"They should stop that evil dude."

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Ever since I saw the Kony 2012 documentary last week I debated myself about watching it with my kids, all four of them ages 11 - 6. 

I mustered enough courage tonight to tell them, "OK, guys, we're watching this." Luckily for me, Lorenzo my youngest was down and out. I think Lorenzo could have taken it, but I'm honestly relieved that he didn't watch it with his older brothers. Pablo and Mauro started asking and complaining "What's the movie about? It's probably some boring moving." I intentionally kept them in the dark about what the documentary was about. All I said was, "If you're quiet you'll find out what it's about."

Kony 2012 is a well done production. It's edited in such a visually compelling way that my own kids, with whom you have to really work hard to get their attention, were engaged soon after I clicked on the "play" button. Above all, the Invisible Children's story is extremely moving and heart-wrenching. The way Kony 2012 script has been written is not sensationalist. Rather, it was written in such a simple and honest way that it makes it all the more effective. I must say that I love Gavin, the filmmaker's son. Isn't he a ball of pure charm and energy? Therein lies a big part of the documentary's power, that the filmmaker used his own life experience as a father to deliver a message that would have still been effective had he not done so, but not really as much. 

I found the scenes where Gavin is introduced to Josepht Kony and the LRA particularly powerful and effective. "What do you think we should do about him?" asks the filmmaker to his son. "We should stop him" Gavin answers. "We should stop who?" "Him!" answers Gavin pointing unhesitantly to Kony's picture. This Q & A is interspersed with scenes from an interview of the lead prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Both, his and Gavin's message is "Stop him." Putting the concurring words of a world renowned criminal prosecutor and a 4 or 5 year old together while these words were expressed in different contexts but about the same issue stroke a note with me. I don't think I'll be forgetting this documentary anytime soon. Certainly not before the end 2012 for sure; that's one of the parts that really stayed with me. 

The documentary moves on from Gavin's birth and early years to Jacob's story, an invisible child whose brother was brutally murdered by the LRA. Now, Jacob's story simply makes you cry. You can't be anything less than outraged when you see Jacob breaking out crying when speaking about his deceased brother, the only person left to him as a family. He prefers death to the existence of an invisible child. Does anyone want to kill Kony at this point? 

Then the film takes us to the man himself, Joseph Kony. It's when we're watching this part that Mauro says, "They should stop that evil dude." My kids obviously understood the point being driven home that what was (and is) happening in Uganda and other central African countries through the LRA is unmistakably evil. And that it should stop. Period.

The film has been seen over 60 million times since its release early last week. This kind of distribution is beyond viral. A whole lot of people from many nations are talking about it with the goal of making Kony so famous he cannot hide anymore. That's a tall order, but hey, they got Bin Laden too. Many on fb have posted the banners and pictures of Kony 2012. I particularly like a fb friend of mine's forceful expression above his Kony 2012 pic, "Stop this evil bastard!!!" Amen!!! Yes, he must be stopped!!!

When it was over I asked my kids "What did you guys think about this movie?" Mauro answered that it was sad. Pablo didn't comment. Siri said that it was strong - the exact reason why I hesitated about showing it to them in the first place. It is very strong and there are some things in it children shouldn't see. I took a risk, but I also took the time to go over it with them even if not in depth. My children definitely know who Joseph Kony is now. Yesterday, not a clue. But today they do and when Kony is captured, hopefully before the end of this year, we will remember the night we saw Kony 2012 together and thank God that evil bastard has been stopped. Our prayer before going to bed was to that effect.