Last year I witnessed twitter blow up about Joseph Kony and I was surprised to see how many people were talking about it. This tragedy has been going on for a really long time and had been portrayed in numerous Hollywood films in the past decade alone so I was curious as to why all of the sudden everybody was talking about it. I had not seen the Kony 2012 video until we watched it in class so I never really knew how all of the hype began.
My initial reaction when watching the video was impressed, I was amazed at how Jason Russell generated such massive attention towards the conflict. The fact that he was simply an average guy with a young son, a video camera and a visionary way to capture the attention of America shocked me. He was able to create world wide attention through his story telling skills with his Youtube video that has near 100 million views. He stands as evidence that a regular guy can start a powerful movement and provides a way for everyone to contribute and be a part of this resolution. This is the reason he had such success generating interest, instead of only dwelling on the negatives of this issue he quickly establishes the concern and focuses on showing the positive results that can arise from simple action available to all. He raises awareness without making people feel guilty.
The issue with this whole ordeal is that even with 3.7 million individuals from 185 countries pledging their support the conflict itself has yet to be solved. This goes to show that while words may create awareness of a conflict, actions resolve conflicts. It’s amazing that with new forms of media such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube nearly everyone has the available resources to raise awareness of a serious conflict on a global level, but the fact remains that a significant resolution will not be seen unless someone in a position of power takes drastic action. Perhaps this cause may have been more successful if Jason Russell had attempted to pursued just one person to take action, someone that was in position to make a significant change.