Stop Kony Documentary Unites Web Against Ugandan LRA Leader

[becozy]

Advocacy group creates a stir with moving first person stories from the war-torn African nation, which was the

subject of 2011's "Machine Gun Preacher."

from the Hollywood Reporter 3/7/2012 by Jordan Zakarin :

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y4MnpzG5Sqc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is not your average kitten and pratfall viral video. Sometimes, YouTube can make a difference.

A half hour documentary produced by filmmaker Jason Russell for the Invisible Children charity took the web by storm on Tuesday night, spreading the word about Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and his brutal practice of forcing young children into war.

The video is striking in its uncensored look at the deplorable conditions faced by the young soldiers, as well as its juxtaposition of interviews with Russell's jovial, well-adjusted young son and with a teenager named Jacob, an imperiled Ugandan who lost his brother in the country's civil war and sees little reason to live. It calls on Americans to continue to put pressure on the government to find and capture Kony; the Obama administration has sent military personnel into Uganda to pursue the leader, but has yet to catch him.

The video got a boost from Hollywood, as many celebrities, including Zooey Deschanel, Busy Phillips, Simon Pegg, Chloe Moretz, Taylor Swift and Olivia Wilde tweeted out the video, some using the #StopKony hashtag to push up its popularity. For his part, Alec Baldwin suggested they drop Rush Limbaugh on Kony, put Kony in a jail cell with Ann Coulter, or have Limbaugh eat Coulter, then drop Limbaugh on Koney. Whichever approach they choose, the idea is to make Kony famous, which is one thing celebrities can make happen.

In fact, Kony has already been a target of the industry, as Gerard Butler's 2011 film Machine Gun Preacher told the story of Sam Childers, a biker-turned-advocate who has made saving children from the LRA's grasps his life's work.

[Lady Elissa]

That's really good news! I'll be sure to watch it when I get the time!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[frisby]

Maybe this will help boost DVD sales of MGP or even get a second wind at the cinema..we live in hope!!

Edited March 8, 2012 by frisby

[GBPhanatic]

Alec Baldwin suggested they drop Rush Limbaugh on Kony, put Kony in a jail cell with Ann Coulter, or have Limbaugh eat Coulter, then drop Limbaugh on Koney.

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

Delene

[Paisleyscot]

This is very Powerful! It's all over Twitter and FB as well.

Sam Childers has been fighting this battle for 15+ years now. The fight goes up higher than Joesph Kony, but I'm glad people are getting the word out that this atrocity MUST stop!

I'm so looking forward to seeing Sam again at our convention. Makes me extra proud to be a GAL.

Whatever it takes is a good thing.

Cheryl

[frisby]

The only shame at the moment is so many people seem to be watching MGP via illegal downloads.

If only all these people could buy the DVD or see it at the cinema!

[GBPhanatic]

I think as much as Gerry would appreciate the revenue generated from MGP, I'm sure he's happy about the attention it's adding to the Kony situation. Really, I'm thinking that was his main intention for doing the film in the first place.

It was so limited in release and I haven't seen the DVD availability of it yet that sounds like the only way to see it is by illegal downloads. I'm dumb here so help me out. If the DVD hasn't been released yet, how are people getting it illegally?

Delene

Edited March 8, 2012 by GBPhanatic