Why Celebrities Won't Save Us (From Climate Change)

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at why celebrities won't save us from climate change. Specifically, I look at how celebrities like Leonard DiCaprio and Jane Fonda approach climate action and climate change in order to figure out whether celebrities are actually creating the change we need in order to address climate change and the climate crisis. Leonardo DiCaprio represents a more top-down celebrity approach to climate action. Choosing the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation as one of his main vectors of climate action. Leonardo DiCaprio does wield his wealth for climate action but his approach is very much in line with neoliberal capitalist thinking that exacerbated the climate crisis. Jane Fonda, on the other hand, seems to be taking a movement-based approach to wielding her celebrity. Jane Fonda uses direct action and getting arrested as a method to shine the spotlight on the work being done on the frontlines as well as work dismantling capitalist extraction industries. Ultimately Jane Fonda and Leonardo DiCaprio represent different approaches to how celebrities use their fame to spur climate action.

Check out other Climate YouTubers:

Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - Are Celebrities Influencing Climate Action?
2:51 - The Personal Is Hypocritical?
5:20 - DiCaprio's Way
7:06 - Fonda's Way
8:49 - The True Heroes
9:45 - Support OCC on Patreon
10:46 - Outro

Some images provided courtesy of Getty Images
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#Celebrity #ClimateChange #ClimateAction

[OurChangingClimate]

💡 What celebrity or movement inspires you to take climate action?
👍 Consider commenting and liking the video!!! It really helps this video beat the pesky algorithm!

[SkaTuneNetwork]

noname is a prime example of a "celebrity" who's helping fight this struggle. As she became more aware of the systemic issues, she put her growing career on an indefinite pause to focus on decolonization and leftism, which environmental concern is in what she works toward. but in the grand scheme of things, she was never a rich powerful celebrity to begin with, and has always been incredibly down to earth

[meryfedz]

Rich people won't point out the systemic issues because they are the beneficiaries of the system!! I recommend Kristen Leo's video about Bill Gates, very interesting too

[raphaelmarquez]

Can't wait for the inevitable "Why Content Creators Won't Save Us" video.

[thedoruk]

Because they are presented as wholesome avatars of good despite the fact most of them living ultralixirious super lives

[TonyGue]

The fact anyone thinks celebrities are gonna help with their virtue signaling, corporate sponsors, and overall lifestyle

[a.randomjack]

"Profits is the deadliest of all addictions" (It's killing a whole planet)

[jacksonbangs]

Al Gore and his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" motivated me to learn more about the Climate Crisis. It came out while I was in middle school. Because I was concerned about the climate crisis back then, my nickname at school became "Global Warming".

[querube]

Celebrities "rasing awareness" :"I'm helping"
The assassin who is silently killing oil magnates:
**Visible frustration**

[Ghost_Electricity]

Celebrities are people too and there is not an educated person alive that shouldn't be concerned by climate change. And then I think they have a guilt/imposter syndrome about their lifestyles contributing to this problem. Their entire career is about concentrating attention on themselves, so the main way they know how to act on climate is attention seeking.

[gaillewis]

It's an actor's job to pretend to do things. They tug on emotions because they are trained to do so.

[ryancox]

This is, by far, one of the most valuable channels on YouTube. What you're doing here can't have a price tag. And on a related note, have you ever heard of the NCSE? They're based in Oakland, California, and I definitely, definitely think you should check them out.

[lask]

Love that you've gone just beyond climate change specifically and talk about the systems responsible!

[qiae]

In addition to the issues mentioned here, dicaprio has actually done damage to the advocacy where i live because he made a foolish comment without knowing the area, and because of the size of his reach, that single foolish comment did more harm than a great many activists here can fix. A part of the problem with them getting involved and not taking a backseat for the knowledgeable is that their reach can result in signal boosting anything, not just the hero worship (which i agree is also a huge problem, just wanted to mention this aspect also).

I hope everyone has awonderful day, fight on friends.

[Beckisphere]

It was interesting hearing Lorde push back on Solar Power being a "Climate change album". I respect her not capitalizing on the movement but I wish she would be interested in becoming more active in the movement instead of just saying I'm part of the "giant machine" and "there's a lot I don't know." You could learn thing things though, Lorde

[jimsandaluk]

Jane Fonda rules:) I love how she's more Frankie than Grace in real life.

[lucasarcanjo]

[This is my contribution to feed the algorithm]

[matthewboyd]

Don't seek perfection

Seek growth and strive for the ideal.

[mAx-grassfed]

Individual action is worth little.
But it has worth.
Because actions form thoughts as much as thoughts form actions.
If people start "putting their money (and actions) where there mouth is", they do not make the world more climate friendly by it, but they spread the thought of the climate action and will convince people of its importance.

The more people who are willing to stand up for it, the more likely a systemic change will be.
We must of course stress the point that systemic change is needed.

[sreenidhireddy]

He's back with another amazing video 😃