George Clooney’s op-ed: A deeper look into his unique influence on politics and Hollywood<\/p>\n
George Clooney\u2019s recent New York Times op-ed calling for President Biden to step down from the upcoming election has sparked a significant conversation, not just because it came from a celebrity, but because of who Clooney is and what he represents. For the political class, Clooney is more than an actor; he is a major Democratic Party donor and fundraiser. His insights on Biden\u2019s age and manner are bolstered by his firsthand experience, having seen the President in action at a June 15 fundraiser.<\/p>\n
The public’s perception of Clooney is equally compelling. On- and off-screen, Clooney has meticulously crafted an image that sets him apart from his A-list peers. As an actor and public figure, Clooney embodies a self-styled American conscience, a leading-man throwback who provides a guiding sensibility to the films he anchors and the causes he supports.<\/p>\n
George Clooney: The actor and the advocate<\/p>\n
Beyond his fundraising for the Democrats, Clooney is a plainspoken advocate for the causes he supports. He has cleverly played off the public\u2019s expectation that actors speaking out on politics are often seen as dilettantish or out-of-touch. He flipped this notion on its head while accepting an Oscar in 2006, stating that Hollywood is out-of-touch because it is ahead of the curve: \u201cWe\u2019re the ones who talked about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn\u2019t really popular.\u201d<\/p>\n
By 2006, AIDS activism and civil rights were broadly accepted, and Clooney was not stepping out on a limb. His campaigning for the people of Sudan\u2019s Darfur region during a lengthy civil war, or his excoriating speech against paparazzi pursuit of public figures after Princess Diana\u2019s 1997 death, are examples of his gift for placing new information in plain and easily comprehensible terms. His oratory skills recall faded actor Ronald Reagan\u2019s time as a contracted speaker on behalf of General Electric, broadcasting a set of ideas through the power of charisma and self-belief.<\/p>\n
The Clooney voice: A unique blend of authority and relatability<\/p>\n
Clooney\u2019s New York Times op-ed is written in that distinctive Clooney voice; one can almost imagine him reading it aloud. Perhaps the only other performer in Hollywood with similar gravitas is Tom Hanks, but Hanks, in his greatest roles, tends toward the harried everyman. Clooney, on the other hand, has an actorly authority borrowed from Old Hollywood. His piece, like all of Clooney\u2019s public acts, drafts off the image he\u2019s been building onscreen for 30 years, since he played the compassionate and heroic Dr. Doug Ross on \u201cER.\u201d<\/p>\n
For instance, social media memes have compared Clooney\u2019s op-ed to his character in \u201cMichael Clayton\u201d exposing the villainous corporate lawyer Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton). In that film, Clooney\u2019s character, a legal fixer, insists he\u2019s amoral, merely cleaning up messes on his employer\u2019s behalf. Yet, the film culminates in his exposing grand-scale wrongdoing, ending with him, exhausted, riding in a cab to nowhere, certain of nothing but that he did the right thing.<\/p>\n
This is quintessential Clooney: He just can\u2019t help playing the good guy, even when the morality seems murky. In the \u201cOcean\u2019s\u201d franchise, he\u2019s a thief who steals exclusively from buffoonish thugs; in \u201cUp in the Air,\u201d he\u2019s a corporate stooge who realizes the error of his ways. There\u2019s just enough grit in his goodness to keep things interesting. When he\u2019s had to play morally repellent characters, like in \u201cThe Ides of March,\u201d where he plays a moral vacuum running for the Democratic nomination for president, it strains credulity. Directing himself in that film, Clooney seemed to intend to play against his own familiar image, but we simply know him too well.<\/p>\n
The strategic public figure<\/p>\n
Clooney is tactical with what he chooses to share, both about his life and his politics. While globally famous, he has established a sense of himself as not interested in exposure for exposure\u2019s sake. He famously refused to attend the Oscars until he was nominated, claiming he lacked the credibility to be there. In recent years, he\u2019s receded from view somewhat, focusing on directing films and business endeavors. He\u2019s appeared in only two credited live-action roles so far this decade, with a third, the comedy \u201cWolfs,\u201d coming in September.<\/p>\n
Clooney\u2019s directing career peaked with his second film, \u201cGood Night, and Good Luck,\u201d about heroic TV anchor Edward R. Murrow\u2019s use of his position and pulpit to fight McCarthyism. Subsequent efforts, like \u201cThe Monuments Men,\u201d \u201cSuburbicon,\u201d and \u201cThe Boys in the Boat,\u201d have been interesting only inasmuch as they reveal Clooney\u2019s passionate interest in American history.<\/p>\n
When Clooney speaks, it has an impact \u2014 a greater one than it might have were he omnipresent. Perhaps the canniest aspect of his work, activism, and recent op-ed is his attempt to remove himself from the center of the narrative. His Oscars speech highlighted not his own beliefs, but the Hollywood community\u2019s work as a group. His turn to directing has been a way to keep a toe in the industry without being the star of the show; of his last four directorial efforts, he appears in only one.<\/p>\n
In his op-ed, Clooney presented himself not as an actor diving into political affairs with little grounding, but as a member of a party. \u201cAs Democrats,\u201d Clooney wrote, \u201cwe collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, whom we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.\u201d<\/p>\n
That \u201cwe,\u201d the group Clooney is addressing and the one he is a part of, both respect President Biden and feel sorrow at his aging. It\u2019s the Reaganite trick of bringing the audience in, using star power to convince them, for a moment, that the star is really just one of us, a reasonable person making clear and plain observations. No star but Clooney, perhaps, could have made such an appeal, not merely because he has recently seen Biden but because he\u2019s so thoroughly convinced the public that he sees clearly.<\/p>\n
Clooney\u2019s op-ed is more than a political statement; it\u2019s a reflection of his unique position in Hollywood and American culture. His ability to blend authority with relatability, to speak plainly yet profoundly, and to use his star power for causes he believes in, makes him a singular figure in the landscape of celebrity activism. Whether one agrees with his views or not, Clooney\u2019s voice is one that resonates, and his influence is undeniable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
George Clooney\u2019s New York Times op-ed urging President Biden to step down is more than celebrity activism. As a major Democratic donor, Clooney\u2019s insights carry weight. Known for his thoughtful advocacy and iconic roles, Clooney\u2019s voice resonates deeply, blending Hollywood charisma with genuine concern. His call reflects a collective sentiment, making it a powerful and timely message. #GeorgeClooney #Biden #PoliticalActivism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieetv.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}