So it's election day in the US. As if you needed reminding. After all, it seems celebrity after celebrity—from Madonna to Samuel L. Jackson—has gone public with their adulation for President Obama. Even the American-born half of Montreal indie rockers, Arcade Fire, have deemed it necessary to declare their love for Obama.
But do pop music and movies truly mix with politics? Should they? Do celebrity endorsements actually influence voters?
As much as I love the music of Grammy-winners, Arcade Fire, their political views aren't exactly relevant or sought after. But perhaps they are for some of the voting contingent. I tend to like Obama for other reasons...
According to an article in the Huffington Post, the Texan brothers Win and Will Butler declared a litany of reasons for supporting Obama's re-election on the site 90 Days, 90 Reasons.
Many of the aforesaid reasons are basically reasons not to support Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, because "he's prone to terrible gaffes that could jeopardize relationships with our allies -- delicate relations where a few misplaced words can do great harm." True enough.
Win added that he wants Obama to win the race for purely selfish reason: "I want four more sweet years of Canadians liking Americans... I felt so proud—as an American citizen living in a socially progressive country like Canada—that our president understands that there are global moral imperatives that unite us all."
I guess the boys are hoping to get back to a place where their birth country isn't mistrusted or disliked by foreign countries.
The 90 blog includes pro-Obama endorsements from 90 big names, including members of bands R.E.M., Pearl Jam, The Decemberists and film players, Ben Stiller and David Lynch.
All well and good, but would you be swayed by the political views of artists whose work you admire?
PS: for some relevant news: Arcade Fire is said to be in the studio working on new album slated for release "sometime in 2013."
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