Kony 2012 - Must See

[Chris McKechnie]

I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but I thought I would share it because it deserves your time. It's sad that tragic things like this are happening in the world around us and it takes years just to bring awareness to our nation/communities.

http://vimeo.com/37119711

My wife and I contributed to the cause, and I contacted the co-founder of Invisible Children to offer my production services for any need that may arise. It would be great to get other supporters of RED to help contribute whatever they can and show the world what a great group of people we have in our reduser community.

[Matt Gottshalk]

http://jezebel.com/5891269/think-twi...e-meme-du-jour

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/...licated_things

http://ilto.wordpress.com/2006/11/02...ible-children/

[XiaoSu Han]

Maybe you too can earn 90K a year making movies for them :)

[Josh Beadle]

You might want to do a bit more due diligence before committing so completely.

Mods: why close this subject? It is about all the things filmmakers are presented with when being involved in "documenting" a story and who we partner with and support. Kony is a complex subject that is very relevant to our industry and selves.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michae...b_1327417.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michae...b_1334410.html

[Chris McKechnie]

Didn't realize they spent so much on media/advertising, though if they didn't, who would even know about it. They are at least helping more than anyone else was before they created Invisible Children.

[Matt Gottshalk]

Didn't realize they spent so much on media/advertising, though if they didn't, who would even know about it. They are at least helping more than anyone else was before they created Invisible Children.

No, they are lining their pockets in order to make people on Facebook feel like they are doing something.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...over-film.html

[Chris McKechnie]

Didn't realize so many people were against the organization. :-( Figured that the video went so viral, friends/family telling me about it, websites supporting it, etc that it was a legit cause.

[rod bradley]

This is alas what happens when "documentary" slips, with the best of intentions, toward propaganda. Don't get me wrong, I am in total sympathy with the cause, but not so much with this particular "message" about the cause for reasons there are links to.

It's a very slippery slope when people get vested in their righteous outrage and find that certain truths are inconvenient (like Kony hasn't been there for six years)-- but figure the means justify the end. I'm sure most of us are in in total agreement that Kony and the LRA is evil and should be squashed.

Ultimately adhering to the truth of the matter, without unnecessary slant or hyperbole, seems to produce the most committed response. Perhaps not the most sensational. But sensation evaporates very quickly. Alas, all of this terrible business has been revealed much more accurately and profoundly for years. But the response from the international community was tepid. Now that the LRA is marginalized and virtually defunct, we have the outcry.

I just think, as filmmakers, the privilege we enjoy always carries the responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest standards.

[Chris McKechnie]

This is alas what happens when "documentary" slips, with the best of intentions, toward propaganda. Don't get me wrong, I am in total sympathy with the cause, but not so much with this particular "message" about the cause for reasons there are links to.

It's a very slippery slope when people get vested in their righteous outrage and find that certain truths are inconvenient (like Kony hasn't been there for six years)-- but figure the means justify the end. I'm sure most of us are in in total agreement that Kony and the LRA is evil and should be squashed.

Ultimately adhering to the truth of the matter, without unnecessary slant or hyperbole, seems to produce the most committed response. Perhaps not the most sensational. But sensation evaporates very quickly. Alas, all of this terrible business has been revealed much more accurately and profoundly for years. But the response from the international community was tepid. Now that the LRA is marginalized and virtually defunct, we have the outcry.

I just think, as filmmakers, the privilege we enjoy always carries the responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest standards.

Very well said.

[Jake Bastian]

This is alas what happens when "documentary" slips, with the best of intentions, toward propaganda. Don't get me wrong, I am in total sympathy with the cause, but not so much with this particular "message" about the cause for reasons there are links to.

It's a very slippery slope when people get vested in their righteous outrage and find that certain truths are inconvenient (like Kony hasn't been there for six years)-- but figure the means justify the end. I'm sure most of us are in in total agreement that Kony and the LRA is evil and should be squashed.

Ultimately adhering to the truth of the matter, without unnecessary slant or hyperbole, seems to produce the most committed response. Perhaps not the most sensational. But sensation evaporates very quickly. Alas, all of this terrible business has been revealed much more accurately and profoundly for years. But the response from the international community was tepid. Now that the LRA is marginalized and virtually defunct, we have the outcry.

I just think, as filmmakers, the privilege we enjoy always carries the responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest standards.

Slow down there. Marginalized and defunct? In Uganda, yes but they've moved on and gotten bigger.
Revealed more profoundly? Do you remember anything else about Uganda getting this big, this fast. Do you know the names of ANY other war criminals in Africa? Most don't.

I agree with the whole financial back story, and negative impacts of a military response but that's the whole point in taking part in a social experiment like this:
1. Social media is free. The video is made, and if arresting Joseph Kony is something people want then all we have to do is say so. In numbers. Don't give money to Invisible Children - going viral made monetary contribution unnecessary (unless you believe in that specific organization rather than the cause of arresting bad people and bringing them to justice).
2. Social media, makes it the people's cause, not Invisible Children's. Don't want military intervention? Say so. A loud enough cry will either change the way the government thinks about this stuff or make IC realize that's not something people are going to get behind if all you're wanting to do is throw guns at an already bloody situation.

I think in this case, the viral contrarians who are crying out to ignore the cause have some valid points. But the negatives they are pointing out don't justify killing a movement to arrest and try the bad people of the world.