Tessa De Vilbiss
Staff Writer

Formatted like a fairy tale, the “Kony 2012” video on YouTube garnered 26.6 million views in under a week with its formulaic villain, hero and possible happy ending.

The video was launched on March 5, seeking to publicize the actions of African rebel group leader Joseph Kony.

The video, produced and directed by Jason Russell, went viral on Facebook soon after it was released. Russell, a co-founder of Invisible Children, explained the mission of the charity and their next goal in the video. In the video, Russell explains the problem at hand to his young son, teaching him about Kony’s actions.

Kony has displaced more than 66,000 children since 1986, when he founded the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which kidnaps children and forces the boys to kill and the girls to become sex slaves.

The message of the video helped it gain popularity, but its controversies keep it in the public eye, including criticisms of the campaign, and Russell’s public meltdown.

The controversy surrounding the video even spurred the creation of a second video: Kony 2012 part II, which explains in more detail the work of the LRA and Joseph Kony.

Some students, like sophomore Kristen Trout, don’t like the message the video conveys.

“I’m not against the video, but it does seem like propganda,” said Trout. “I feel like people are getting worked up against something they don’t know about. I support Invisible Children, but I don’t support the video.”

People complained about Invisible Children’s idea of making Kony famous to have him killed, not giving enough of their profits to the children, not helping the children enough, and oversimplifying the issues in Uganda.

Other students question the timing of the video and why it suddenly gives people the rights to claim to be experts on the issue.

“People watch a 30 minute video and suddenly think they are philanthropists,” said junior Sahil Hundal.

Senior Evan Hillis, who learned about Invisible Children from his friends at San Ramon Valley High, disagrees with the criticism that the video has been getting.

“I think it’s a good thing that people are really examining what they’re viewing.,” said Hillis. “However, I find that most of their claims are false due to lack of education about the organization or small misunderstandings which can be answered.”

Hillis thinks the finances are sound. A detailed explanation of the organizations finances can be found on their website at invisiblechildren.com.

The criticism led Russell to have a public meltdown and he was temporarily hospitalized after the video’s release.

A statement issued by Invisible Children’s CEO said the controversy surrounding the video took an emotional toll on Russell.

In 2003, Russell and a couple of college friends visited Uganda. After meeting children who had to move every night to avoid capture by the LRA, they were inspired to start the charity.

With films like “Kony 2012,” volunteers, and merchandise, the charity has raised money and awareness on the issue.

President Obama passed the LRA disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act in 2011 to send 100 U.S. advisers to Uganda to help their army capture Kony, who is first on the international war criminal list.

The video summarizes Invisible Children’s goals regarding Kony. Though the company suffered a lot of backlash from its adult audience, it was extremely popular with teenagers.

“I think it is awesome in bringing awareness and inspiring in what those guys did in starting Invisible Children,” said senior Jillian Alexander.

Mentioned in the video is April 20, when people will “cover the night.” The idea is to post picture of Kony all over the world to raise awareness.

Before the video, some Cal students had already been aware of Invisible Children. Hillis, along with junior Devon Haley and senior Kelsey Turner, have known about the organization and they love the charity’s mission. Hillis succeeded in getting a showing on April 19 of “Kony 2012,” the day before the planned “cover the night.”

However, due to the controversy, the video wasn’t shown to Cal High classes.

The three also planned to put on a benefit concert on April 20, featuring Cal bands and performers.