The case of the green vampire: eco-celebrity, Twitter and youth engagement

Abstract

This paper considers the intersection of the material practices of fame and environmental narrative in relation to the US actor Ian Somerhalder. Somerhalder is presently starring in the internationally distributed young adult (YA) CW network television show The Vampire Diaries, and is also a prominent ‘eco-celebrity’. It examines Somerhalder’s active mobilisation of his Vampire Diaries celebrity in relation to environmentalism, and the answering enthusiastic participation of at least a proportion of his fan base. Somerhalder’s youth engagement, in particular via Twitter, is explored. The paper considers the balance of marketing-led versus values-led communication strategies therein (which can be understood to promote smaller behaviour changes versus broader vision changes respectively) (Bortree 2012), and the potential influence of Somerhalder on mobilising participatory environmental action, politics and consciousness amongst his youthful fan demographic. The paper takes a critically optimist view of Somerhalder’s co-created ‘green vampire’ celebrity–fan articulations, and their collaborative potential to perform material ethics, that is, to effect change with and amongst his young fans.