If *multiple shudders* Donald Trump does become the next president of the USA, it won’t be for lack of trying from some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
Saving the day is in the job description for the various superheroes in many of writer-director Joss Whedon’s movies, but he’s now calling upon the actors that play them to embark on a very real-life mission.
Whedon (Buddy the Vampire Slayer, X-Men, Toy Story, The Avengers, Thor etc) has launched Save The Day as a call to all Americans to use their vote on November 8. The 52-year-old dramatically returned from a long Twitter hiatus to make the announcement.
Hey! Did I miss anything? Lol jk the world is on fire 😂 here's a thing I made https://t.co/g1SE45Rkrv
— Joss Whedon (@joss) September 21, 2016
The first star-studded video produced for the campaign is simply titled “IMPORTANT”, and features 27 actors including Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Keegan-Michael Key, Don Cheadle, James Franco, Jesse Williams, Cobie Smulders, Martin Sheen, Neil Patrick Harris and Leslie Odom Jr.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKngosEB4qh/?taken-by=savethedayvote
It’s ingeniously self-aware, poking fun at how droves of celebrities are often enlisted to hammer home a political point, but this video has a very sincere message about what is undoubtedly one of the most important presidential elections in recent history.
There’s no direct mention of either Hilary Clinton or Trump, but when Cheadle warns of ‘a racist, abusive coward who could permanently damage the fabric of our society’, or Odom Jr. questions whether Americans really want to ‘give nuclear weapons to a man whose signature move is firing things’, it’s pretty clear what side they’re on.
The very ending of the film uses probably its most famous participant to perfectly illustrate how nobody’s vote matters more than anyone else’s, and that every single voice counts.
Oh yeah, and Mark Ruffalo somewhat unwittingly agrees to get his dick out if the American people succeed in keeping ‘fear and ignorance’ well away from The White House come Election Day.
It doesn’t get much more powerful than that.
