What can the entertainment industry do in the face of atrocity?

The week ends and a new one begins with some unfortunate news. The political and social scene in Colombia has heated up again after less than a year of the national strike promoted by the citizenship in November last year. On the night of Tuesday, September 8, attorney Javier Ordóñez was killed by excessive use of force at the hands of two policemen in Bogotá. The death of Ordóñez, which was documented on video, angered the citizens of the Colombian capital and on the night of Wednesday, September 9, protests were held in the police stations (or CAI's) of the city. These protests quickly turned into clashes between police and protesters. On Thursday, September 10, the city woke up with CAI on fire and with seven more dead.

This is certainly not an isolated event, neither in time nor in space, since there are already many reports of police violence and excessive use of force around the world. We wonder again what celebrities and the entertainment industry can or should do in this situation.

How have some reacted?

Many have been the responses of famous Colombians to the news with which the coffee country wakes up day after day. The reggaeton singer J Balvin, who does not usually make many statements about the political and social reality of the country and who also does not usually take a position, was reiterative on his Twitter account about how scandalous the video is in which Javier's death is recorded. The singer Goyo from Chocquibtown has not stopped arguing in favor of peaceful protest but especially against the police institution. On the other hand, the singer Adriana Lucía, very politically active in social networks and one of the important figures of the national strike last year, goes a little further: she asks from her Twitter account for the resignation of Carlos Holmes Trujillo, defense minister , who did not mention the deaths but only the material damage of the CAIs in the press conference this Thursday morning.

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What have they done?

The aforementioned events take place just two weeks after the virtual concert Un canto x Colombia, in which different celebrity artists and Colombian intellectuals came together to sing for Colombia. This initiative is the daughter of the national strike that took place in this country less than a year ago and continues after the reveal of multiple massacres perpetuated in the Colombian countryside in recent months. The famous Colombians, then, have undoubtedly politicized their speech. Although, as we have already seen, some are more radical in their statements, fewer and fewer remain idle and more are calling for a change for the country.

What should they do?

Many of the followers of these celebrities have wondered if their favorite celebrities should speak out for or against the government. This, without realizing that the mere question is dehumanizing for celebrities, since they are also citizens of a country in crisis, with the responsibility to inform themselves about what is happening and the right to share their opinion on social networks . Of course, the aforementioned accounts have much more scope than those of any other citizen, and this does make celebrities people who should be perhaps more careful in their speech. However, it should also be asked if in a country where the minister denies murders in a press conference, it is good that mass platforms, such as the social networks of those who have a more powerful voice, can become platforms for political discussion.