Same spot, same issue, different celebrity.
It was Feb. 3, 2018, when actor Ted Danson visited Main Beach to protest offshore oil drilling. Fast forward to Oct. 18 of this year when actor Jane Fonda stood on Main Beach and protested offshore oil drilling.
Offshore oil drilling apparently does not watch TV.
If real-life issues were decided by celebrities, then Laguna Beach would win an Oscar. Best cinematography perhaps.
In reality there is no prize.
But the celebrities keep coming. To be fair, celebrity protesters have been around for a very long time. In the United States, arguably one of the first acts of celebrity defiance came on Dec. 16, 1773, when a famous silversmith and rabble-rouser participated in the Boston Tea Party.
His name was Paul Revere.
Celebrities can protest like everyone else, obviously, and there’s a lot to be said for their ability to generate attention. Both Danson and Fonda are at least legit protesters.
Danson is a long-time supporter of ocean causes, including charity work in Laguna, so his presence was not entirely surprising. With Fonda, meanwhile, it’s likely that she has been arrested more times than she’s earned awards. In fact, a couple years ago she accepted a BAFTA award while being arrested.
Perhaps a turning point in celebrity activism happened because of the March on Washington in 1963. With the rise of television and Hollywood, suddenly every star with a conscience and a cause took part in something.
Bob Dylan, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Harry Belafonte and many others showed up in the famous march.
Later, of course, there were ongoing protests involving civil rights and the Vietnam War, including Jane Fonda’s divisive trip to North Vietnam.
Whether it’s climate change, AIDS, starvation or international conflict, celebrities have stepped up to help raise awareness, especially since the 1960s.
But is it working? That’s a difficult question to answer and probably depends on your point of view. At the very least it gets a lot of people focused and motivated.
In the case of Danson, he is savvy enough to know that the fight is more than simple grandstanding. In the long run, it has to be about something more.
“I would recommend keeping a light heart,” he told the cheering crowd during his 2018 protest. “Keeping love and joy in your heart is really important.”
Passion is good, he said, but not anger.
“You don’t have to talk politics,” he said. “Keep joy in your heart and fight like hell.”
We hear you, brother, but the real question is: Are the oil barons listening?
