tracking the monster
airing this week, vh1 news presents: tracking the monster: ashley judd and india.arie confront aids in africa.
admittedly, i have not sat through the entire program, though i did watch the last 20 minutes when it aired commercial free this week, and i saw some of the first half while i was working yesterday. the show is a great thing, really. ashley judd is a charitable goodwill ambassador. (kind of like a poor man's angelina jolie...or at least a less tabloid-friendly version). i actually really like her. i think she's beautiful, talented, and compassionate. not really sure how india.arie got in the mix, but she seems caring, and i find the tone of her voice soothing. i'm sure the children of kenya really enjoyed her acoustic set.
i found the program heartwarming, as ashley and india brave the wilds of africa in their armored SUVs, wave to the children, cry a little, and go on a hunt for hiv infected people to go on camera and share their stories. i think it's great to expose us as viewers (especially vh1 viewers, aka american pop culture junkies) to the plights of disease and famine in less fortunate countries around the world. we are all guilty of turning a blind eye after all. if you're like me, we let oprah do the dirty work, and let the warm fuzzies fill us up when we watch.
but in reality, since i'm not planning on getting on a plane headed to africa anytime soon, i'm just as happy to let miss judd and india do their thing and make a difference.
what i find difficult to comprehend, though, is the staggering amount of money it cost to arrange a publicity appearance for both of them last week. the two managed to incur over sixty-five thousand dollars in expenditures to spend two days in new york, including hotel, airfare, wardrobe stylists, wardrobe costs, makeup artists, hairstylists, car services and meals (additional appearance fees which may or may not exist are outside my jurisdiction). now, you may find it a bit ludacris to pay someone $3500 a day to pick out clothes for you, and i'm sure these ladies do too (luckily they don't have to pay for it themselves).
i just can't help but wonder...how many antiviral medications (or even canned goods) could be purchased with $65,000?
admittedly, i have not sat through the entire program, though i did watch the last 20 minutes when it aired commercial free this week, and i saw some of the first half while i was working yesterday. the show is a great thing, really. ashley judd is a charitable goodwill ambassador. (kind of like a poor man's angelina jolie...or at least a less tabloid-friendly version). i actually really like her. i think she's beautiful, talented, and compassionate. not really sure how india.arie got in the mix, but she seems caring, and i find the tone of her voice soothing. i'm sure the children of kenya really enjoyed her acoustic set.
i found the program heartwarming, as ashley and india brave the wilds of africa in their armored SUVs, wave to the children, cry a little, and go on a hunt for hiv infected people to go on camera and share their stories. i think it's great to expose us as viewers (especially vh1 viewers, aka american pop culture junkies) to the plights of disease and famine in less fortunate countries around the world. we are all guilty of turning a blind eye after all. if you're like me, we let oprah do the dirty work, and let the warm fuzzies fill us up when we watch.
but in reality, since i'm not planning on getting on a plane headed to africa anytime soon, i'm just as happy to let miss judd and india do their thing and make a difference.
what i find difficult to comprehend, though, is the staggering amount of money it cost to arrange a publicity appearance for both of them last week. the two managed to incur over sixty-five thousand dollars in expenditures to spend two days in new york, including hotel, airfare, wardrobe stylists, wardrobe costs, makeup artists, hairstylists, car services and meals (additional appearance fees which may or may not exist are outside my jurisdiction). now, you may find it a bit ludacris to pay someone $3500 a day to pick out clothes for you, and i'm sure these ladies do too (luckily they don't have to pay for it themselves).
i just can't help but wonder...how many antiviral medications (or even canned goods) could be purchased with $65,000?
posted by mark at 2:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home