I had never heard of Joseph Kony until this past Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, I, like most people, found myself to be generally ignorant of the details of the violence in Uganda. Also, like most people, I learned of Kony on the Internet with the help of a 30-minute film produced by the Invisible Children organization.
As of the four-minute mark, the video led me to believe it was about filmmaker Jason Russell's infant son, Gavin. Later, however, it became apparent that the video aimed to launch an awareness campaign against Joseph Kony, a Ugandan guerilla group leader and head of the Lord's Resistance Army. Kony, during his active years, used child soldiers to commit atrocities against Ugandan civilians and was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in 2005. He has since evaded the charges, but Invisible Children is working to bring him to justice.
If awareness was the only objective, the campaign has been largely successful. The Kony 2012 video garnered more than 70 million views in less than a week, with endless Facebook posts, celebrity tweets and media attention channeled to it. And yet, after having watched the video, I can't help but think that such an activism for awareness was launched for all the wrong reasons.
The filmmaker uses overt psychological aesthetics to justify his cause. It is narrated by Russell, whose tone carries an almost hypnotic effect and makes frequent comparisons between the victims of Joseph Kony and the citizens of the United States. Moreover, the reappearance of the blond-haired, brown-eyed "Gavin" has almost nothing to do with the cause so much as serving as a reeling device to hook the audience.
Style aside, there was also an outrageous amount of funding which went into a film with such visibly high production quality, and most of it was gathered from the organization's proceeds. It has been reported that the Kony 2012 campaign spends less than a third of the $8.7 million in its 2011 earnings for direct services to Uganda, while the campaign paid roughly $3 million for its staff and travel. In other words, the film employed both visual and financial techniques to spread a message which was supposedly anti-media.
Legitimate or not, I cannot help but wonder why these types of videos are even necessary to make a point. The footage of Ugandan children is startling enough. So are the photos, the testimonials and the flat-out facts. Why, then, did the filmmaker feel the need to further his appeal by bringing his son, George Clooney and elementary-school info graphics on how the government and the media connect into the equation? Why, as a viewer, did I feel like the whole thing was voiced-over by Trey Parker?
I'll grant Kony 2012 shows that social media is a revolutionary method of spreading the word on anything, and I strongly support Joseph Kony's arrest. Yet we need to get to a point where we don't need over-produced imagery to empower ourselves, and the Kony 2012 campaign is getting press for doing just that.
As college students we are faced with a number of "causes" on a daily basis, all of which have their own methods of spreading awareness. But the truth is that not all problems can be solved through awareness alone, even if it settles your conscience. The Kony 2012 campaign has made an impact upon those who are drawn in by synthetic media yet has admittedly not offered a concrete resolution. In contrast, other organizations such as CISV International provide hands-on solutions through volunteer work and education in bringing about peace.
There are times I take my power for granted without even realizing it. One thing I have learned from Kony 2012 is that there are international problems which will be completely neglected if the proper course of civilian action is not taken. In the future, I hope, everyone will realize this without a little blonde boy having to tell us about it.
Denise Taylor's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at d.taylor@cavalierdaily.com.
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