Jun 25 2008
Ben Affleck Covers Humanitarian Crisis For “Nightline”
At a time when many of today’s younger stars struggle to handle the crisis of over indulgence, some of the maturing Hollywood mainstream spend their time away from the cameras bringing focus to issues of humanitarian injustices.
Ben Affleck is the latest in a growing list of international superstars lending both their names and their energies to under reported humanitarian crisis issues. The 35 year old actor/director has visited the continent of Africa several times in the past year, and traveled recently to the Congo with a crew from the ABC news program”Nightline.” His purpose was to bring greater exposure to the thousands who die each month from war and starvation, and the millions of survivors who benefited little from peace keeping efforts and humanitarian programs.
Many entertainers have lent their celebrity to issues of social relevance in recent years. Brad Pitt and Harry Connick, Jr. have been tireless in theri efforts to help rebuild New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Angelina Jolie and Madonna have invested countless hours championing for the rights and care of underprivileged children around the world. And according to Affleck, celebrities are in a position to bring more socially conscious issues to light.
“It’s fairly clear that in modern age there is a currency to celebrity” he said in an Associated Press interview. “I’ve discovered that you can spend it a lot of ways, or you can squander it. I started thinking long and hard about how to use that currency as long as I had it.”
Maybe some of the younger trouble-plagued stars will follow his example.
