Invisible Children
From Driscollwiki
Melissa Brough, "Invisible Children", Youth and Civic Engagement Research Group, 12 November 2009
Contents |
Invisible Children
- http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
- Founded by USC undergrads
- After filming docu about night commuters in Uganda
- 90 staff, 30 in the US
- 2000 school clubs
- 10million$ annual operating budget
- Half of the budget spent on media production
- 2 documentaries, several videos (music), narrative feature film, books, podcasts
- The other half is on more conventional humanitarian work
Hip humanitarians
- Lifestyle branding
- How do young people grow in this way?
Large events
Global Night Commute
Benefits for student leaders
- Adventure
- Personal growth
- Kids go to Uganda
Abduct yourself
Ethical spectacles
Stephen Duncombe
Pink flamingos fundraiser
- Placing pink flamingos on someone's lawn
- Note demands small domantion to have the flamingos removed
Critique
- Exoticism
- De-historicizing
- Paternalism
- Reducing complexity
Combining pop cult symbolism with humanitarian work
- Does it obscure the systems that cause this oppression?
Questions
- What does engagement cycle look like? Attrition?
- Are they self-identified as "activists"?
- Or how do they read an existing "activist" social group?
- How does this "movement" differ from other "movements"?
- How earnest is "too earnest"?
- What impact have they had yet?
Earnesty, authenticity
- Do they look too much like norms?
Philanthrophy / Activism
- How do these overlap?
- Are they antagonistic?
Links
- Jason Russell on HuffPo
