The child soldiers of Uganda-- introduced in the documentary discussed within this essay as “invisible children”--live vastly different lives than those of their counterparts in other parts of the world. These children have their childhood stolen from them, forced to take up the cause of the adults around them rather than growing up and slowly becoming adults. In Africa, high volumes of tribal and racial violence are a result of years of colonialism and the power vacuums that were left when colonial forces abandoned their colonies in Africa; the violence in Uganda and Sierra Leone is a direct result of the forces of colonization and the corruption in local governments. The use of child soldiers in Africa is a grim and unfortunate reality, and they are often used in direct combat and violent actions in Uganda and Sierra Leone, unlike some other locations where the children associated with violence are used mainly as spies, couriers, and so on (Wessells 47). Russell, Bailey and Poole wrote and directed a documentary entitled “Invisible Children,” completed and released n 2006. This documentary focuses on the problems that children who are used as child soldiers in Uganda face, and the ways that they are abused by the adults in their lives that are meant to be protecting them. The documentary exposes the lives of children that are used as child soldiers in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) by the militant leader Joseph Kony (Russell, Bailey et al.). In short, this documentary is an exposé- it is designed to shed light on the horrific practices that go on around the world in regards to the rights of children and the ways in which those rights are frequently violated by adults for their own ends. There is no question that this was an incredibly effective piece; it became a viral hit on the Internet very quickly, as a result of social media influence and the speed that social media allows films like this to be passed from person to person.
“Invisible Children” was something of a surprise, even to its creators. The creators of the documentary had no real sense of what their documentary would focus on as they traveled in Africa; they claimed that their entire trip as student filmmakers was spurred on by the death of a journalist trying to document the atrocities that were happening in Somalia in the early 1990s. Indeed, as Russell says in the documentary, “None of us knew what we were doing. We'd never made a documentary before. We just opened our lens wide, and tried to capture any stories along our way to Sudan” (Russell, Bailey et al.). However, the group never made it to their destination in Sudan, waylaid by problems on the road. They eventually settled in Northern Uganda, taking video of the children who were forced to move into the confines of the city each night to avoid being kidnapped by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (Russell, Bailey et al.). This documentary introduces a very alien subject matter for Americans in a way that is both shocking and digestible-- it helps that the filmmakers themselves look like all-American, young idealists rather than appearing to be foreign or judgmental. At the beginning of the video, the filmmakers give interviews, and the viewer can see how young they really are. One of the filmmakers admits that he has never traveled outside the United States; that gives the film itself a feeling of authenticity for the audience (Russell, Bailey et al.).
The filmmakers seem to be undecided about the story they will tell at the start of their journey. What they do seem to know is that they will have enough footage to tell a story at the end of their trip, and that they will use the footage they have obtained to tell that story. At the beginning of the film, Poole says, “Media shapes the way we view our life. What you see in the magazines, what you see on the TV screen, what you see in the movie theater is what you know about life. So in a sense, media is life” (Russell, Bailey et al.). These filmmakers show an upbeat, optimistic viewpoint of the world going into their trip-- they clearly know they will see some things that are bad or even frightening, but they seem excited about the prospect of potentially helping the world in some way. They do not seem like experts; indeed, as a viewer, they seem woefully undereducated and naive about what they are potentially getting themselves into with this trip to the Sudan and Uganda. Bobby Bailey says it best, perhaps: “We are naïve kids, who haven't travelled a lot, and we're going to Sudan” (Russell, Bailey et al.). This sums up the forethought that went into the project on the outset.
“Invisible Children” may not have been planned from the start, but it is much more powerful for its lack of planning. The story that is told unfolds dramatically and organically, rather than feeling forced or scripted; it seems as though the viewer is going through the process of understanding and enlightenment with the filmmakers, rather than being instructed by the filmmakers. This is a powerful connection, as people are able to experience firsthand the same feelings of confusion and outrage that the filmmakers themselves did. One of the politicians and activists in the film says, “There's a lot of social evils going on in this part of the world, and they need attention. The message from the children is very clear. The children from northern Uganda, they're asking for one thing, survival — peace. They're asking for peace” (Russell, Bailey et al.). This is a very powerful statement, as Americans and other westerners, who are arguably the target audience for the film, take the protection of children very seriously. In western culture, children are protected heavily by law, and while they may be mistreated, those who mistreat them often face harsh punishment from society.
As has been previously stated, this documentary does rely heavily on emotion to tell the story of the invisible children of Uganda. However, this does not mean that it is without merit insofar as the logical and factual construction of the film is concerned. The film uses quotes from experts in many different fields; perhaps most interestingly, the film’s best experts are Ugandans themselves, all of whom speak excellent English and are highly articulate regarding the social ills facing their society. One of the only foreigners sourced is a man named Jeff, who is a foreign aid worker in Uganda. He says, “They [the Lord’s Resistance Army] are seeking out children, who are going to be the most moldable, and the most easy to — brainwash, essentially — into being a soldier, and in that regard the child of 8 to 14 years is the perfect candidate” (Russell, Bailey et al.). They go on to interview other Ugandans, some of whom offer history on the Seventeen-Year War, and the different religious beliefs that inform the decisions of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (Russell, Bailey et al.). Because the religious beliefs involve brainwashing, those who have experienced it are loathe to talk about the experience, but the film offers qualitative and quantitative accounts of the children that are kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army and the families affected by the actions of these fanatical guerillas. The story that is painted in this film is difficult to dispute, because it exposes a cross-section of human experience that many westerners are completely ignorant of; to deny the experiences of these children would paint the individual as a cold-hearted human being.
It is clear that the filmmakers set out to create a film that was sympathetic to the plight of the children in Uganda, and that their experiences in the country heavily informed their decision to make the film. However, the film was not designed to be unbiased; it was designed to expose a social ill that the filmmakers felt needed more exposure in the western world, and in this realm, it was wildly successful. “Invisible Children” was also designed as a type of propaganda piece for the non-profit charity of the same name, which gained recognition and success as a result of the success of this film and the “Kony 2012” edit.
Works cited
Betancourt, Theresa S, Stephanie Simmons, Ivelina Borisova, Stephanie E Brewer, Uzo Iweala and Marie De La Soudiere. "High hopes, grim reality: Reintegration and the education of former child soldiers in Sierra Leone." Comparative Education Review, 52. 4 (2008): 565. Online.
Russell, Jason, Bob Bailey and Laren Poole. Invisible Children. Digital video. 2006. Web. 3 Dec 2013 <http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/invisible-children/>.
Wessells, Michael G. Child soldiers. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2006. Print.
