Monday, July 30, 2012

Can this man save this girl?

One of the things that comes with moving is sorting through old papers.  In the process I came across an article a friend mailed to me a while back about Matt Damon's work in the area of water in developing nations. I saved it not because of the content, but because of the images.   The article itself was interesting, but the tag line and images kind of bothered me.


CAN THIS MAN (close up of Matt Damon, an Academy Award winning actor who was also once named the sexiest man alive) SAVE THIS GIRL? (image of an unnamed girl gathering dirty water in Mali)

Raising awareness and support for projects and organizations is a part of working in international development.  Images, catchy songs, and tag lines are generally a part of that, especially when you are targeting a generation that grew up in a world FLOODED with media.  I don't doubt that I myself have made poor decisions when it comes to raising support and awareness for the ministries I was a part of in S. Sudan.  I hope though, that both the development workers and the individuals who support them financially would thoughtfully move towards methods that don't play into the typical stereotypes.  Even more than that, I pray that the images and stories coming out of ministries, especially in Africa, would flow out of a worldview that sees all people as made in the image of God, recognizes that all people are in desperate need of Jesus (including Matt Damon), and looks forward to a day when no one will thirst or die of water-born diseases.   Now how to do that in ten words or less for a generation with a short attention span?

Can Matt Damon save a girl in Mali who doesn't have access to clean drinking water? No. Only Jesus can do that. Can Matt Damon as a part of a larger organization partner with communities to provide access to clean drinking water? Yes! But that just isn't as catchy of a title for an article. 

So this is just a reminder for myself especially to pray and think carefully about the words, stories, and images I share.

1 comment:

DrsMyhre said...

Notice the halo effect of Matt Damon's placement in front of the yellow porthole. Interesting.