Earlier this week, a group of well-meaning, but essentially naive Australian actors took to the internet to decry the death penalty in Indonesia and call on our PM to roll up his sleeves, don his diplomatic jackboots and “show some balls” by getting over to Bali to “bring back our boys”.
The effort was widely criticised as the hollow gesture it ultimately was. Actor Brendan Cowell was cowed, and for a moment it looked as if we had managed to convince our thespians to stick to their day job.
Yet here again this weekend, we are set to be treated to the spectacle of an actor making it all about them.
Actor Hugh Sheridan, he of the almond-eyes and husky-toned voice and most recently on our TV screens as a cast member of the ratings monster, Packed To The Rafters, is in Nepal this week filming a story for the Seven Network’s Sunday Night program. He has more of a reason than most to be there: his brother, Zach was among some 1200 Australians trekking in Nepal when the earthquake struck.
Cue the Sunday Night promos of a concerned-looking Sheridan looking wistfully out across a Kathmandu valley sunset.
Mercifully, his brother is fine: properly accounted for in the 24-hours after the earthquake struck – and no doubt counting his blessings to be alive in a country where so many others were not as fortunate. And no one would suggest Hugh’s concern for his sibling’s well-being is anything other than genuine.
But coming as it does hot on the heels of the Bali 9 celebrity video debacle, Hugh’s report from Nepal is going to need to be very carefully nuanced, lest it appear as yet another celebrity leveraging a geopolitical event for the sole purpose of basking in the reflected spotlight.
Already this morning on Sunrise, during a promo for Sunday Night, presenters were careful to preface the segment noting that Hugh and his brother’s “suffering” paled in comparison to the families of the 5,800 mostly Nepalese who are so far confirmed dead. A conscious decision, no doubt, following newspaper reports that Hugh and his film crew have taken refuge in the five-star Shangri-La Hotel in between sorties to devastated corners of Kathmandu to pick up a few bricks for the cameras.
Celebrities wield influence, and often that influence can be used for good. Certainly, if his celebrity means more people watch Sunday Night this weekend and are moved to donate to help Nepal – that is inarguably a good thing. But there’s a fine line between shedding light on an unfolding humanitarian disaster and self-aggrandising. And in a world in which social media renders instant judgement (and here, Hugh, let us refer to you to Brendan Cowell’s whiplash), Hugh’s going to want to make sure there are more lingering shots of homeless Nepalese than there are of his artfully-stained white t-shirt and dust-smeared cheek.
To donate to the Australian Red Cross Nepal Appeal, visit: Red Cross.
