Celebrity as Celebration of Privatization in Global Development: A Critical Feminist Analysis of Oprah, Madonna, and Angelina

Abstract

What are the consequences of celebrity involvement in global development? Focusing on female celebrities allows us to consider how women's interests become articulated in the construction of development donors in an increasingly privatized development landscape. Emerging through the global production of television, music, and film, Oprah, Madonna, and Angelina Jolie have used their wealth and status to contribute to global philanthropy. Following a discussion of their resources, analyses connect their articulated missions in development as well as public discourse about their projects to underlying frameworks of social change, recognizing the role of patriarchy in neoliberal logics that guide mainstream global development. Focusing on women as mothers and social change as individual empowerment avoids attention to collective action and social justice.

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