KONY 2012 is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, “not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.” The mission of Invisible Children is to “uses film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony's rebel war and restore LRA-affected communities in central Africa to peace and prosperity.” Therefore, Invisible Children wants to make KONY famous until December 31, 2012 so the world will know more about what is happening back in Uganda. “Wow” is the first word that pops in my mind as one must be blind for the past years to not have a clue about Kony and what was going on back in Uganda since his 2005 indictment by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. However, I think the campaign itself is good for awareness but my question is why now? How come the world woke up with one YouTube post? Or maybe it did not wake up since this might be just a week-long discussion without any action. If one wants to know more about Invisible Children and Joseph Kony, a Ugandan guerrilla leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), there are countless sources out there that you can find. I am glad I’ve seen the video and heard others talk about KONY but I am wondering if people are more interested in the cause or just the movie itself. I myself did not simply share the video on Facebook and claim that I am empowered by this video like many other friends of mine. At first it was interesting to hear my Facebook friends talking about this, and sharing this video and feel bitter for a second, but then I thought, does every war criminal need to be famous in order for people to take action and feel sympathetic and be aware of the need for helping others.
But, what I wanted to focus here is the power of Social Media; watching KONY 2012 brought countless questions about the power of social media and how people do not question WHY? Or do not even understand what the cause is but still use the “like” button just because everyone else is doing so. It amazes me how within two days or so the video named “KONY 2012” was viewed by 43,354,020 folks around the world as I am writing this … and the Facebook has been boomed with countless posts about KONY. It’s crazy how much impact the social media have nowadays; I mean even when I think about the recent Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street movement, KONY, and now I wonder what’s next? Because the film and campaign is everywhere and it continues to be the hottest topic in Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other Social Medias. This has been something that has also been an important topic that I’ve been talking about to my friends on campus. This video was shared by so many people, yet many of them had no clue what the story is. They speak no English but still like the campaign and video. My question here is how we have come to this point that we don’t question much. KONY is not the only war criminal around the world in the list of people that abuse human rights, there are many others that some of us have never heard of.
As I continue questioning KONY and the power of social media I would like to note what one of my friends said today to me as we were discussing about injustice and this video in particular. He said, “it made me laugh to see how people started sharing this video like crazy, like that’s some isolated key of human brutality just screaming for our help or whatever like, millions of people became humanitarians, sharing posts with their iPhones and new MacBook’s, and for a moment they even felt better a bit, and when we start talking about, dunno, brutality in iPod/iPhone factories, barely anyone shares that (using their iPhones), cause that makes me realize how F***** up we have become.”
Finally, I question myself about how many people out there are suffering and never get a chance to raise their voice; how many young kids around the world suffer injustice and domestic abuse; how many war criminals are free out there and no one even cares because there are always other important political items in the agenda that needs to be followed.
Here is the YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
Here is the YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
Liza, first off thank you for this thoughtful piece. But as a Ugandan and a political science student, I am so fade up of people trying to 'act nice.' For crying out loud, it has been at least 26 years since Kony started killing innocent Ugandans under the guise of being 'told' by God to rescue Uganda from the NRM government. And sadly, as always is the case, the world stood by as day by day horrific pictures of children captured, women raped and worse limbs cut off filled our minds. Yet, again big brother US stood by and did not act....so, after 26 years and after Kony has run away from Uganda comes this group and they make a 30minute video....as if to mock us Ugandans and to remind our people of the suffering that was 26yrs ago.....I am not in any way impressed by this cause.
ReplyDeleteAnd, there are so many people being killed and suffering out there and nothing is being done about it...people are so selfish these days that they are using the media to become famous and make money....forgive my language, but this is egoistic and bullshit. Tell the example of the movie, In the land of blood and honey that just won and oscar for portraying the horrific days of the war in Bosnia....serious, how many people cared then and care now after watching the movie? The producers have made their point and made their money...selfish interests just.....It is a sad world we live in....
There are several ways to look at this. One is through the power of social media in agenda-setting. Another is via the guest editorial written under Nicholas Kristof's column by someone who interviewed villagers in the area most victimized by Kony.
ReplyDeleteWondering what to make of the Kony video? Check out this post based in part on the thoughts of the villagers whom Kony preys upon. They're desperate and neglected and will take help anywhere they can get it.
Kony's Victims and the Kony 2012 Video
kristof.blogs.nytimes.com
Guest blogger Lisa Shannon writes about the key point of the Kony 2012 viral video: to advocate the immediate capture and delivery of Joseph Kony to the International Criminal Court.
But the war is over in Northern Uganda...at least it has been for about 3-4 years now and Kony is no longer in Northern Uganda. Why is it now that the world is paying all this much attention? Why not 26 years ago when the real fighting and torture was going on? I believe the media has nothing to do with how 'infamous' this whole campaign is...it is a joke and mockery to the people that suffered.
ReplyDeleteIt's been quite a hiatus; I guess as an alumn, that is permitted. But, this really got me coming back. I think like DT says, any take - even reporting on the activities of LRA are to be interpreted differently! I personally, received the video (this viral KONY 2012) with the most skepticism I could afford.
ReplyDeleteHowever, continued engagement with other reactions to it and a more devoted attention to this piece of "genius" allowed me to shed off some of my biases. It's still hogwash to make a hero out of a terrorist. It's also foolish to imagine that a moment built out of such naivety would ignite some sort of pragmatism from the West. But, alas, this is a working satire. To the end that the video has set some form of discussion is good enough to bring to fore a grave matter reeling in neglect. At least, the bystanders can also come to terms with this. The West like one of the makers of this video puts it, is seldom moved into action until it makes for "our pain" otherwise, it is "Them and Not Us." To have KONY share a platform with Obama, Santorum, Romney, Gingrich, et al...is to be lauded as a good initiative to stick it out in the face of those sitting on the much-needed action. Whether there will be any action, is to be debated...
The biggest misdoing of this initiative like the many meant to drum support toward action over a crisis, is the loud-singing to the wrong ears that is its principal aim. There's is this sickening assumption that local bred solutions cannot work in Africa or in crises-ridden places. Why would it be imperative to call the West to action on a more-than two-decades long human butchering when the same West has never ceased tied with Uganda or the government of Uganda? How are we supposed to accept the incompetence by these amplifiers of the said injustices when there is zero attempt to call out the government in whose territories the orgies persist? Where are the questions that need to be asked? Isn't the West that made a great darling in Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni when they could have offered him the support and "counsel" to weed out the LRA at infantry? Who's fooling who? I think the video, unknowingly helps to get back our grove and ask the most urgent of questions. Otherwise, we should just shut up!
Not to change the subject too much, but I think it is interesting to see how much money those who run Invisible Children and made the video have actually made. In 2011, only 32% of the money the charity had raised went to actually charity. The rest of the money went to compensating top charity officials, travel expenses, and budgeting for the film.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thelantern.com/mobile/opinion/before-donating-to-kony-2012-do-your-research-1.2816290