Persuading Across Borders
Actress and activist Angelina Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency, speaks frequently with the desire to raise awareness of and influence policies related to the plight of refugees worldwide. This can be a particular challenge culturally, as some groups in wealthy and stable nations are rather removed from the experiences of refugees and cannot fathom what it would be like to be robbed not merely of one’s home but also of one’s sense of security, even one’s country, by political turmoil or natural disaster.
In one such speech marking World Refugee Day, Jolie explained:
I’m here today to say that refugees are not numbers. They are not even just refugees. They are mothers, and daughters, and fathers, and sons. They are farmers, teachers, doctors, engineers. They’re individuals, all. And most of all they are survivors, each one with a remarkable story that tells of resilience in the face of great loss. They are the most impressive people I have ever met. And they are also some of the world’s most vulnerable. Stripped of home and country, refugees are buffeted from every ill wind that blows across this planet (Jolie, 2009).
By evoking American values like family, individualism, and hard work in her appeal for assistance for refugees worldwide, Jolie establishes that helping refugees is an ethical goal that her American audience should commit to. By noting that refugees are mothers, daughters, doctors, teachers, and so on, she engages her audience members’ emotions and reminds them that victims are just like the rest of us—people with families, professions, and lives that matter.
Jolie follows up by detailing the kindness, generosity, and character she has seen in the refugees she has met during her charitable work. In this way, she puts a human face on the plight of refugees while also establishing her own credibility, showing she is not merely a movie star lending her face to a cause: she is on the ground working for the change she is advocating.
As a global superstar (as well as a spokesperson for an international organization), Jolie must also bear in mind that her audience is rarely culturally homogenous. Whether she is addressing a small group of world leaders (as she did when speaking at a meeting of the G8 in 2013) or a large crowd in the United States, she is aware that her message will be viewed by people all over the world. Some of them may be involved in international efforts for change and awareness; others are simply interested in what she says because she is, after all, a famous actress. Among those stargazers, her example is an inspiration: she effectively combines the important elements of persuasion to shed light on a co-