Kony Documentary - What Do Ugandans Say?
- 12 years ago
Kony Documentary - What Do Ugandans Say? - as part of the news and politics series by GeoBeats.
Joseph Kony became one of the world's most famous men after a web documentary by Invisible Children accumulated nearly 75 million views in 7 days.
Ugandans living in Uganda and elsewhere have reacted strongly to the movie.
Generally, they are receptive to the increased awareness of Kony's brutal actions and want him to be captured but many see a neo-colonial slant in the documentary and believe that it doesn't reflect the current situation in Uganda.
Evelyn Apoko, who was abducted by the LRA, appeared on CNN, to describe the horrific conditions she had to endure during her captivity.
Barabara Among, who works with Uganda's Daily Monitor, shared her reaction in an NPR interview.
"it's good that the video is bringing awareness in America and other parts of the world. But...if Kony is captured, another commander can easily take over.... The video is not accurate in the root cause of this war, which is inequality, which is they feel left out by the current government in power. So, it's not presenting to people the real issues on the ground.
Rosebell Kagumire, a Ugandan journalist and blogger, took issue with the missing Ugandan perspective in the film “If you show me as voiceless, as hopeless, I have no space telling my story. You shouldn’t be telling my story if you don’t believe that I also have the power to change what’s going on.”
Beatrice, a community director in Uganda, remarked to the Telegraph:
"There has not been a single soul from the LRA here since 2006. Now we have peace, people are back in their homes, they are planting their fields, they are starting their businesses. That is what people should help us with."
Do you think the Kony documentary should have included more insights from Ugandans or would that have diluted filmmakers' simple message?
Joseph Kony became one of the world's most famous men after a web documentary by Invisible Children accumulated nearly 75 million views in 7 days.
Ugandans living in Uganda and elsewhere have reacted strongly to the movie.
Generally, they are receptive to the increased awareness of Kony's brutal actions and want him to be captured but many see a neo-colonial slant in the documentary and believe that it doesn't reflect the current situation in Uganda.
Evelyn Apoko, who was abducted by the LRA, appeared on CNN, to describe the horrific conditions she had to endure during her captivity.
Barabara Among, who works with Uganda's Daily Monitor, shared her reaction in an NPR interview.
"it's good that the video is bringing awareness in America and other parts of the world. But...if Kony is captured, another commander can easily take over.... The video is not accurate in the root cause of this war, which is inequality, which is they feel left out by the current government in power. So, it's not presenting to people the real issues on the ground.
Rosebell Kagumire, a Ugandan journalist and blogger, took issue with the missing Ugandan perspective in the film “If you show me as voiceless, as hopeless, I have no space telling my story. You shouldn’t be telling my story if you don’t believe that I also have the power to change what’s going on.”
Beatrice, a community director in Uganda, remarked to the Telegraph:
"There has not been a single soul from the LRA here since 2006. Now we have peace, people are back in their homes, they are planting their fields, they are starting their businesses. That is what people should help us with."
Do you think the Kony documentary should have included more insights from Ugandans or would that have diluted filmmakers' simple message?