Research Question:
How are celebrities shaping the youth vote in the 2024 presidential campaign? Do celebrities have an obligation to speak out about politics since they have such large platforms?
Part 1: MLA Citation:
“The Impact of Pop Culture and Celebrity Influence on the 2024 Presidential Election – YouTube.” Youtube, 2024, youtu.be/LctnhN_G_Ws?si=mSXxtzIvmVupefFU . Accessed 9 Nov. 2024.
Part 2: Summary:
The news report “‘The impact of pop culture and celebrity influence on the 2024 presidential election” starts off with showing the musician, Eminem, and former US President, Barack Obama, giving speeches at the Harris rally. The report continues with survey statistics done by Hollywood Reporter that reflects the impact celebrities have in endorsing presidential campaigns. The survey question was “When celebrities express opinions on political/ social issues” influence on 2024 presidential elections choices is 30% very or somewhat effective, 56% not very or not all effective, and 14% don’t know or have no opinion. The news report continues with examples from previous campaigns and celebrities endorsements from the time of Kennedy being endorsed by Frank Sinatra, and Barack Obama being endorsed by Oprah. The report also explains that Trump is being supported by celebrities from an older age group such as Hulk Hogan and Roseanne Barr both who do not connect with Gen Z. The only Trump supporter that Gen Z knows is Elon Musk. On the other hand, Harris is being supported by John Legend and Taylor Swift, both who are known to Gen Z because of the music industry. Harris also had George Clooney who most Gen Zers do not know who he is or what he does. The news report had Ashley Spillane, Impactful LLC Founder and president, join in from Washington and share reasons why the younger generations are not voting as much. Spillane explained there are three main reasons (lack of trust, information, and motivation) why Gen Z is not registering nor voting in this election.The report concludes with how some celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Lil John were successful in encouraging Gen Zers to register to vote bit not all of them actually plan on voting.
Part 3: Rhetorical Analysis
The source is a news report from CBS Mornings, a reputable national news program in the United States. CBS is widely recognized as a reliable and established media outlet, with a high level of trust among audiences; recent surveys indicate that it holds a trust rating of around 60% to 70% among news viewers. This news report, titled “The Impact of Pop Culture and Celebrity Influence on the 2024 Presidential Election,” is presented in an objective, informative tone characteristic of journalistic style. The report uses ethos by referencing Hollywood Reporter’s survey statistics and featuring credible voices, like Impactful LLC’s founder Ashley Spillane, to establish authority and reliability. The intended audience includes American voters, especially those in Gen Z who may feel disconnected from the election process. The report aims to show the influence celebrities have on the youth vote, encouraging young people to engage more actively in politics. The occasion for this report is the upcoming 2024 presidential election, making the information timely and relevant as celebrities like Taylor Swift and Eminem publicly advocate for voter participation.
Part 4: Notable Quotables
1.”Celebrity endorsements—do they make a difference? They’re certainly a standard part of our politics, but here’s a by-the-way for you: there is precious little evidence that it changes anyone’s vote.” (0:33-0:45)
2.”We have a problem with voter participation levels… lack of information, lack of trust, and lack of motivation.”(3:01-3:10)
3.”We saw with [Taylor Swift’s] link… she drove 400,000 people to go register to vote at vote.gov by sharing that unique URL.” (6:15-6:28)
very good work