"If after one month you can remember about us right away," a Ugandan child pleads to an American audience in an effort to explain the helplessness he feels. Video fades to black.
This is not a set up for the beginning of a moving documentary about human rights abuses in an African country. It is the introduction to a music video for Invisible Children's Global Night Commute event in 2006. Think "High School Musical" meets "Thriller" '80s dance number to drum up a spectacle to get people invested in their cause and event.
Although the YouTube video description says it is the official video from Invisible Children Inc. in 2006, we are still trying to verify it's authenticity.
Their recent video campaign, Kony 2012, went viral to find the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony and make him famous in 2012 became an overnight social media sensation that evoked a sense of duty to help others, mainly generated by teenagers on Facebook and Twitter.
In the '06 clip, teenagers at a high school assembly ask Invisible Children filmmakers questions — valid questions — regarding what seems to be the first stages of their campaign to help children in Uganda.
"The movie was really good and sad and all all but what are we supposed to do about it?" asks a blonde haired teenager in the gym audience.
"That's a really good question," responds one filmmaker who encourages her to participate in the Global Night Commute event and sleep outside in her local downtown area.
The next teenager hits the nail right on the head with his question, "No offense but what do you know about ending a war?"
"I know, it sounds crazy we know," responds another filmmaker.
It does sound crazy. Almost as crazy as the dancing that's about to happen.
Good cause but what do you think about the tactic?