Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson (Captain America, Lost in Translation) just announced that she is stepping down from her 8-year role as Oxfam Ambassador due to pressure from the organization to stop supporting SodaStream, a company whose factories operate illegally in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine territories.
Her official statement reads that she “has decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years. She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. She is very proud of her accomplishments and fundraising efforts during her tenure with Oxfam.”
This decade is increasingly unraveling the complicated interconnectedness of life and economics throughout the last century. The fact that my editor’s blog posts up until now have been about conscious consumerism and awareness show that the links between these things have saturated our lives more than we think. The world of social justice and empowerment of the marginalized is also one of interconnectedness. Afterall, there is individual justice, and then there is structural justice. The meeting of the two is being witnessed by all of us today.
Hollywood is not divorced from the economic and social issues of the day. The “conscious-entertainment” trend has reached across the world to Bollywood as well- the entertainment capital Mumbai, India. Actor-directors like Aamir Khan (Lagaan, Maine Pyar Kiya, Gajni) are using film to raise awareness of social and economic injustices and how to address them.
This discussion makes me think of Lupe Fiasco’s lyrics in the song “The Show Goes On (2010),” which are so very fitting for this scenario:
I will give up everything, even start a world war
For these ghetto girls and boys I’m rapping ‘round the world for!
Africa to New York, Haiti then I detour, Oakland out to Auckland
Gaza Strip to Detroit, say hip hop only destroy
Tell ‘em look at me boy
I hope your son don’t have a gun and never be a D-boy
Photo Credit: EyesOnFire89
Shazia Kamal Farook is the Social Media Coordinator at AltMuslimah
