The Observer, April 7, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 23
Invisible Children mixes melodrama with Jackass stunts
click to enlarge
Three years ago, Jason Russell, Lauren Poole, and Bobby Bailey dropped everything they were doing, bought some film equipment on Ebay, and traveled to Northern Uganda to "find a story." There, the three film makers found hordes of children forced to spend the nights sleeping crammed together like sardines, hidden in large hospitals so that they would not be abducted as conscripts to child armies.
The film they brought back, Invisible Children, was shown Monday at Strosacker Auditorium. Four members from Invisible Children, Inc, in conjunction with Case Navigators – formerly the fellowship of Christian Athletes – came to introduce the film and talk about the current situation in Uganda and how they are trying to help the innocents caught in the crossfire. These children are the invisible children the movie is named for. Most have no parents (dead from AIDS), no clothes, and no food.
Tim Tocci, one of the students responsible for the screening said, "I wanted to have a screening of this documentary to encourage students to allow their perspectives to transcend the petty hardships of schoolwork. I wanted them to come away seeing that our wealth and power as Americans is not bad, but it presents a responsibility to these victims."
As an actual documentary, Invisible Children is awful. In an attempt to appeal to a younger audience, the film resembles MTV gone wrong. There are a few hysterically funny (and gross) scenes; in one, the budding directors use kerosene to blow up a termite mound, in another, they kill a six foot long snake with a hatchet.
In one of the strangest scenes of the movie, the directors' host kills a chicken onscreen, only to let the headless bird flap around for several seconds before dying.
Poole, Russell, and Bailey also spend far too much time talking about their inexperience, to the point that it takes away from what is really important. When the film does actually start discussing the plight of the invisible children, it bombards viewers with slide after slide and shot after shot of the children's suffering, but doesn't allow for the detailed telling of more than one or two stories.
The film itself looks like it was edited with a hacksaw and scotch tape; it's broken into sections with separate titles, and at the end of each one I expected the movie to be over. The soundtrack varies from tracks from Lord of the Rings to contemporary Christian rock. The sheer number of stories, problems, and facets presented creates a disorienting experience that probably will just leave you bewildered.
Visitors to the group's website or people who watch the film will gain a wealth of information – but far too much on how they will be "forever changed." The film makers' tendencies toward over-exaggeration and melodrama obscure what is really important. While the movie itself was bad, (so bad that the creators call it a "wonderfully crappy rock-and-roll documentary") its effects are anything but.
The film tries (and partially succeeds) to tell the history of the conflict going on in Northern Uganda, and tell who the invisible children are. It tries to tell the story behind the conflict, and about who is involved. The film examines stories from the perspective of politicians, children, and adults living in the area. It talks about Joseph Kony, the leader of the rebel army, about the effects of his war, and about the international community's apathy toward the situation.
As "crappy" as this film is, it has enlightened a tremendous amount of people about this awful situation. After Poole, Russell, and Bailey finished the film, they began finding other ways to help the poor in Uganda, including an awareness bracelet program, in which workers in Uganda make bracelets based on an old Ugandan legend and ship them around the world. The proceeds then go right back to them, to help foster a fledgling economy in an area that once had none.
The filmmakers have galvanized many people all over the United States. Invisible Children has created its own grassroots campaign. Besides the bracelet program, the film makers started the "Suburban Safari," in which they found donors who gave them seven RVs to send high school and college students to showings around the US to tout their cause. The "safari" plans to hit every university and high school in every major city around the country by April 29.
Finally, they created the Global Night Commute, which will take place April 29. The Global Night Commute is an event where people around the United States will sleep out on the streets to support the many children featured in the movie. So far 14,733 people have signed up. Cleveland will be hosting one of these Night Commutes at the Free Stamp.
Invisible Children can be reached at info@invisiblechildren.com, or invisiblemidwestroadies@gmail.com, (the presenters of the screening at Case).
