Within society there are many agents of political socialization. These agents compete and vie for the attention of young people. Parents, churches, peers, the news media and the entertainment media present young people with severely conflicting ideas about government and politics. But we must be careful not to assume young people are passive recipients of political socialization. We must also consider them as active participants in the process Sorting out the relative influences of these various agents is a task which has been pursued by social scientists for more than a generation.
A world of socio-politically relevant entertainment media content and celebrity political activists with some clout is most certainly part of the context in which teaching is enacted. Students must be shown how to think critically about the often subtle content in the media. And so, rather than attempting to make another contribution to this sorting out of influences, this paper examines some recent evidence for the power of pop culture in general and celebrities in particular to influence the political beliefs of young people. Then it examines these findings in light of their potential impact on teachers, administrators, scholars, and activists engaged in school reform.

Within society there are many agents of political socialization. These agents compete and vie for the attention of young people. Parents, churches, peers, the news media and the entertainment media present young people with severely conflicting ideas about government and politics. But we must be careful not to assume young people are passive recipients of political socialization. We must also consider them as active participants in the process Sorting out the relative influences of these various agents is a task which has been pursued by social scientists for more than a generation.
A world of socio-politically relevant entertainment media content and celebrity political activists with some clout is most certainly part of the context in which teaching is enacted. Students must be shown how to think critically about the often subtle content in the media. And so, rather than attempting to make another contribution to this sorting out of influences, this paper examines some recent evidence for the power of pop culture in general and celebrities in particular to influence the political beliefs of young people. Then it examines these findings in light of their potential impact on teachers, administrators, scholars, and activists engaged in school reform.