First of all, I know I am going to catch a LOT of shit for this. Partially because the majority of my friends, and I am literal when I say that, are involved with
. To be honest, I am involved, too. I signed the petition, I have done a little promotion for the cause, etc. I do not believe the movement to be a waste of time or completely a negative thing by any means. However, I have a few problems with how they conduct themselves and the methods they are using to try and make the different they all want to make.
I have felt the way I feel for quite some time, but after seeing the IC screening the other night at
Charm City Art Space (the first screening I have ever seen in full by IC), I felt quite compelled to speak out because I found that a lot of people were severely emotionally moved by the film and I was a little nervous that their emotions were stirred by dramatizations and celebrity profiles rather than the vast group of children being killed and oppressed in Africa.
Now, on to the point.
I feel as if the organization may be using the little money they have and make in a number of irresponsible ways. I am not saying that they are pocketing money and making themselves rich by any means. I am just saying that from what I have seen, there money can't possibly be being spent on furthering their voice and equipping them with revolutionary means more than it is dressing up their vans and video production amongst many other things.
For one example, many of the cities that represented the Rescue movement had their own professionally produced banner with their city's name on it. That banner is useless and pointless. And if they really wanted to make one, trashed remnants of tarp or vinyl with a few rolls of black duct tape would have done the trick. It would have been a more personal creation with a lot more money set aside to put toward the liberation of these innocent children forced into massively detrimental warfare.
Another example of money irresponsibly spent was this ridiculous film. It looked so very nice, pristine, edgy and hip complete with good music (plenty of Sigur Ros, which was awesome, actually) and lots of neat (and cheesy, in my opinion) effects. Who did they pay to make this video? How much did they spend? Anyone can cue up free video editing software and make a decent film with the intention of informing the public about serious issues. However, I don't even want to know what kind of money they wasted on the production of that film. It was unnecessarily flashy when you think about the point of what that film was supposed to actually do. Or at least I think I know what it was supposed to so. Which brings me to my next rant.
Second, the celebrity profiles made me nauseous. I have respect for anyone behind an organization that carries out any planned revolutionary action with the intention of really making a difference and ending some sort of terrible, heartless oppression. However, most of this film was centered around the staff and their unique personalities as well as all of the kids who stick by them and assist them in what they do. I understand that sounds harsh, but allow me to elaborate...
In the film, several times it was mentioned that the young girl who helped start the movement (and I don't remember her name because it wasn't as important to me) was "only 18 years old!" I'd say half of the film had footage of her speaking, being silly, showing her compassion or what have you. There was a lot of footage of speeches that the staff gave to the herds of people involved in protests and demonstrations, etc. Lots of dramatic footage meant to throw a tear-jerk into the audience of viewers in order to gain sympathy for all of the hard work they do, and for the times that they are just about too overwhelmed and ready to give up. I found myself turning to someone sitting next to me after watching 10 minutes straight of these "celebrity profiles" and saying (a little too loud) "okay...so... what about the fucking children?!"
Lastly, my main issue is not with the mass amounts of people they reach, because they reach a LOT of people with their super stylish t-shirts printed on American Apparel. My issue is what they are really doing, and not doing, to put an end to this war.
After much hard work, they were finally able to convince congress to put some attention forth toward the cause. A bill was proposed by Congress, after way too more convincing than should have been necessary (and this badly reflects upon congress, not IC) call on Barack Obama to arresting Joseph Kony, the man behind the child soldiers and his war, freeing all of the children. There is a petition for such (which I had signed, only because if this would actually happen, it would be a victory). However, if you have any realistic view of our government, they don't give a shit about any cause unless their reputation becomes damaged due to their avoidance. Now, with enough educating of the public, I think that driving the government to do something would be possible. However, our country are full of asshole nationalists and don't have one ounce of care about anything besides our bullshit health-care system amongst other things. It is my guess, and if I am proven wrong I will stand corrected, that there is nothing that the U.S. government will do about this. Unless of course we drift into harsher turmoil than we are already in and such a move would earn our government officials some brownie points in their approval ratings.
The Rescue movement called on celebrities and/or political figures (deemed as moguls) to publicly recognize each group of kids hiding out in each city so that they could be freed to return home. This would symbolize the rescue of the oppressed children in Africa. Would I be so wrong to suspect that a large portion of these celebrities and political figures acknowledged the IC to protect their own reputation? I mean, who is anyone of power or fame to ignore such an important issue? Now look at our government... they do this all the time, hence the paragraph above this one.
Why doesn't some militia somewhere organize, sneak up on Joseph Kony and capture or execute the guy? Easier said than done, I am sure, but this bill... is a joke. The IC motto itself, to me, is a joke. Forgive me, but IC claims to use the transformative power of story to change lives. Well, okay. If you want to label your cause as spreading awareness, that is fine. That is what I am doing right now. But please, spare me the "revolution" and the "movement" labels. That is not what an informational organization is.
Speaking of story, in that entire film, I saw just about two, maybe three, multi-second clips of accounts from Native Africans giving their own accounts. What one of the Africans said was probably the most profound statement made in that film. He commented about how if anyone dies in the U.S., the media and government attention is completely consumed, but when thousands of innocent children die in Africa due to mindless genocide, no one cares. Why wasn't that the point of the film?
Activism and protesting empowers people. It makes them feel a part of something, and that feels elating and beautiful. That is even admitted by the IC staff. They openly talk about, in their film, how amazing it makes them feel to be a part of something "this big." Is no one feeling any sort of personal conviction about how this is not about them, it is about the children? Many non-profits exist first and foremost as a community of like-minded people. They build strong relationships. Rarely do they, unknown to those involved, that they are missing the point by a mile or two.
I am not saying that activism groups, protesters and non-profits are all a waste of time... but we must remember two very important and influential historical quotes...
Commit planned acts of organized resistance & premeditated solidarity.
And...
No real social change has ever been brought about without a revolution.
One would consider the IC movement as revolutionary, and as I said before, I do not believe it to be pointless. However, revolution is defined specifically as a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. IC being revolutionary is extremely debatable, I would think.
IC kids, don't give up. Keep doing what you are doing. But I advise you to take into strong consideration what I've said so that it may force you to re-think your tactics.
Please offer me your feedback and put me in my place. I'd like to keep an open mind and make another post about this as you all offer your thoughts and after I do further research.
EDIT: Remember, this post was based upon my first reaction to this film that was new to me and many people. I have limited knowledge concerning all of the details and depths of IC. I think that a mere IC virgin's reaction to the film is so important because it is what all of us in that room last night will use to help us decide whether or not we want to get further involved and/or educated. I am afraid that I was not given the best first impression of a cause that just may be completely worth everyone's while and effective.
I do not believe any research or responses given could sway my opinion about the decision made that The Rescue should be the initial presentation of IC to a room full of potential IC activists. I believe, regardless of anything about IC itself, this film was not the right way to genuinely grab our hearts. At least not for me.
In a downloading frenzy this evening, I discovered this FUCKING AMAZING band called Edaline. They have the classic midwestern emo sound a la Mineral (Endserenading era) and Appleseed Cast (End Of The Ring Wars era) but they are slightly heavier and a bit more complex. I like pretty much any band of this genre, talent or not, but this band is horribly under-discovered it seems. I am so stoked on this genre all over again after hearing them.
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