Abstract

In western society, large-scale campaigns have been widely used to address social and environmental crises. In recent years, mass media and media convergence have produced within the realm of this phenomenon, a new interactive space in which publics are invited to participate and called upon as citizens. A significant corpus of academic research has studied these occasions through the themes of media rituals, celebrity diplomacy, global policy and “compassion fatigue”. This research uses the 2005 Live 8 campaign as a case study combining perspectives on media events, Jacques Ellul’s writings on propaganda and a rhetorical analysis in order to understand the techniques, which made Live 8 successful at mobilizing masses all around the world. The present study speaks to thought and action in relation to mobilization within a mediated environment for a global humanitarian crisis. Ultimately this research bridges the aspect of performance with citizenship and propaganda, into the question of whether contemporary media events, through their means of mobilization and civic participation, give way to a performance of citizenship.