iPopCulture.NET

For those of you who are 24 enthusiasts, Sunday night represented 18 months in the making as 24:Redemption premiered on Fox. The movie was used to help bridge the gap between the 18 months off (due to the writers’ strike) and Season 7 (which premieres in January 2009).

I know there people that absolutely love the show, and people that absolutely hate the show, but this really has nothing to do with the show per se.

Sunday night’s movie focused on the fictional country of Sangala (supposedly in Africa). Constantly on the run, Jack Bauer had found safe refuge by helping out  at a boys school. The school was being funded by the US and was supported by the UN. However, a group of nationalists/terrorists were kidnapping young boys and training them to be soldiers/warriors and to rebel violently against the government.  

That’s all I will say about the plot because I don’t want to give too much away or focus too much on the show. I actually want to focus on some of the commercials that took place during the show.

Instead of showing the typical car, food, and insurance commercials, Fox blended in some real-life awareness commercials. The first commercial was for the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers. The commercial urged viewers to learn how to get involved in stopping this atrocity. According to their web site:

Most child soldiers are aged between 14 and 18, While many enlist “voluntarily” research shows that such adolescents see few alternatives to involvement in armed conflict. Some enlist as a means of survival in war-torn regions after family, social and economic structures collapse or after seeing family members tortured or killed by government forces or armed groups. Others join up because of poverty and lack of work or educational opportunities. Many girls have reported enlisting to escape domestic servitude, violence and sexual abuse.

The second commercial, promoted by Kiefer Sutherland, was for Malaria No More. In Africa, a child dies every 30 seconds of malaria. As hard as it is to wrap my mind around, a simple $10 net is all that is needed to protect them from the disease. 

For former and current FWBBC students, you may remember the Nothing But Nets campaign we worked on several years ago. This is the same idea, just through a different organization.

Whether you like or hate 24, you must give them credit for using their program to promote awareness and ask for involvement. In an age where celebrities use their status to promote politicians and homosexual marriage in California, it’s very refreshing to see a group use their platform in a positive way. 

But maybe instead of simply acknowledging their efforts, we should join them in getting involved.

I encourage everyone to consider this: If you’re making a Christmas list this year, add a $10 net to the list. You can literally save a life.

Tags: 24, Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland, Malaria No More, Nothing But Nets