Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Will.i.am's Cult of Personality

Senator Obama has received, in my opinion, a lot of undue criticism for his "charisma" and "eloquence." Since when do we penalize leaders for having the innate ability to inspire others to follow with clear, concise, and meaningful words? It's amazing what eight years with a self-confessed C-student at Yale as our Commander in Chief has done for our expectations. That said, AdAge poses a very serious question about Obama's cult of personality - more specifically, in the way that Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas exploits it in this political commercial. His first "Yes We Can" video was brilliant. This one kinda spooks me (and not just because the cast of Friday Night Lights is in it to sway my vote for Barack). I'm deeply involved in the artistic community, but I have to say that artists are potentially hurting the Democratic party yet again. And frankly, sometimes I think Hollywood needs to stick to walking the red carpet instead of trying to tread its message through the red states.

1 comment:

JamesBedell said...

Will.i.am is dangerously close to jumping the shark on this one.