American voters aren’t kindergartners

I know celebrities have obscene amounts of influence. I also know that influencing the public to go to the voting booths on Nov. 4 is a wonderful idea. Many actors, musicians and other American celebrities are smart about targeting first-time voters in an effort to inspire citizens to participate.

However, the way that Leonardo DiCaprio and his celebrity friends are going about promoting voter registration is patronizing, condescending and offensive.

They have created a public service announcement – it can be found on YouTube by searching for “5 friends” – which begins with DiCaprio sarcastically asking viewers not to vote.

At one point Amy Adams, who is best known for her starring role in the movie “Enchanted,” actually says, “I forbid you to vote.”

The sarcasm, which was overkill after about 10 seconds, continues for one minute and 29 seconds while the celebrities imply that the viewer of the public service announcement doesn’t care about national issues. Actually, they aren’t even bothering with beating around the bush with implications – many of them actually say, “You don’t care.”

Wrong.

It appears the viewers of this video do care – a lot. There are pages and pages of comments on the message boards of just about every Web site that features this announcement. Many posters use their First Amendment right to voice their opinions and newfound resentment toward some of their favorite stars.

One poster wrote, “Who thought up the idea of having celebrities talk down to the American people and treat them like they are too ignorant to know how to register to vote?”

It didn’t take long for some who resented the video to take action. The PSA has not been in the public domain for very long, but there already have been quite a few spoofs added to YouTube.

One, entitled “5 Friends, 12 Idiots,” features a bunch of no-name actors who manage to perfectly put into perspective the level of offense Americans should be taking to this video.

At one point, an actor says, “You do know that you idolize these people, right?”
Mimicking the tone of the original PSA, the other actors chime in, exaggerating the condescending tones of their voices.

They capture the essence of actors such as Halle Barry asking if crucial national issues even matter to the viewer. In the original celebrity video, Halle looks into the camera with judgment in her eyes – the way a disappointed mother looks at her teenage son when she finds his porn collection.

Near the end of the original PSA, the celebrities ask the viewer to forward the link of their video to five friends in an effort to spread awareness of the importance of registering to vote.

Jennifer Aniston snobbishly remarks, “God, I hope you have at least five friends.”
I will find another way to promote voting so that my friends feel more like the intelligent voice of America rather than clueless kindergartners.