WAR CHILD CANADA
Presents

 ROCKED:  SUM 41 IN CONGO

The following questions and activities are based on the order in which information is presented in the video.  The activities included here cover three different types of questions and assignments: basic review questions on information that is presented in the video; questions which deal with issues or events requiring further research; and assignments which require personal reflection on the issues being explored.  You may wish to view the video, or sections of it, more than once. 

The activities included here are only suggestions.  You may wish to adapt these for the students in your class.  Some of the questions might be best addressed in small group discussions or in a form of classroom debate; you may wish to extend others to include a specific action or participation in a campaign.  Obviously, it is important to use those activities that best suit the students and the curriculum. 

Several scenes and interviews in the video contain images and information that may be disturbing for students. After viewing the video, it is recommended that students spend time on the first question, giving them the opportunity to record their immediate, personal responses to what they have seen and heard.  A discussion should follow this writing time, allowing students to express their emotional responses to the video before they continue with any other questions. 

Just over a year ago, Canadian rock band Sum 41 accompanied War Child Canada President, Dr. Eric Hoskins, and Executive Director, Dr. Samantha Nutt, to the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The goal was to film a documentary for Canadian youth that examines the devastating impact of the country's longstanding civil war on Congolese children - a war that has killed approximately 3 million people. The result was an emergency evacuation from the country by the UN, and a documentary that offers Canadian youth a close up view of the effects this war has had, and continues to have, on the Congolese people.

"The war in the Congo is one the world's worst humanitarian disasters," said Dr Eric Hoskins, President of War Child Canada and Executive Producer of Rocked. "Sum 41 went to the region with the intention of galvanizing public attention and support for the Congolese people, and in the process were caught in the crossfire of war themselves. But this isn't a documentary about a rock band from Ajax, Ontario, dodging bullets. It is the story of how we are all complicit in the Congo's brutal war - a war that has left more than 3 million people dead. It is also the story of what we need to do as global citizens -and as Canadians - in order to help bring an end to this senseless tragedy."

(From the War Child Canada website: www.warchild.ca)

1. Before viewing this video, list the images that come to mind when you hear the words “Africa” and “the Congo.”  Where do these images come from?  Discuss your responses with the class. 
   
   
2. After watching the video, record your immediate responses to it.  How do you feel after watching this video?   Why do you feel this way?  What scenes and images stand out after viewing it?   Why are these scenes and images especially powerful?   How do these images compare with the ones on your list from question #1?  Discuss possible reasons for any similarities or differences.
   
   
3. At the beginning of the video, we are given information about the situation that exists in the Congo.  When did this crisis begin?  What were some of the significant factors that contributed to this crisis?  What impact has it had on the Congolese people?
   
   
4. Using the timeline that is presented in the first part of the video, summarize significant events and leaders in the country from 1997 to 2002.  You may wish to recreate a large-scale version of the timeline for easy reference in class, or a smaller version to keep in your notes.
   
   
5. “The whole problem with the Congo is that everyone is interested in exploiting it.” 

One of the musicians makes this comment just before meeting with Aladdin, a coltan dealer who speaks to the group about the value of this mineral. 

a)  What is this mineral used for?
b)  Who benefits from the sale of the mineral?
c)  What are the profits from the sales used for?
d)  Aladdin says, “It was said that the goal of the war wasn’t power but an economic one.”  What do you think he means by this? 
e)  Who profited the most from sales of coltan during the war?
f)   How has this situation affected the children in the Congo? 

For more information on coltan and the colonial history of the DRC, see the section about it on the War Child website:  www.warchild.ca.

6.  “Cell phones and civil war—it’s your call!”

a)  Examine a number of advertisements for the products mentioned in the video that use the mineral coltan.  What images are used in the ad?  What mood is created in the ad around the use of the product?  Describe the elements of design that create this mood.  What message does the ad convey to viewers? 
b)  Discuss the contrast between the image in these advertisements and the reality behind this image—the reality of mining for coltan.  Create an alternative ad or a public service announcement that informs consumers about the reality of this kind of mining and its impact on children.  What images will you want to include?  What message do you want to convey to Canadians?

7.   During days four, five and six of their visit, the musicians visit a rehabilitation school for war affected children, a musical therapy camp run by Solidarity Action for Children in Distress (S.A.C. D.), and Icabona House, an orphanage for abandoned children.

For each of these visits, respond to the following questions:

a)  What made each place especially memorable for the band members?
b)  Why is each of these places necessary?
c)  What programs are in place to help the children there?
d)  What are some of the challenges the children are still facing?
e)  How do the children react to their North American visitors? 
f)   What feelings are you left with after this part of the video?  Explain your responses to these visits.

8.  On the evening of the sixth day, fighting breaks out in Bukavu where the band members are staying.  The town is described as being in “chaos.”  The band members and other guests at the hotel are trapped there overnight.   

a)  What reasons are they given for this outbreak of fighting?
b)  How do the band members react to this situation?  What do they realize?
c)  The United Nations tries to obtain a ceasefire.  What is their reaction to the fighting? 

9.  The band members and other guests are evacuated from the hotel and taken to MONUC, the UN Mission.  During this time, the cameraperson keeps the camera rolling and documents what the evacuation procedure is like. 

a)  How did you feel watching this segment? 
c)   Most viewers of this program have likely only seen this kind of situation as part of a feature film. How does this documentation of an actual evacuation procedure compare to what we might see in a film?   Consider what you see, what you hear and how the footage is shot. What effect does this footage have on you as a viewer?  Is it different than the effect a feature film might have on you?  Explain your answer with examples. 

10.  On the eighth day, the group is able to leave the U.N. compound and they prepare to return to Canada.  Before leaving, there is an update given on the situation in the region.

a)  How do the Congolese people react to this update?
b)  What impact has the fighting had on the people in Bukavu?
c)  What is the group told in preparation for the bus ride away from the compound? 

11.  Sum 41 could escape, “but not everyone can—but everyone has the right to protection from violence.” 

"We went to Congo to show people what war is like, how harmful it is to civilians, and we ended up becoming war-affected ourselves,” said Steve Jocz, the band's drummer. Deryck Whibley, Sum 41's lead singer, added, "Our being there, hearing the bullets around us, the mortar fire, the injured being brought in for medical treatment, it reinforced our belief that more must be done to prevent war and protect innocent civilians."

a)  Record the statistics given at the end of the video regarding the impact of the war on the Congolese people. 
b)  Consult the website for the United Nations.  Examine the programs in place to help the people in this war-torn region.  
c)    What initiatives and programs has War Child Canada undertaken to support the Congolese people?  What campaigns would you be willing to support?  Check the website for War Child Canada a list of contact groups and suggested actions.  (www.warchild.ca)

12.  We are told that this war has resulted in the highest number of deaths in any war since World War II. 

a)  What did you know about this war before watching the video?
b)  Using periodicals, websites and relevant CD ROMS, research the mainstream media coverage that was given to this war.  List the number of stories that have been written about this war, and briefly summarize the content of each.  Comment also on the kinds of images that accompany the stories, if any.
c)   How do the images and information from this video compare with what we have received from mainstream news sources?  
d)   Summarize your findings.  What reasons can you offer for the coverage that we have and have not received?  What effect do you think mainstream news coverage has had on Western perceptions of the situation in the Congo?
e)   Do you agree with the type and the amount of coverage this war has been given?  Why or why not?

13.  This video is based on the conventions of documentary filmmaking.  How do the conventions of the documentary convey a sense of reality?  (Consider the use of on-camera testimonial footage, unscripted dialogue, use of real people, etc.)

14.  At several points in the video, there is a juxtaposition of images as the screen is divided into two or more sections.  In other places a single image fades into another.  Select one video sequence and examine it closely.  What effect is created through the presentation of the images in this sequence?  How do the images work with the text and music to convey a message about the situation in the Congo?  Are there certain elements that are more powerful for you than others?  Why?   Compare your interpretation of this sequence with that of your peers.  

15.  If you had the opportunity, what would you ask of the band members of Sum 41 about this experience?  Write a letter to the band in which you articulate your questions and concerns about this situation, and about how the band members have responded to it.    

16. 

a)  Discuss the power of celebrities in drawing our attention to global issues and human rights.  Identify other examples in the media where celebrities have been used to highlight similar issues.  Explain whether or not you think their use is effective and/or appropriate. 
b)  Some people are critical of the use of celebrities, claiming it takes attention away from the issue and puts the ‘spotlight’ on the celebrity.  How would you assess the role of Sum 41 in this video?  Who or what is the focus of this video?  Who is telling the story of the war in the Congo?   

17.  “When we stand at the top of the heap we cannot see, feel or experience life at the bottom.  Those at the top feel no need for change or reform.  If we travel to a new viewing point, that of those at the bottom, we risk conversion.” Bob Holmes C.S.B.  

Discuss the ways in which this statement applies to the experience of the musicians and to what we learn from this video.   Consider the new viewing point that is provided from meeting the people of Bukavu and learning about their situation from them (rather than from a news report), visiting the rehabilitation school, as well as the musical camp and Icabona house. What does this video tell us about the importance of leaving the “top of the heap” and looking at things from a new perspective?  How can these experiences “convert us”?  Write a reflection in which you explore how the lessons you take away from the story of the Congolese people. 

BIOGRAPHY:

Carolyn Wilson is the President of the Association for Media Literacy.  Co-author of the best-selling textbook Mass Media and Popular Culture, Version 2, Carolyn has been invited to speak at conferences across Canada, for UNESCO in Austria and Costa Rica, UNICEF in Norway, and for organizations in Brazil, Greece and the United States.  Carolyn teaches Media Studies and World Issues at St. Michael Secondary School in Stratford, Ontario.  There she pioneered an interdisciplinary program in global education that includes a billeting experience in the town of Consuelo, in the Dominican Republic.  She has written about and given presentations on such topics as global studies and the media, corporate sponsorship in education, and gender representation in the media.   In March 2005, Carolyn received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. 

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