Celebrities use fame to protest Mauna Kea telescope

When Gov. David Ige declared a cooling-off period amid the tense standoff between developers of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope and self-described protectors of the sacred summit area of Mauna Kea — a postponement of scheduled construction subsequently extended by the contractors themselves — it marked a significant if tentative victory for a homegrown movement whose grass roots spread as broadly across the Internet as they do deeply into Hawaii soil.

For as much as face-to-face, slippers-on-the-ground activism has advanced the cause of protecting native spaces from outside development, the rapid conjuring of local, national and global support for the movement has likewise provided ample evidence of the enhanced power of celebrity in the age of social media.

"That the governor called a ‘timeout’ is by itself a demonstration of the power of social media to raise awareness, draw celebrity attention and make the cause something prominent," said Wayne Buente, an associate professor of communications at the University of Hawaii. "It’s hard to tell where things go from here. Political institutions don’t change overnight. But the groundwork has been set."

In the days immediately before and after 31 protesters were arrested for blocking access to the proposed construction site, scores of organizers and supporters took to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms to call attention to the unfolding situation, in the proc­ess enlisting the aid of several prominent entertainers and athletes with ties to the state.

The earliest and most prominent of these midlevel celebrities was Hawaii-born actor Jason Momoa.

Momoa, who is half Native Hawaiian, met face to face with protesters at Mauna Kea but also, and perhaps more important, transformed his Instagram page into a highly visible gallery of demonstration photos and shots of supporters bearing "We Are Mauna Kea" on posters and on their bodies.

Momoa himself, joined by wife Lisa Bonet, posed for pictures with the slogan written across his chest and arms, images that were retransmitted thousands of times by friends and followers.

The actor’s Twitter and Instagram accounts also provide links to a Change.org petition.

The petition, created by a user identified as Protect Mauna Kea in Geneva, affirms support of an April 1 letter from the Mauna Kea Hui to Gov. David Ige, asking for him to void state permits allowing construction of the telescope on Mauna Kea. The petition had been digitally endorsed by more than 40,000 as of Sunday evening.

Also supporting the movement via social media have been Hawaii-born singer Nicole Scher­zin­ger of the Pussycat Dolls; actor Ian Somerholder, who spent time in Hawaii while working on the TV series "Lost"; Momoa’s "Game of Thrones" co-star Emilia Clarke; professional surfer Kelly Slater; San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner; Australian actor Jai Courtney; and actress Jill Wagner.

Buente, who has researched online social movements, said celebrity endorsement can be especially powerful when amplified by social media like Twitter and Instagram.

"Given the fragmented nature of broadcast media and multiple causes vying for attention, creating focuses of attention is key," Buente said. "Celebrities are really good at drawing attention to movements, especially on Twitter, where they are linked to thousands of followers."

"Attention is important to social movements," Buente said. "With Twitter and Instagram there are algorithms that push attention up. Trending topics get more visible with more activity."

Thus, even a photo of Scher­zin­ger posing with "We Are Mauna Kea" scrawled wrist to elbow can be a powerful call to arms when shared with her 1.5 million Twitter followers and 5.3 million Instagram followers, who might then go on to re-tweet her message to millions more.

Still, enlisting celebrities to a cause can be tricky.

Craig Howes, a UH English professor and director of the Center for Biographical Research, said certain celebrities can be distracting, even divisive, based on the public’s perception of them and of their relationship to the cause.

Howes said celebrity endorsement is most effective when a justifiably cynical public recognizes that the figure has little to gain from their involvement and that their involvement has significant positive impact, as was the case when Princess Diana of Wales used her celebrity to draw attention to the dangers of abandoned land mines.

"With Mauna Kea the celebrities involved do not have any real incentive for just jumping on the bandwagon," Howes said. "They come from a place of legitimate support based on who they are — being Hawaiian, or growing up in Hawaii, or spending a lot of time in Hawaii and having respect for the people and the place."

Buente said social media also provides highly effective channels for citizen journalism via live feeds, instant posting of photographs, even links to blogs and other resources that provide perspectives not addressed in traditional media.

Such was the case for UH graduate student Narissa Spies, a biology major who grew up in Kawaihae on Hawaii island.

Spies said discussion on Twitter and Facebook helped her to resolve her ambivalence about where she stood on the issue, both as a Native Hawaiian and a scientist.

"Social media provided people a place to come together and share information and organize," she said. "It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how I felt about the telescope. To me, science is about gathering all the facts and making an informed decision."