To assume that everyone in the world has access to the internet, to newspapers or other sophisticated means of mass communication is absurd. To even assume that everyone on this planet can let alone read or write is even more naive. So it's very strange thinking to assume that everyone who needs to know about these issues (especially pertaining to Third World countries) do.
WE live in a highly developed country. The entire planet isn't so lucky. To many people across the globe, they go to their corner stores and flip through magazines to see pictures. Many people enjoy just seeing pictures of artists not just from their own countries, but specifically from America.
You have no idea the fame people like Angelina Jolie have. I've seen it. People in many parts of the globe love American music. They love American movies. They love American celebrities. Many of these people don't even know English, don't understand it (or they understand very little), but you ask them about Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, or any other well-known American celebrity (past or present) and they know them. When I went to the Phillippines, some people there didn't even know English but guess what? They knew all the words to 'Billy Jean'. When I go to Mexico I'm surprised how people there don't want to learn English, yet they know by memory the names of all the actors from a certain movie or they know who's married to who in Hollywood. Let's not omit Asia and Europe either...the fame many American celebrities have in these places is pretty astounding also.
Celebrities have a lot of power. Their fame transcends continents and maybe not to us, but to many people in other parts of the world they do inspire people and shed light about certain issues. If these celebrities can use that influence via a photograph or a sound bite on a local television station in some corner of the world for something other than themselves, that's a good thing. I don't see the harm in that. In the end, I think most people try to do the best they can with what they have. If Brad and Angelina are doing the little they can, my hat's off to them. No one knows anyone else's heart (or intentions) except their own.
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