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh have continually torn into Clooney, targeting him as a classic liberal grandstanding star over his head in a dangerous neighbourhood.
What is new is the negation of Clooney’s efforts not only by some armchair
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/andrew-cooper/george-clooney-sudan_b_901878.html
Category: South Sudan News
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