By Alexandria Viernes
From establishing his place on the list of Time Magazines most Influential People of the year to securing a role on BBC’s Richard III series, Benedict Cumberbatch seems to be generating loads of good news over the past couple of weeks.
According to The Telegraph, the Sherlock actor has joined a team of celebrities to help back up a young teens battle with Cancer. The article mainly focuses on the teenager, Stephen Sutton (pictured below), who’s battle with Cancer has been documented over the internet and gaining the attention of celebrities and musicians like Cumberbatch, Coldplay, Jason Manford, Simon Pegg, and Russell Brand to join him in his battle to raise money.
- Borrowed from telegraph.co.uk
- Benedict Cumberbatch expressed his support for Sutton with this photo tweeted by Cumberbatch’s pianist friend, James Rhodes:
- So, why is this important?
Well, this just adds to ever rising good reputation for Cumberbatch. A lot of celebrities often get involved in charities and fundraisers– sometimes it’s for publicity, other times it’s because they are truly interested in giving to a charity that they care about. In this case, it could be both. Now, I’m not saying that Cumberbatch is only joining a fundraiser to help build his media attention. Clearly, he doesn’t need any extra media attention or a reason to build his reputation– he is, after all, considered one of Time’s most influential people in the world.
However, I am saying that getting involved with fundraisers like this definitely help build Cumberbatch’s already growing reputation. In general, people like seeing celebrities putting their high status to good use through charities and fundraiser like Sutton’s story. Celebrities are role models to a lot of people, and by getting involved with helping others, they can encourage the public to do the same.
Whether you are a fan of the celebrity or not, knowing that they are involved in events like this automatically puts them in a better light and earns them some respect.
For example, as someone who doesn’t essentially enjoy Taylor Swift or her music, It’s hard for me to dislike her because I remember that she’s one of the most charitable celebrities in the world– and I respect that she chooses to dedicate a lot of time towards helping others. The same case goes for those who aren’t essentially fans of Cumberbatch– people will respect him for his actions.
And for those who are fans: they be rpoud to see their icon getting involved with Sutton’s battle. Whether or not this is a plot by Cumberbatch’s publicist to build his presence on the media or if Cumberbatch is genuinely interested in helping out (I think the latter is true), either way it will certainly bring an even more positive reflection on the influential actor while at the same time bringing even more attention to Sutton’s story.
With that said, A++ Benedict Cumberbatch, you GO, Benedict Cumberbatch!!
It is certainly intriguing to think about why so many renowned celebrities have decided to back this patient up in his battle against cancer. One of the reasons could very well be his consistent updates on the Internet, where celebrities recognize the public spend most of their time nowadays. Becoming internet famous goes hand in hand with being famous in the entertainment industry, it boosts a celebrity’s fan following.
The comments on the nature of his publicizing are thought provoking to say the least. It is true that there are so many other people suffering from life threatening diseases that would happily accept celebrity support, so the argument for Cumberbatch’s desire for publicity is evident here. It is unfortunate to think that on the outside, a celebrities intentions may seem innocent, but it very well may be that they have a hidden agenda for their personal gain. It is important, however, to acknowledge the positivity in Cumberbatch’s support of the patient, he could have not gotten involved at all, and getting involved does get audiences to think about cancer and how it has devastating effects on peoples lives.
That’s the problem with celebrities helping out with charities. You can never tell if they are doing it because they really want to help out or if they are doing it for publicity. It’s even trickier with celebrities like Cumberbatch who already are in good standing with their public image. If someone like Lindsay Lohan wanted to donate money to this kid, everyone would automatically assume that she is doing it to change her image from a bad girl to a holy saint. But when Cumberbatch does it, most people would gravitate towards the notion that he’s doing it out of the kindness of his heart because he has never had anything to completely damage his reputation in the press.
Let’s be honest. Cumberbatch wasn’t the first celebrity to start donating money to this kid. He jumped onto the bandwagon like all the other celebrities. One can make the argument that he’s doing it for publicity because of the photo that was tweeted by his friend. Doesn’t that seem odd? Cumberbatch doesn’t have a Twitter account but uses his non famous friend’s account to publicize. Most celebrities, if not talking about their private lives, use social media accounts to publicize events they will take part in such as premieres, charity balls, and award shows. For Cumberbatch intentionally to send this picture through the web and not have any official website or social media account, it shows how aware Cumberbatch is about the influence his image has on his fans and how much his fans have influence over his image.
Think about it. Couldn’t he just donate the money without anyone knowing he did? With all the celebrities donating thousands of dollars to this teenager, average civilians wouldn’t really be able to contribute as much as celebrities have. So the only people benefiting from it all are celebrities like Cumberbatch. The teenager is another Haiti for the rich and famous. Cumberbatch’s picture is a statement of the typical celebrity do-gooder. It’s like when a little kid finally learns to color within the lines and says “Look what I did, Mommy.” I could be wrong. Maybe Cumberbatch is doing it because he really cares. But we will never truly know.
Interesting comment, Tracey. Yes I agree. If you or I cared about this kid, we would contribute quietly and anonymously. But we don’t have the fundraising power of Cumberbatch. When he posts a tweet of another of his silly little “notes to public” showing the kid’s paypal account, or whatever, he can raise a lot of money for that person from Cumberbitches and other fans. And he makes it FUN to give money to a sick boy!!!
Here’s my real problem: why this kid? This kid already has a bunch of celebs raising money for him, and a big public presence. How about all the other children dying of terrible cancers? Why not, if you are serious, give money for pediatric cancer research? Come on!
It’s all about the publicity, and these celebrities are, I believe without realizing it, capitalizing on this child’s cancer. They are not cynical themselves (though their managers may be) but they naturally climb on to whatever publicity vehicle presents itself, in this case the Sutton boy’s disease.
Oh, well. World’s a weird place.