Stardom, Sentimental Education, and the Shaping of Global Citizens

When Danny Kaye became goodwill ambassador for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 1954, a process was set in motion that brought media industries, stars, and the United Nations into dynamic relationship and birthed a new concept of celebrity diplomacy. This essay historicizes the rise of contemporary celebrity diplomats like Bono and Angelina Jolie by theorizing how the stardom of Kaye came to function as sentimental education, that is, as a tool for teaching Western audiences about their emotional bonds and moral obligations to distant populations. In turn, through Kaye’s performances as “Mr. UNICEF,” stardom emerged as a potent cultural technology of citizen shaping for global governing.