Part one: Deconstructing the social media video “Kony 2012” by Kevin M. Booker

Recent reactions to the short film “Kony 2012” provide an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at the creation of public perception and belief through the use of social media, the impact of cultural bias on filmmakers and viewers, and the opportunities for intercultural communication learning by using film as a teaching aid.

As an experienced visual language maker (visual art, photography, videography), my initial impression about the film is based on the attention that the film received in current online discussions. The intensity of public reaction to the film reveals that the filmmakers reached their goal: to have as many people watch and discuss it as possible. At more than 100 million views in less than 10 days after it was uploaded to youtube.com, “Kony 2012” has been described as “the most watched social video campaign of all time”. http://bit.ly/y1VxVB

As many writers have noted, the film was well shot and edited. It provided a compelling narrative full of emotional content. Through the use of highly personalized stories driven by first-person narration and interviews, the filmmakers were successful in using documentary style narrative to suspend disbelief, remain authentic and present a plausible perspective based on real-life events. Questions about the objectivity of the filmmakers, in this regard, are largely irrelevant because of the inescapability of cultural bias: social media, like documentary film, is based on the utilization of socio-cultural values that are measured, studied, predicted and used to create public perception based on the organization of information as explained here.

Along with understanding how public perception is managed, shaped and created, the film provides an even greater opportunity to de-construct the process of how core cultural values are learned and communicated in any society through the examination of heroes, rituals and practices which create and reflect symbols, signs and signifiers. Along with the study of how belief is formed, in this regard, semiotics are helpful.

Saussure explained his two-part model of the sign as a representation of meaning as the signifier and the signified. A signifier is the form a sign takes, the signified is the concept it represents.

Film is a process of presenting information – images, sounds, text, sound effects, etc. – in a selected order. To understand this, let’s dissect this particular film by reversing the order of how information is presented. In other words, let’s examine how the images and messages are introduced, in reverse order, starting from the end of the film and moving backwards to the beginning.

These are the signifiers:

@ 29.25 The film ends, title changes to “There are three things you can do right now”. Successive titles tell us to “sign the pledge” to show support, get the bracelet / action kit, sign up to TRI for a few dollars a month….and join “our army” for peace. Website URL comes up.

@ 29.24 The word “now” stands alone.

@ 29.16 Music sounds similar to African drumming. Title frame reads “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” Title changes to “… an idea whose time is now”.

@ 29.01 Music is modern, western European symphonic, lots of strings. Visuals of a rotating earth bathed in light, Saturn’s rings rotating at impossibly super high speed, the countdown clock ticking, representing time running out. The narrator explains over these images that a better world is coming, that it is waiting for “us” to stop at nothing.

@ 28.32 The narrator reveals his legacy. In rapid succession, we see frames of cute kid Gavin on a roller coaster, followed by Jacob adoring Gavin, and African children playing and the end sequence framed by the cute kid telling his Dad (the narrator) he wants to be like him when he grows up.

@ 28.17 The narrator suggests that “the technology that has brought the world together” has created the most crucial moment in history, where what we now do will affect every generation to come. He suggests that arresting Kony will prove that the world has new rules and that “we” are shaping human history through technology.

@ 27.40 The international criminal court representative is dressed in casual attire and explains that we are now living in a new “Facebook world…in which 750 million people share ideas, not thinking in borders…a global community, bigger than the US.” He suggests that because of “Facebook world” the world cares now that Joseph Kony be brought to justice.

@ 26.46 Club music swells. We see rapid images of running youth, on streets, on tops of buildings, in tunnels, unfurling flags, attaching posters and stickers, faces hidden. Narrator announces that “everyone else” (implying other than us) will wake up to a world full of posters demanding justice on every street corner.

@ 26.26 Narrator announces that the community of interest efforts will culminate on April 20th, 2012, when the Invisible Children campaign will “Cover the Night”, which he describes as a global, one-night-only event, taking part all over the world, where everyone meets at sundown to “blanket every street in every city till the sun comes up”. He declares “We will be smart and we will be thorough”.

@ 26.08 The narrator has finished his sales pitch and asks the viewer to buy. He offers “action kit for free” by instructing the viewer to donate a few dollars a month to the TRI organization’s “life saving programs”.

@ 25.48 We see a picture of the official “Kony 2012” bracelet for the first time. Narrator explains that these are the bracelets that “we” want everyone to wear. He further explains that the unique numerical code on each bracelet can be entered on a website so that the viewer can “enter the mission to make Kony famous”.

@ 25.43 We are told that the thousands of blue, red, white, black posters and flyers of “Kony 2012” are now covering the entire world. This statement is repeated by a world map animation using this color scheme.

@ 25.22 Narrator declares an intention: that “our goal” is to change the conversation of “our culture” – over images of stylized, New York city skyline, quickly followed by graphic with an image of Osama bin Laden in the middle of the frame @ 25.32

@ 25.53 Image of large crowd of youth in red t-shirts that resembles the red-flag we saw @ 22.58. Club music plays. Fast action sequence of red, speeding van with “Invisible Children” logo rushes down the street as singer sings the lyric “I Can’t Stop”.

@ 25.01 Interview clip with celebrity poster artist Shepard Fairey explaining powerlessness and how he is a role model for the power of the individual.

@ 24.47 Image of adorable blond kid playing with a toy car. Narrator: “If my son were kidnapped and forced to kill, it would be all over the news.” Narrator explains that “we” are redefining the propaganda that we see everyday which tells us what to pay attention to.

@ 24.15 US senator Russ Feingold explains the political lobbying process. Narrator explains that 1) the 12 policy makers can be contacted easily on his website, 2) that the viewer should contact them because 3) they are the 12 policy makers who “can change the game” regarding Kony.

@ 24.14 We are shown a poster resembling a political campaign that says “Kony 2012 – One thing we can all agree on”.

@ 23.55 Narrator voice: “Then we’re going after policy makers, the ones that have the authority to see Kony captured”. Quickly moving images of former US officials switch to film footage of meetings in congressional office spaces; we see people discussing, shaking hands, and making deals.

@ 24.02 Narrator explains that in this election year, this issue is something everyone can agree on. Animation sequence shows US republican and democratic symbols (silhouettes of an elephant and donkey) merging, joining at their heads with a white olive branch sticking upwards.

@ 23.18 Narrator describes who the US celebrities are. Images of well known figures such as pop singer Rhianna and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg appear in rapid succession. Interview clip from actor George Clooney signifies endorsement of the project.

@ 22.58 Narrator voice: “Here is how we’re going to make him visible”. Techno music sound track plays. Image of a red-flag with black letters quickly unfurls toward viewer. Flag features an upside down pyramid symbol, which represents a reversal of hierarchy. This symbol is explained near the end of film @ 27.02 The text on flag is “Make Him Famous”. Next images quickly appear of Kony posters next to US president campaign posters.

@ 23.12 Narrator announces that the campaign will target twenty “culture makers” (framed in screen in using light blue color) and 12 policy makers “to use their power for good” (framed in screen using deep red color).

@ 22.25 Image of fantasy New York Times headline depicting “Kony Captured”. Narrator voice: This is the dream”.

@ 22.37 Return to image of cute kid at the table. Father and son are talking. Father is off camera, image focus on child’s sweet, innocent face. Child is playing with photo on the table. Father and son are talking.

Father: “Here’s the biggest problem…you wanna know what it is?

Son: Yeah.

Father: Nobody knows who he is.

Son: But I know who he is. I see him on this picture right now.

Father: He is not famous. He is invisible. Joseph Kony is invisible.

Son: (facial expression indicates wide-eyed surprise and disbelief)

fade to black

@ 22.11 Narrator voice: “In order for the people to care, they have to know…and they will only know if Kony’s name is everywhere.” (image of an angry black male youth putting a small poster depicting Kony, next to images resembling Osama bin Laden and Hitler on a dark wall)

@ 21.39 Narrator voiceover starts instructions: “Here it is. Ready?” Narrator explains that in order for Kony to be “tracked in the jungle”, the latest technology must be employed. If the US government doesn’t believe the people care about arresting Kony, “The mission will be cancelled”. Images of disembodied screens appear in succession.

@ 21.10 Hitler images. Narration: “Its hard to look back on some parts of human history; because when we heard about injustice, we cared, but we didn’t know what to do…(images of dead bodies, human sculls) “too often we did nothing, but if we’re going to change that…” @ 21.28 (image: “Most Wanted Criminal list appears 2nd time) “we have to start somewhere…so we’re starting here, with Joseph Kony because now, we know what to do.”

@ 20.00 Black video screen makes the announcement that a fourteen-year-old child soldier reports that Kony now knows that the “great power is after him”. Narrator announces that “we’ve come so far” but the pictures show that Kony is still “out there” (scary background music)  @ 20.24 International support could evaporate anytime @ 20.40 Important officials agree.

@ 18.30 The narrator declares that what he was told, what would never happen, now became possible. Narrator (on screen) reads e-mail sent to him from President Obama, officially announcing the deployment of US military advisors to central Africa. More cheering and jubilation, main stream media television coverage is shown, (movement from street activism to mainstream media). @ 19.18 we see a black female lose her composure on camera. Narrator voiceover: “After 8 years of work, the government finally heard us”. We see American military advisors on the ground in Africa. @ 19.44 we learn that this is the first time in history that the US took that kind of action “because the people demanded it…not for self-defense, but because it was right.”

@ 17.46  We learn that the movement is global, consisting of hundreds of thousands of people…crowds representing Mexico, Canada, London. The showdown – a return to Washington DC – begins with the movement confronting non-partisan political power. Suddenly we learn, US government officials become illuminated. Declarations are made in US congress.

@ 17.09 Stadium rock music plays…action scenes of helicopters flying, defiant fist-pumping throngs (interesting image @17:12 of male in sunglasses posturing as authority) more jubilant dancing, running crowds full of happiness. The message “this is what the world should be like” is punctuated by an image of people liking a Facebook page.

@ 15.50  Narrator says he and his friends built schools…created jobs…built a sophisticated, early-warning radio network. This was done with spare change. We see protectors, funded by a homogeneous “army” of young people @ 16.42 we see an image of a crowd, there are two young black males in the center of the frame, no black females are visible: the invisible children meme has been introduced. The TRI organization is introduced but not explained. The pace suddenly quickens: high definition images of exhilarated, defiant, crowds of  US American teenagers timed to coincide with spoken text of crowd cheering “we’ve-seen-these-kids, we’ve-heard-their-cries, this-war-must-end, we-will-not-fear…we-will-fight-war!” are rhythmically mixed with short film fragments of desperate Africans.

@ 14.00 Narrator returns from Africa to talk to everyone in Washington. The US government is not interested. Narrator states that US government declares intervention impossible, so the narrator starts a Facebook page, which he describes as a fighting, creative, loud, protesting, American community that shows pictures of helpless black Ugandans at homogeneous American school gatherings. Jacob and other Ugandans are compelled to come to America to speak on behalf of “all people suffering because of Kony“. Narrator states that they couldn’t wait for institutions and governments to step in, so they took matters into their own hands.

@ 9.30 Cute blond kid “Gavin” on screen. Gavin thinks all bad guys are “Star Wars” characters. Photos of evil black man, identified by the kid, show up on a table. Narrator shows “Kony abducts kids just like Gavin”. Editing changes from real life pictures to well-rendered, 3D, SGI images of Kony. He is sweaty, threatening and has a wild look in his eyes. First mention of black sexuality associated with violence here: sex workers and a boy carrying a gun as big as he is. More images of African misery: rapid succession of “shock and awe” mutilation stills. Excellent 3D rendering of menacing child soldier glaring directly at the viewer, while narrator identifies him as a “parent killer”. More CGI masses of black people images while narrator states that Kony is “not fighting for any cause” and is “not supported by anyone”. International criminal court prosecutor identifies Kony as world’s No. 1 outlaw. We’re quickly shown the list of the top 25 “World’s Worst Criminals” comprised of African and Muslim males. Prosecutor admits he’s helpless to stop Kony / almost pleads for Jason’s help. Scene cuts to cute Gavin and international criminal court prosecutor demanding Kony be stopped, even if 99% percent of the world doesn’t know who his is. We’re shown that this viewpoint is supported by approximately 2 Ugandans.

@ 7.25 The narrator-turned-hero makes a promise: he declares his fight for justice and his quest to change the course of human history. A movie “expiration date” is introduced. By now, our hero has changed what “I” am going to do to what “we” are going to do. At this point, the “we” is not defined. But @ 8.46 we can tell by the change in the music and the narrator’s tone of voice that, like a world-wide TV wrestling champion, he’s gonna kick some ass and take some names. The face of evil appears for the first time. He is black, sweaty and mean. We now know who the bad guy is and that the people who will stop him are on Facebook.

@ 6.00 Jacob tells the narrator about his death wish.

@ 5.49 Narrator expresses shock, horror and dismay, declaring if this horror he had witnessed “happened one night in America, it would be on the cover on Newsweek”, a mainstream US news magazine.

@ 5.00 We move from daytime in America to dark, scary, nighttime scenes in deepest, darkest Africa. We hear and see Jacobs’s horror story – a life of abductions, horror, bodies of African children.

@ 1.55 We see scenes of a real, high- stress emergency, hospital operating room, the birth of a baby. Narrator declares that you do not choose where you are born. Introduction of cute baby pictures/ home videos/ pics/  – little blond kid born in a complicated world, who can make movies at 5 years old on an iPhone. We are introduced to the young, brave, authoritative/ activist/narrator – who has a friend on Facebook @ 4:00 who was born in Africa, a location of “trouble”.

@ 0.00 Film introduction: opening title states that “nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come”. Images of the earth from outer space/ Saturn’s rings/ satellite point of view / a factoid: more people now on Facebook than on the planet 200 years ago; humanity is connecting with technology, finding common threads; these connections are changing the way the world works; governments are worried; older generation is worried, because the “game of life” has new rules, (a reference to gaming culture). The narrator speaks in the imperative, telling the audience to “pay attention”.

End of part 1.

Next: Part 2: Best practices for using film in intercultural training design.