Response to: "Are You a Belieber?" (Let Your Light Shine)

On Jessica’s “Are You a Belieber?” (http://let-your-lightshine.blogspot.com/2012/03/are-you-belieber.html), I agree with what she has to say. We cannot disparage the fact that Justin Bieber is one of the most influential celebrities of our time. We can question his authenticity, but we cannot deny that his philanthropic actions have done more good than bad for the world. Not only has Justin Bieber brought greater awareness to the social injustices of the world, people’s lives are continually changed by it. Quoting Jessica, “Bieber seems like a great role model” and I would argue that he is. Intentions cast aside; he is portraying himself as an example of how to carry out the Christian ethos of caring for the oppressed, needy, and the poor. We can even see Justin as an integrationist in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM): one, who seeks to integrate the Christian faith into a career beyond the genre itself, or even a transformationist: an artist who moves beyond CCM and transform those ideals with innovative ideas and being the best at what they can be. Take Religion out of the equation, Justin Bieber is simply lending a hand to those in need.   

Undeniably there are reasons to doubt for with greater power comes an equal if not greater risk of consequences that could arise should Justin Bieber decided to steer his influence in the opposite direction (i.e. drug use, hazardous partying, etc). Moreover, being in the consumerist culture that currently encapsulates us, there could always be a hidden agenda of positive image building to widen the fan base and in effect, generate more profit. 

However, as correct as it may be to proceed with caution and take Justin’s actions with a grain of salt, I believe critics should be wary and take note of a few interrelated things: (1) Being a celebrity is indeed a business and a business’ primary goal is to make money. We may not know how much of the money earned by charities go towards those in need, but we cannot deny the significant awareness that celebrities, or those managing them for that matter, bring to the situation. (2) Overanalyzing something can sometimes lead one astray and cloud an analysis, notably when assessing something as subjective as altruistic motives and (2) a big portion of Justin Bieber’s fan base range between young children to teenagers. Although it is imperative to educate children on how to critically think about what they watch and see on TV, more often than not, their tendency is usually to take entertainment at face value. In Justin Bieber’s case, when he reaches out to those in need, these fans will immediately and primarily see Bieber as a helper before attributing any other scrutiny. Of course there are exceptions, but I highly doubt that the numbers override the former.