The viral video Kony 2012 has certainly reached it's goal of becoming widely known, being that it has received over 64 million views. I wonder though, if this large view count is what will help to reach the video's apparent goal: stopping Joseph Kony. Kony, a Ugandan guerrilla troop leader, has been responsible for the abductions and murders of thousands of Ugandan children for over twenty years.
A man by the name Jason Russell created this video in order to raise awareness about the issue, in order to stop it.
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| Still from Kony 2012 |
Raising awareness is clearly a large theme in the video. In it, Russell says,
"It’s obvious that Kony should be stopped; the problem is 99% of the planet doesn’t know who he is. If they knew, Kony would have been stopped long ago." I question Russell's implication that the reason Kony hasn't been stopped is directly related to the number of people who know about it. Of course spreading awareness couldn't hurt, but I worry that the people who are sharing this link/spreading word about the video has less to do with taking action against Kony, and more to do with people's obsessions with disasters covered by media.
Don DeLillo has this fascination with disasters a running theme throughout White Noise. In chapter 14, Jack narrates a scene of him and his family are watching floods, earthquakes and other disasters on TV and says, “Every disaster made us
wish for more, for something bigger, grander, more sweeping” (64). Not that I am saying those who watched the Kony 2012 video are happy that such a calamity is occurring, but perhaps they got a sort of twisted excitement in sharing it with other people. How effective can this way of spreading the video around be?
I know that personally, after watching the video I was inspired to take action to help stop Kony. My action only went as far as telling some friends about it, however. I have a feeling that many other video viewers did the same.
I agree that it may be America's fascination with disaster (disaster that does not have a direct effect on us--but thats a whole different topic) has caused the nationwide buzz. To answer your question, I believe in terms of initial attention/awareness, the video has had a successful effect on its viewers. However I am skeptical about how successful the longterm effects will be. Because often Americans fascination with such "disasters" are often short lived--and easily replaced with a new issue by the media. Though I wonder if the uniqueness of the Kony video will cause a different (and hopefully more effective) outcome.
ReplyDeleteNice followup, Betsy -- I share your fears about our ability to sustain attention on these important issues. Sarah -- wonderful connection to White Noise, including your honest response "My action only went as far as telling some friends about it," to the video.
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