GDI Lecture Series - Batman Saves the Congo: How Celebrities Disrupt the Politics of Development
| Dates: | 14 December 2022 |
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| Times: | 15:00 - 16:30 |
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| What is it: | Lecture |
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| Organiser: | Global Development Institute |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public, Post 16, Secondary schools |
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| Speaker: | Lisa Ann Richey |
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Can a celebrity be a “disrupter,” promoting strategic partnerships to bring new ideas and funding to revitalize the development field—or are celebrities just charismatic ambassadors for big business? Examining the role of the rich and famous in development and humanitarianism, Batman Saves the Congo argues that celebrities do both, and that understanding why and how yields insight into the realities of neoliberal development.
In 2010, entertainer Ben Affleck, known for his superhero performance as Batman, launched the Eastern Congo Initiative to bring a new approach to the region’s development. Affleck’s organization operates with special access, diversified funding, and significant support of elites within political, philanthropy, development, and humanitarianism circuits. With his convening power, Affleck has built partnerships with those inside and outside development, staking bipartisan political ground that is neither charity nor aid, but “good business.” Celebrity humanitarians are an unruly bunch of new players in development that amplify business solutions.
Speaker
Lisa Ann Richey
Role: Professor of Globalisation and Development Studies
Organisation: Department of Management, Society and Communication Copenhagen Business School
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
Theatre 2
Stopford Building
Manchester
