Wow. That was my first, and lasting impression when I watched this 30 minute campaign on youtube today. I wasn't going to click on the little play button in the centre of the box, but after seeing that over 20 of my friends on Facebook had shared it only a few hours beforehand, I thought it might be worth watching. I'm so glad I bothered.
Here is the film for anyone who has not seen it yet. It is half an hour long, but I promise you won't regret it, and you will be using your time wisely.
Kony 2012 is a campaign which aims to make Joseph Kony famous, "not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice." But who is Joseph Kony? Well, briefly, he is the leader of a Ugandan guerilla group called LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), and for 26 years he has abducted over 30,000 children from their families in Uganda, to create himself an army. The girls are forced to become sex slaves, and the boys are handed over guns, and forced to kill their own parents.
The campaign aims at making this diabolical villain an infamous celebrity, so that his name is spread, along with his actions, around the world, and so to get everyone (no matter where you are from, or what political party you support) to eliminate him from the world's future.
The film is encouraging everyone and anyone who feels any sort of negative emotion towards the actions of Joseph Kony to unite, armed with posters and stickers, in what will be one of the most diverse political campaigns in history. Jason Russell, the director of the film, tells us that April 20th will be "the day when we will meet at sundown and blanket every street in every city until the sun comes up. The rest of the world will go to bed Friday night and wake up to hundreds of thousands of posters demanding justice."
The film expires on December 31st 2012, the last day of this year. Jason Russell is giving us a time in which we either choose to do nothing about changing the future for the good of next generations, or we choose to fight.
I decided to 'like' the Facebook page for Invisible Children, the charity for which this campaign video was made. Refreshing the page out of intrigue, I saw that, every second, the number of fans was raise by at least 25 people. 'Like' them too, and do the same as me if you don't think I'm telling the truth. I looked at the comments posted on the charity's latest wall post and everyone had written 'Spreading the word for...' and their country. So this is what I'm doing by posting about the video on my blog - I'm also Spreading the Word, for Leeds, London, England generally, and for anyone who reads my blog - and I urge you all to Spread the Word for wherever you are from too.
(I've just seen a lot of people posting links to a blog post called Visible Children. I think they might be slightly misunderstanding the point - Invisible Children isn't demanding you support their charity by giving them money. Yes they ask if you would consider it, but the message they're trying to put across is more that if we work as a team, everyone, from every background, of any age, with any possible future then we might be able to find Kony and arrest him. No charity is without corruption when it comes to giving money, as it's obvious (we have all heard stories) that not all the money is going straight to those in need. But just by putting up a poster, sharing a video on Facebook, even just saying the word 'Kony' you're helping them. The video is free, speech is also free - just do it. You'll be helping.)
Here is the film for anyone who has not seen it yet. It is half an hour long, but I promise you won't regret it, and you will be using your time wisely.
Added on the 5th of March, only 48 hours ago, this video has already received nearly two million views and has been shared over four million times on Facebook.
Kony 2012 is a campaign which aims to make Joseph Kony famous, "not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice." But who is Joseph Kony? Well, briefly, he is the leader of a Ugandan guerilla group called LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), and for 26 years he has abducted over 30,000 children from their families in Uganda, to create himself an army. The girls are forced to become sex slaves, and the boys are handed over guns, and forced to kill their own parents.
The campaign aims at making this diabolical villain an infamous celebrity, so that his name is spread, along with his actions, around the world, and so to get everyone (no matter where you are from, or what political party you support) to eliminate him from the world's future.
The film is encouraging everyone and anyone who feels any sort of negative emotion towards the actions of Joseph Kony to unite, armed with posters and stickers, in what will be one of the most diverse political campaigns in history. Jason Russell, the director of the film, tells us that April 20th will be "the day when we will meet at sundown and blanket every street in every city until the sun comes up. The rest of the world will go to bed Friday night and wake up to hundreds of thousands of posters demanding justice."
The film expires on December 31st 2012, the last day of this year. Jason Russell is giving us a time in which we either choose to do nothing about changing the future for the good of next generations, or we choose to fight.
I decided to 'like' the Facebook page for Invisible Children, the charity for which this campaign video was made. Refreshing the page out of intrigue, I saw that, every second, the number of fans was raise by at least 25 people. 'Like' them too, and do the same as me if you don't think I'm telling the truth. I looked at the comments posted on the charity's latest wall post and everyone had written 'Spreading the word for...' and their country. So this is what I'm doing by posting about the video on my blog - I'm also Spreading the Word, for Leeds, London, England generally, and for anyone who reads my blog - and I urge you all to Spread the Word for wherever you are from too.
(I've just seen a lot of people posting links to a blog post called Visible Children. I think they might be slightly misunderstanding the point - Invisible Children isn't demanding you support their charity by giving them money. Yes they ask if you would consider it, but the message they're trying to put across is more that if we work as a team, everyone, from every background, of any age, with any possible future then we might be able to find Kony and arrest him. No charity is without corruption when it comes to giving money, as it's obvious (we have all heard stories) that not all the money is going straight to those in need. But just by putting up a poster, sharing a video on Facebook, even just saying the word 'Kony' you're helping them. The video is free, speech is also free - just do it. You'll be helping.)
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