The Positive:
I think the Invisible Children organization is brilliant in its advertising. It realizes the power behind trending media in today's culture, especially among the younger generation. The video played right to America's current young adult mainstream of indie pop culture along with the empowering sense that we have the power to change the world. Heart wrenching scenes of Ugandan youth were slapped right next to scenes of hundreds of Toms-clad college students running around and yelling for change, led by the ultimate hipster/Non-profit manager himself, Jason Russel, which are overlayed with emotional alternative music form the likes of The Naked and Famous and Mumford and Sons.
Basically, the guys of IC knew how to capture the attention of America's youth and celebrities, and they did it with high success. And Facebook friends of mine who had never posted about an official social cause, probably in their life, were now a little bit more educated about one of the horrendous problems facing people in another part of the world, and felt excited to be apart of stopping these problems. So that right there is a plus - in a self-gratifying, ungrateful American culture, it is a plus to get kids excited about aiding other people's problems, especially other people not in their direct vicinity.
The Negative:
Some of the positives about the campaign video could also be looked at as negative. I have read several critiques of Russel's documentary being overly catered towards American youth and lacking a central focus on the actual Ugandan youth, as well as critiques of its seemingly Westernized, savior-like depiction of changing the world. However, that is subjective, and though I partially agree, there is a lot of gray area.
However, one scary thing this viral vid did make evident was the power behind a trending topic. I am almost positive most of the kids who shared that video did so as a knee-jerk reaction right after viewing it, and did not take the time to research IC, research the actual history of Joseph Kony, the LRA, and the US interference that has already occured, nor any other relevant information. No matter how innocent a cause or organization looks, this is vital. Because sharing a viral video like that, or contributing money, or whatever is not like donating to your local community service project. People who do this for Kony 2012 are now backing one viewpoint about Uganda, and one method of solving the problem in Uganda. Do those who shared the video realize that they are supporting Ugandan military intervention when they support IC, which has controversial implications? Do they realize that past attempts to stop or kill Kony have resulted in violent retaliation that has caused the death of hundreds of more people? Do they know that in the past year, IC used only about a third of their incoming funds on direct help to Africa, and that their financial accountability rating is presently a 2/4? I would guess a lot of American youth who shared this video on impulse do not.
Fundamentally, the loudest message that came across to me during the few days of viral spreading and media received by Kony 2012 is that if one has the means of producing a glossy, professional documentary/campaign video, complete with American pop culture tie-ins, they could probably get millions of hits and thousands of people to share there video, even if their organization in actuality was doing some pretty questionable things outside of the spotlight.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I felt this issue related somewhat to my project just because it is a contemporary event in social development - the field I am aiming to head into. It is interesting to see some of the Western views or limited global perspectives of Americans highlighted in a viral video - things I learn about everyday in class.
Here are a few of the links I found interesting while researching Kony 2012
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html
http://justiceinconflict.org/2012/03/07/taking-kony-2012-down-a-notch/
http://justiceinconflict.org/2012/03/07/kony-2012-the-invisible-children-advocacy-campaign-to-catch-kony/#more-2862
http://demandnothing.org/making-the-invisible-visible/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=making-the-invisible-visible
http://9gag.com/gag/3212157
The last one is just for laughs.
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