#24

Wah. Big issues comes up to the surface.
Let's scroll down!

In anticipation of the Invisible Children Online World Premiere of KONY 2012, I sat down with co-founder and filmmaker Jason Russell to discuss details of the film and what his hopes are in launching the most important film we’ve ever made.

Why 2012? Why this year?

In the last 9 years of trying to end the war, the puzzle pieces have not been aligned like they are now. WhenObama deployed the advisory troops in October, it was a shock. My psyche was stunned; I never thought that the government could or would actually do it. The fact that they did do it and that advisors are there now, makes the end of this war totally possible but it’s very time-sensitive. Everyone that’s been working on the conflict from Senator Inhofe to Resolve to John Prendergast know that it has to be 2012 because by the time it turns 2013, the advisors would have been there [some might say] too long.

What inspired you while creating the new film?

This film was one of – if not the hardest – for me to ever make because it was so personal and hard to be objective. What inspired me the most was seeing the purity through the eyes of my 4-year-old son while giving him limited information of Joseph Kony and what he does to children. Hearing Gavin say, “We need to stop him” really reinforced the purpose of the film for me. The intention of the movie from the very beginning was to make a 20-30 minute piece telling the audience exactly what the facts are and what exactly they can to do in order to see this conflict end. And I feel like we’ve done that.

Why make Joseph Kony famous?

We want to make him known, which is really hard to do in a culture that has so many options and distractions and different stories. So the best way we knew how to do that was to take advantage of the fact that it was an election year, and insert his name into a mock campaign in the run for presidency.

I’ve been inspired by Lauren Hill’s quote, “Fantasy is what people want but reality is what they need.” It’s the sense that people don’t want to think about war or think about child trafficking and it makes sense, I don’t want to think about it either.  But if you can do something to influence the end of violence or tragedy in the world, then you should do it.

The problem with Joseph Kony is that nobody knows who he is. It was actually an idea Michael Poffenberger [of Resolve] had while working in DC talking with Congressmen and Senators. He said, “You know Gaddafi is known in North Korea but Joseph Kony is just not known…I wish Joseph Kony was famous.” And out of that came the whole campaign.

What’s the dream for KONY 2012?

The ultimate dream for KONY 2012 is that it becomes a tipping point for conversation, and that people will make a commitment to stop at nothing by making sure Kony is known in their circle of influence, whether it’s their family or office or school. The dream would be for Kony to be captured, not killed, and brought to the International Criminal Court to face trial. The world would know about his crimes and they would watch the trial play out on an international level, seeing a man face justice who got away with abducting children, raping little girls, and mutilating people’s faces for 26 years.

If you could say anything to Joseph Kony, what would it be?

[long pause] I’ve thought about this for a long time. I would just say thank you for creating such a clear example of what it means to be perverse and diabolical and for forcing us, as a generation and as a world, to deal with future individuals who think they can get away with murder.

He is the clearest example of something that we all as humans can agree on is wrong and needs to be stopped.

Please go to this video and you'll see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

#23

Quote of The Day

In life, you can't expect everyone to be nice to you, as maybe, you haven't been that nice to everyone anyway. So rather than having bad assumptions about people and question why they treat you unpleasantly, question yourself first.

--Diana Rikasari.

#22

Ngerasa kacau banget akhir-akhir ini.
I'm feelin' like to slap someone in the face. I really do.
Pengen banget muntahin kata-kata yang ngendep di ati, tapi susah.
Tapi jujur deh ya, jadi orang itu tau diri dikit lah, kenal aja ga kenapa sih mesti bicarain keburukan orang di depan orang banyak? Ga pernah salah? Ga pernah buat dosa? Suci? Atu emang ga punya malu?
Ngaca dulu lah, jangan sampe dikacain orang.
Kalau emang kamu gasuka sama orang ya langsung aja bilang, kenapa mesti act like a bitch gitu. Masalah personal kok dipublikasikan, muka aspal memang.

#21

Ya, tau ini bakal terjadi. Too busy with school.
Got no time to part-time-writing here, but tonight.

Gaada yang khusus sih, cuma akhir-akhir ini kepalaku sakit banget, kenapa yah... Hah, jadi berperasagka buruk, tapi jujur deh sakitnya banget bangettttt. Yaudahlah, aku mau istirahat dulu.

#20

You'll be missed, Bu Sjane. Love, us.

#19

Mad world.Ugh.

Aku punya 2 adek, 1 cowok, 1 cewek. Dan dua-duanya ga beda jauh. Selain nakal, mereka malas.
Dan 2 hal itu yang selalu jadi permasalahan dirumah. Bosen sih dengernya, teriak sana, teriak sini padahal dirumah itu cuma kita bertiga aja. Sedangkan orang lain yang anaknya lebih dari 5 aja bisa tenang dirumah.
Ade aku yang pertama; Gilbert, biasa aku panggil Imbet. Anaknya malas, suka lawan, lebih mentingin mainan daripada belajar, ga terlalu peduli sama lingkungannya, suka mukul dan gamau dikasih tau. Aku sering berantem sama dia, jujur aja, aku ga tahan kalo udah liat tingkahnya yang seenaknya, ga bisa ngehargain orang yang lebih dewasa, bahkan kakaknya sendiri. Hah, mungkin karna dia cowok jadi dia merasa pengen lebih, atau apalah aku juga ga ngerti. Kalo aku nasehatin, bisanya ngelawan.... Munkin sel-sel dalam tubuhku nih putus semua kalo berantem sama dia.
Ade aku yang kedua; Geby. Cewek, tapi tetep aja nakal. Malesnya ga ketulungan, terlalu santai dalam belajar, ya santai bolehlah, tapi ga kaya dia juga menypelekan. Kasian kan orangtua udah kerja banting tulang, masa seenggaknya dapet prestasi disekolah ga bisa. Gimana mau bikin orangtua sehat, seneng terus kalo kita ga bisa kasih sesuatu yang seenggaknya meskipun ga besar atau duitnya kembali, tapi kita bisa bikin mereka senyum, yaampun......... kenapa adek-adekku pikirannya ga sejalan sama aku, sebenernya aku yang ga ngerti kalian atau kalian yang ga bisa ngertiin aku sih? Aku capek tau ngajarin kalian, orangtua kita itu udah tua, kalau kita ga sukses yang bisa bikin bangga orangtua kita nanti itu siapa? Kalian tuh dah gede-gede, semuanya serba susah, kalau ga mulai belajar dari sekarang ya gimana masa depan kalian, aku ngajarin kalian kan karna sayang sama kalian, ntar kalo aku udah kuliah kalian yang ngajarin siapa? Pelajaran makin susah, kalo kalian ga rajin-rajin kalian bisa keteteran, nanti susah lagi kedepannya. Jadi adek-adekku sayang, denger-dengeran orangtua yah.... Biar mama papa bisa bangga sama kita, biar masa tuanya bisa happy, biar bisa terus sama kita, sehat terus...
Kita tunjukkin sama sama semuanya kalo kita betiga itu punya pendidik yang bener-bener bagus. Aku sayang kalian semua. Maaf ya kalau kakak sering ngomel, tapi itu semua supaya kalian bisa ngerti kalau pengorbanan orangtua kita itu mahal. Jadi jangan disia-siain ya. Love you.

#18