Kony 2012: A Movement?

It’s an interesting time in the world for protesting.  With the ‘Occupy’ movements to the recent ‘Kony 2012’ it’s the beginning of something that could be truly remarkable.  Change.

Now clam down all those crazy extreme people out there who scream “Wait, Joseph Kony isn’t the only problem!” You’re right he isn’t, and I think very few supporters of this movement would be foolish enough to state that he is.  You may also feel the organization Invisible Children is a corrupt ‘charity’ that is using this tragic situation to profit financially.  That may or may not be true (Look, Shamu is a slippery temptress, can you really give Jason Russell a hard time for public masturbation outside of Seaworld?), and I’m not here to argue that point with you.  What I will say is that this movement potentially has the ability to change government policy for the greater good.   The reality of change/movements is that they take time.  Planning, organization, and most importantly money.  Money, to get people involved on a small level such at re-tweeting a Youtube video, or in the real scheme, money to allow people running organizations financial stability to pursue it on a full time capacity.

So what we have here is a man who may become the face of this movement, for although he is not by any means innocent, he is by no means the only ‘villain’ operating in this world.  So what DOES this campaign really stand for?  Well, it seems to me to be a clever marketing plan to attempt to brand injustice.  Just as Gucci uses celebrities to market their products, Invisible Children are marketing Kony as the poster boy for Injustice.

Invisible Children released a thirty minute Youtube video that was put together in magnificent marketing fashion.  It started with an opening shot on the documenters son who he simply wants to grow up into a heathy, happy person.  Soon it cuts to his friend Jacob and his heart wrenching life story.  By filling the video with clips about his son and the people who had been affected by Kony, instead of presenting a video of facts on crimes he has committed, they’ve connected with their audience by making them feel as if it could happen to them.  By using those people they can now influence celebrities and politicians (regardless of their prior stance) to get more involved.  These celebrities trickle their influence down to their followers who may not care about the clause but jump on the band wagon to feel included.  At this point we start to see an interesting change because there is now a large mass of people pressing several governments into action.

We’ve arrived at the heart of it now.  A large group of people connected by their hatred of injustice with the ability to influence/create action.  That’s a powerful thing, and it might be Kony’s only chance to redeem himself by becoming the poster boy for such an change.  For although he is not the cause, change must start somewhere and it looks like Kony's number may be up.  Can you imagine, a world where we need to market doing the ‘right’ thing for our fellow inhabitants.  Sickening that we need to be sold on that point, but nonetheless it remains true.  So what will we do with this opportunity?