I think Cole's right in general, but not about Kony 2012. What's so remarkable about the Kony project is that it's not really relying on sentimentality at all. Yes, there are the touching scenes with the young man whose brother was killed by Kony, but the goal is not to make us feel for the victims, but instead to make Kony himself famous/ notorious. I think that's a canny adaptation to the way our media culture now works--or at least an interesting attempt to try something new.
instead to make Kony himself famous/ notorious.
I haven't paid an enormous amount of attention, but is that not also Kony's goal?
3: Sorry, I wasn't very clear. My understanding is that the goal of the Kony 2012 project is to make everyone in the world peripherally aware of Kony (in the way that I'm aware of, say, the Kardashians because I see their name on the cover of magazines in the check out line) in the hopes that this background awareness will be enough to pressure Congress to support the right kinds of actions. Whether or not that's the right strategy in this case (I'm far too ignorant about the LRA to know), it's interesting to think about whether such peripheral awareness might be turned to political ends (since our usual conception of political engagement presumes much more passionate commitment).
Huh, I was thinking about posting on the Kony thing. Sally brought the video home -- a school friend had passed it on to her -- and was not only wildly excited about it but had gotten Newt all fired up as well. I felt kind of bad talking them down: Kony's not doing a lot of damage these days; there's no particular reason to think sending American soldiers to Uganda is going to solve everything; any video about issues in Africa that needs to suck you in with an adorably lisping blond preschooler is probably a bunch of horseshit.
But on the other hand, they were aware of and interested in something actually happening on another continent, and wanted to help. That's great, and making them cynical about it isn't an unmitigated improvement.
it's interesting to think about whether such peripheral awareness might be turned to political ends
That's reasonably terrifying.
Imagine a lisping blond preschooler stomping on your face forever.
4 -- right. Can we have a poll as to who here was aware of "Kony" at all before last week (our resident Africanist excepted). I was vaguely aware that there was something called the LRA that had been involved in a nasty civil war in Uganda, and that's it. I'm having a hard time seeing why more attention to Africa is a problem (granted that it's selective).
I'm having a hard time seeing why more attention to Africa is a problem...
It's caused problems in the past.
6: You're probably right. What I was thinking was something like this. We tend to presume that political change comes about through either a) reasoned and knowledgeable argument (here's how a single-payer system would be more efficient) or b) sentimental appeals (here's a heartbreaking story about a little kid without health insurance). And we also tend to presume that the media are inhospitable to argument and appeal--because they're fascinated, instead, by celebrity and reduce politics to soundbites and all the rest. So what I find striking about the Kony 2012 campaign is that it's actually adapted to the media that we have, rather than calling for the media we'd prefer.
But you're right because, fascism.
So what I find striking about the Kony 2012 campaign is that it's actually adapted to the media that we have, rather than calling for the media we'd prefer.
That certainly seems plausible. The down side, as you note, is that we might end up with the kind of political action that we often have, rather than the kind that might help (whatever that is).
8: I knew about the LRA, but wouldn't have recognized Kony's name.
I knew about the LRA and would have stopped sending them donations next month regardless.
13: after they sent you those mailing labels?!? Jerk.
Yes on Kony recognition pre-video.
Anyway, I was aware of Kony before this video, which I haven't watched and don't intend to.
I'm having a hard time seeing why more attention to Africa is a problem (granted that it's selective).
Well, the last time the US showed any significant interest in that part of Africa we ended up backing the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia.
I've found that most people don't even know the words to Toto's "Africa", despite finding it a pleasant and familiar tune.
Oh man 19 cuts like a knife. It's completely true. I get it stuck in my head, even. "Blah blah and the something rains in Aaaaafrica"
There are at least some people who will argue for uninformed "awareness" causing harm. Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4, Link 5. My aesthetic distaste for that video was so violent I can't form opinions that aren't tainted by it; that's all just relayed opinion.
Is anyone seriously worried that there will be a US intervention in Uganda, or that the pursuit of Kony is in any way controversial? Because that would be insane.
I knew about the LRA. I probably could have picked Kony's name out of a multiple choice question, but would not have independently recalled it.
I have to say, this dude who made the film architected an impressively viral piece of content. You see a lot of shit on the internet that goes viral almost by accident, but its really difficult to intentionally make that happen.
It seems to me that the film is more about its audience than it is about Kony. That's probably why it works.
18: I don't think that counts as "significant interest."
Is anyone seriously worried that there will be a US intervention in Uganda, or that the pursuit of Kony is in any way controversial?
I believe when American troops first went down there, there was some criticism from Limbaugh about Obama going after Christians. Yes, Limbaugh was actually taking the side of the Lords Resistance Army.
Yes to Kony + LRA pre-video, I knew they had lost power but I hadn't read just how much.
Where to read about Africa? Le Monde covers politics sometimes but not facts on the ground. The Economist has near-random facts on the ground occasionally. How bad is Joseph Kabila for, instance? He stole the 2011 election, but for DRC, I figure less violence is the best way for clean water, fertilizer, and antibiotics.
There are lots of immigrants from francophone Africa where I live, the kids I see in elementary school seem pretty well assimilated, and when I talk to their parents about politics at home, they sound like reasonable people talking about countries that sort of function-- problems with bribery, crime, and banks rather than with clean water.
Because that would be insane.
I don't really know enough either way, but you know you aren't doing an enormously good job of asking the prior questions without trying to start a fight, right?
We have a resident Africanist? Who?
Tim Burke comments sometimes, and Aaron Bady has commented. Neither frequently enough to be called "resident", though.
I knew about the LRA but if I had ever heard the name Kony it didn't stick. I'm still not sure what the point is; whether LRA is evil, or doing damage right now, or whatnot doesn't seem like it depends on the name of the person in charge; it's not like this is some dude who has been drifting around the rest of civilization and we just need to put up a Wanted poster.
I was thinking of Jimmy Pongo, who, tbh, hasn't been here that much.
Anyhow, I don't know much of anything about the situation either. But is there an actual argument that the attention is doing more harm than good? I listened to a BBC interview with some Ugandans who were annoyed that the video (which I haven't seen) oversympathized with the current Ugandan government. But, was Uganda in the top 150 things any nonspecialist American was thinking about before last week?
Until 30 made me curious enough to google, I assumed Kony was the guy who made the documentary.
We have a resident Africanist? Who?
I assumed togolosh. Who is African, I understand, but builds lasers in his spare time.
What I still don't get is what Kony2012 has to do with the OP. Is Cole implicitly referencing it? How do you know? I wouldn't have picked up on that. Of course, I hadn't heard of the video, so I suppose it's natural that I wouldn't. But, still, now, having heard of the video and re-read the OP, it still don't seem obvious.
But, still, now, having heard of the video and re-read the OP, it still don't seem obvious.
What you don't get without watching the video is that its not so much a video about Kony, as it is a video about what white people can do about Kony.
I was thinking of Jimmy Pongo, who, tbh, hasn't been here that much.
Oh, right. I was wondering if I had forgotten someone, and sure enough, I had. Sorry, Jimmy!
But is there an actual argument that the attention is doing more harm than good?
Well, there's all the stuff Tia linked in 21.
Who clicks on links? That would be insane!
Much like toxoplasmosis, I had heard about Joseph Kony and the LRA many times over the past decade or more, and yet most recently I heard people making jokes about the internet hype surrounding them before I saw any of said internet hype.
As for the OP, it's interesting to see contempt coming from a place that's often the target of condescension, but it doesn't help bridge the gap.
We must close the condescension gap.
The arguments in the things Tia linked are terrible (you can tell, because many of them are from the Atlantic). The main argument is "hey this video is simplistic but the world/Africa is complex (in ways I'm not going to bother to explain to you because I don't actually know much but like to go around saying that things are complex). I mean, it's an advocacy/propoganda piece that's been effective. Great. Is there an argument that this is likely to do more harm than good on the ground (acknowledging that there may be other problems not addressed in the video).
Goddamn it. Anyhow, I'm perfectly willing to be convinced that the video is a bad thing but for now I'm running with a strong anti-anti-Kony2012 position.
I agree with 44, unless it implies I'm willing to watch the video.
It seems likely that a person can make judgments about the LRA without the Kony2012 video.
On the OP, Teju Cole's series of seven tweets is powerful. I can't find another word.
"I can too wake up the blog on a Sunday evening! Just you watch."
-- heebie
I don't know much about this whole Kony thing, but I'm aware of Invisible Children because of Veronica Mars.
And I dunno, at the very least when an actual Ugandan person says she finds it insulting and dehumanizing, that's measurable harm and you'd have to figure out what good is being done to balance against it -- how is "awareness" going to help catch JK? Obviously Ugandans will have diverse opinions, but truly, this video is such an emetic example of the white-man-will come-and-save-you-genre (and I liked Avatar!), it's kind of hard to imagine "this is insulting" not being a popular one. And if the "awareness" of Africa that's being raised is just another specter of a dark, ravaged, hopeless continent that needs well-scrubbed American college students to lift it up, is that the kind of awareness that will really help? The video doesn't even appear to be responsive to the actual concerns of Ugandans right now.
This appears to support Halford's view.
Point 3 in Teo's link, by the way, is a substantive point made in many of the pages I linked above. But if you call for an aggressive military solution to a problem where that might harm rather than help, and then you provoke a discussion about how sometimes aggressive military solutions to problems harm rather than help, I don't think you get credit for that.
Is there an argument that this is likely to do more harm than good on the ground (acknowledging that there may be other problems not addressed in the video).
Well, given it might cause the West to pay more attention to Africa, & the general effect of the West paying attention to Africa is a genocide, yeah, I think there's a pretty good argument it will do harm.
Also, 40.1 is my experience. I could definitely have named Kony, the LRA, and placed them pretty roughly in context. (B&T to blame there I think.)
given it might cause the West to pay more attention to Africa, & the general effect of the West paying attention to Africa is a genocide, yeah, I think there's a pretty good argument it will do harm.
Truly, it is remarkable how the attention generated by Kony2012 is likely to replicate either the slave trade or the horrors of the Belgian Congo.
The piece linked in 51 argues that this is part of a plot in which Invisible Children are serving as "useful idiots" for a plot to militarize Uganda under US domination. I guess I don't know enough about the facts on the ground to actually usefully comment -- maybe the US is involved in some kind of power play in Uganda in which this plays a role --but I am super skeptical.
Anyhow, I'm still willing to believe that the video is bad, and I found it kind of annoying, but I'm still on team anti-anti-Kony2012. At least these people are doing something.
Or like, I dunno, the assassination of Lumumba & subsequent chaos? Or the Rwandan genocide? Really, has there been a good Western intervention in Africa? Sierra Leone maybe?
The piece linked in 51 argues that this is part of a plot in which Invisible Children are serving as "useful idiots" for a plot to militarize Uganda under US domination.
I think you mean "the piece linked in 50."
56 -- oh, yes I do mean that. Whoops.
55 -- I get your point, but I don't see how it plays into this video specifically (also, I don't think Rwanda is a great example for you there).
Anyway, I don't really have a particularly strong opinion on this specific topic, nor have I watched the video, but I'm generally inclined to be suspicious of calls for the US to "pay more attention" to Africa, especially when they focus on setting up Warlord X as a Really Bad Guy Someone Should Do Something About.
I don't understand why there's such a pressing need to raise awareness about Kony in particular considering the US has been going after the LRA for at least 3 years, with more vigor than usually goes into Africa, including actual soldiers.
Rwanda is possibly not the strongest argument.
The reason this video is pernicious is it supposes the solution to the problem is military intervention; I do not think this is very helpful at all.
A look at the Facebook feed of my friend who is currently living in Uganda reveals links to this, this, this, and this, but most importantly this drinking game to play while watching the video.
The reputation, not your reputation.
I haven't watched the videos, because I hardly ever watch videos, and hadn't heard of Kony/LRA before. My teenagers have both ranted at me about it though - the younger one from the "and that charity keep loads of the money and only use about a third of it for what they're supposed to" angle, and the older one from the "ugh this is so distastefully the wrong way to be going about things" angle.
The series of seven tweets in the OP are impressively irritating and sanctimonious.
Yeah, that's right, Teju. No one in the US spends any time at all worrying about whether the Iraq war might have been wrong. You prat.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that reaction to #6.
65, 66: No one in the US spends any time at all worrying about whether the Iraq war might have been wrong.
Well if one wants to interpret it like that, sure. But I take his point to be that this very broad groundswell most certainly has swept up many who were either cheerleaders or never gave a second thought to US agency in Iraq.
65,66: It's irritating because it's true; overstated obviously, but true.
19:
Some people do not find Toto's "Africa" to be "a pleasant and familiar tune."
I was not previously aware that it was "a staple of Apartheid radio."
I take his point to be that this very broad groundswell most certainly has swept up many who were either cheerleaders or never gave a second thought to US agency in Iraq.
I doubt that is true.
Sure, I buy all the critiques: it's misleading to reduce a complicated situation to a single villain; it's condescending to imagine that Africans can be rescued by US college students; it's dishonest to replace argument with the words of cute children. All of these things are definitely a problem with Kony 2012--and with most US depictions of the political situation in Africa.
But Kony 2012 has already been much more effective than other depictions. So I think the interesting questions are these: what features of the Kony 2012 project make it so compelling for, say, Lizardbreath's children and the 71 million other people who have watched it this week? and can we borrow these features and use them toward better ends?
But Kony 2012 has already been much more effective than other depictions.
I think the question is "Effective at doing what?". If the answer is "Making people aware that Kony is a bad guy", it's certainly arguable that's not a good thing.
"Hey, that so-and-so is a real bad guy. Some one should do something about him" has, in recent history, been the jumping off point for a lot of ill conceived foreign military adventures on the part of the U.S.
Also, I didn't realize we'd moved past the practice of typing "Tia!" every time Tia shows up. When did that happen?
Maybe someone has linked this already, but an interesting Foreign Policy blog post -- Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and other complicated things .
I'd be curious what the Ugandan people thought of all this. Based on the article saying that the LRA has been reduced to a small gang of thugs, it seems sort of uncomfortably close to encouraging the Chinese to send troops to hunt down a particularly vicious LA street gang. But I don't know anything about Ugandan politics, except what the Internet tells me.
Whoops, pwned by Teo in 61. That's what he gets for a long string of cryptic "this" links, though.
At least these people are doing something.
I haven't watched the video and haven't really followed the controversy, but are they doing something besides selling posters and bracelets?
72: I'm talking about the form of the appeal; you're talking about the content. Unless you're saying that it's just not possible to rile up many Americans about some part of the world without running the risk of prompting a misguided military involvement. (And you might be right: it might not be possible).
Unless you're saying that it's just not possible to rile up many Americans about some part of the world without running the risk of prompting a misguided military involvement.
Based on the last decade and a half I'm definitely leaning toward that view.
As a moderately well off white-male, I the White Savior Industrial Complex puts me in a catch-22. If I oppose the Iraq war in the morning, is that enough to break the cycle? Does upping the amount I give to charity in the afternoon help?
76: I don't really know either, but here is their defense.. (scroll to towards the end). It sure sounds like they are doing actual good on the ground and not just selling posters and bracelets.
79: no, only a complete lack of regard for the lives of anyone in Africa at all will save you from the wrath of Brooklynkrumah.
81, 82: http://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/2012/03/12/kony-heads/
I like the Tim Burke post a lot, but note that per their website, much of what the organization does is (a) a radio system of alerts for where the LRA is in the Congo, to get people out of the way, (b) provide support and education for LRA victims and survivors.
The latest from the friend mentioned in 61:
FOR THE LAST TIME UGANDA IS IN EAST AFRICA, NOT CENTRAL AFRICA. If you're going to jump on a bandwagon, please for the love of literacy, make sure you've at least looked at a map first. Then maybe read something rather than relying on freaking YouTube. And with that, I am 100% done talking about this. K thanks.
Somehow I missed that this made it over here. I loved Cole's tweets.
Thank you also, heebie, for not publishing the discussion with my blowhard friend in the FB comments where I shared this.
And a local account of the same screening.
Hmm. I wonder if it would add anything useful if I emailed my cousin who has the NGO in the DRC, and spends a month or two a year there what he thinks of all this. He's pretty cynical about virtually every aspect of Euro-American involvement in African affairs (including even his own thing, which I think is maybe a little bit false modesty), so I would guess that he is probably pretty grumpy about this deal.