Back in the day, you tweeted what you ate for lunch, posted beach selfies photos on Instagram, and spent too much time uploading photos from a night out on Facebook. In 2024, social media has become a totally different ballgame, and no one has articulated that better than Sally Field.
In late August 2024, Field joined Instagram again and shared two great photos explaining that she’s back on social media. In the first one, she shared her support for Kamala Harris and wrote “hope is making a comeback,” which is definitely a sentiment that many Americans feel right now.
In the second photo, Field is sitting in front of her TV (where she’s watching Harris officially accepting the Democratic nomination at the 2024 DNC) with her grandson, who is 18 years old and able to vote for the first time. The actress is excited that her grandchild can vote for such an inspiring candidate and urged people to get out there on Election Day. She wrote that she’s “screaming from the highest mountain top [she] can find,” adding, “Vote for our country, our children and grandchildren. Vote for the earth and women and human rights. Vote for democracy.”
As the old saying goes, “the personal is political,” which seems particularly true for Field, who has had an awe-inspiring career including a Spider-Man movie and more than a few classic films that have made her a two-time Oscar winner. She’s thinking about the world that she wants her grandson to live in and knows the horrors that could happen if Donald Trump is elected a second time. Field also proved she’s just as strong as some of her best characters, from working-class single mother Norma Rae to tough widow Nora Walker on the family drama Brothers and Sisters (for which Field won an Emmy and a SAG award).
A few years ago, the actress advocated for another female president and told Bustle she wanted Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election, citing Clinton’s “extraordinary brain” as a key reason. Field’s Instagram posts articulate what so many have been thinking and feeling: that social media is a rough place right now given all of the political turmoil Americans have endured in the last decade. Everyone has an opinion that they absolutely have to share, and if you say you like apples, someone out there is yelling that you’re an idiot and should only like oranges. Now Elon Musk owns X and even interviewed Trump there, so it’s no wonder a lot of people, famous or otherwise, have decided to abstain entirely.
Many are thrilled that Field is using social media the way it should be used ⏤ to spread awareness of important topics and, okay, some dog photos are necessary, too. It does beg the question of whether her endorsement will help Harris win the election and if all the other stars who have spoken out will have moved the needle in the right direction come Nov. 5. Zach Galifianakis previously told Variety that he thought “the DNC should step back from the celebrities a little bit” because “they have to win over rural America.” It’s a fair point, especially since Field’s Instagram is unfortunately flooded with negative comments from people who support you-know-who. Anyone who watched all four nights of the DNC saw that the celebrities came out in droves, and a group poll conducted by the CNN after the final night revealed that six of eight participants had transitioned from undecided voters to Kamala Harris supporters.
While Galifianakis is right that celeb endorsements aren’t enough, it’s never a bad idea for people with massive platforms to say and do the right thing in the name of moving America toward a more peaceful democracy. As of now, Field’s Instagram account has a little over 5,000 followers, but she’ll likely get even more in the days and weeks leading up to Election Day. And after November 5th, our fingers are crossed that you won’t be hoping for change because you’ll see it happening in real time (and Field won’t be the only one cheering from the sidelines).
Published: Aug 26, 2024 02:19 pm