{"id":131585,"date":"2013-03-04T17:35:49","date_gmt":"2013-03-04T22:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"\/gazette\/?p=131585"},"modified":"2013-03-04T17:35:49","modified_gmt":"2013-03-04T22:35:49","slug":"the-clip-that-stirred-a-cause-perhaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2013\/03\/the-clip-that-stirred-a-cause-perhaps\/","title":{"rendered":"The film that stirred a cause, perhaps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\n\t
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tNation & World\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tThe film that stirred a cause, perhaps\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
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\n\t\tChuck Leddy\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\tHarvard Staff Writer\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tBerkman Fellow discusses impact, criticism of year-old \u2018Kony 2012\u2019\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n
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A Ugandan boy speaking almost perfect English struggles to maintain his composure as he discusses his brother, who was kidnapped and killed by the Lord\u2019s Resistance Army (LRA), a militant group led by indicted war criminal Joseph Kony.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may meet in heaven,\u201d Jacob Acaye says of his brother. He bows his head, covering his face with both hands, and begins to cry uncontrollably. A man\u2019s reassuring voice is heard: \u201cIt\u2019s OK, it\u2019s OK.\u201d He makes a promise to the sobbing boy, \u201cWe\u2019re going to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, another boy, Gavin Russell, blond and smiling, sits in front of the same man \u2014 his father, Jason \u2014 as he slides a photograph of Kony across a table. \u201cCan I tell you the bad guy\u2019s name?\u201d Jason Russell says. He pushes the photo closer. \u201cJoseph Kony takes children from their parents and . . . makes them shoot and kill other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gavin looks up from the photo, wide-eyed. \u201cIt\u2019s sad,\u201d he says. His father makes another promise: \u201cWe are going to make Joseph Kony a household name to bring his crimes to the light.\u201d<\/p>\n

These two scenes come from \u201cKony 2012,\u201d a documentary that has been viewed online more than 100 million times. Directed and narrated by Russell, the co-founder of the nonprofit Invisible Children<\/a>, the 30-minute film was launched last March and instantly became a social media sensation.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t

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The documentary "Kony 2012" has been viewed online more than 100 million times. Devanesan uses the video to pose this question: What lessons does \u201cKony 2012\u201d hold for social justice advocates? Image from "Kony 2012"\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n

Russell\u2019s goal was clear: to raise awareness among young Americans about Kony\u2019s crimes, which include the kidnappings of tens of thousands of children whom he forced to become soldiers and sex slaves, and build a community that wanted to see him arrested and tried for war crimes. However, critics said the video simplified the conflict in Uganda, and misled visitors to the site about the true demands of activism.<\/p>\n

Do mouse clicking and video sharing count as legitimate forms of grass-roots mobilization?<\/p>\n

Berkman Center<\/a> Fellow Ruha Devanesan<\/a> has been researching the \u201cKony 2012\u201d campaign and its lessons. As executive director of the Internet Bar Organization<\/a>, a nonprofit working to improve access to justice through technology, Devanesan has also led the design and implementation of several tech-focused social justice initiatives. She discussed her work on \u201cKony 2012\u201d during a Feb. 19 talk at the Berkman Center (video here<\/a>) and also in an interview with the Gazette.<\/p>\n

The first step toward momentum is generating engagement, said Devanesan.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to make the issue relevant to [people] somehow,\u201d she says, \u201cInvisible Children managed to take an issue far removed from the 14- to 25-year-old target segment and make it personally relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the critique that the video simplified the conflict, Devanesan responded, \u201cthere has to be an entryway\u201d to an issue; simplicity and emotion are two ways to open the door.<\/p>\n

Social justice campaigns seldom work through data-driven appeals to the intellect, so nonprofits often appeal to emotions, Devanesan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmnesty International, for example, ran a series of short videos on torture. Those were more about using shock and fear as the emotional draw, as opposed to \u2018Kony 2012,\u2019 which uses empathy and sadness. Both appeal to emotions, just different emotions.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t

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A year later, it remains unclear whether \u201cKony 2012\u201d has created a new template for leveraging social media. \u201cIf someone went out today and tried to replicate \u2018Kony 2012,\u2019 it would probably fail, because people have seen it already,\u201d Devanesan said. Image from "Kony 2012"\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n

\u201cThe sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle,\u201d she said, between appeals to emotion and providing more deep-dive information. \u201cIt might be that \u2018Kony 2012\u2019 simplified too much. Using a cute little kid in your video is like using a cat in your video. It pulls people in, because it\u2019s endearing and charming,\u201d but doesn\u2019t provide much context.<\/p>\n

So what lessons does \u201cKony 2012\u201d hold for social justice advocates?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basic lessons are to simplify your message as much as you can without misrepresenting it, and to find a way for people to connect with it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s also a need to create gateways in order for people to connect more substantively.\u201d<\/p>\n\r\n

Soundbytes: Ruha Devanesan \u2014 Thoughts on the Fallout from 'Kony 2012'<\/h4>