"The Interview"

So, I watched "The Interview" on Netflix last night.  Not a bad movie, glad though that I never paid full price at any theatre to see it.  Kinda funny, bringing out smiles rather than guffaws.  Should this movie have been stopped in its tracks? I don't think many North Americans would think so.  Is it conspiring to undermine the North Korean regime or meant to make the North Koreans question their lifestyle?  How?  It's likely it would never be released in North Korea.  Is it subtly pointing out the extremes within most societies?  Possibly.  Or maybe it's just another dumb comedy...

I can understand why North Koreans would find the film offensive.  It covered every aspect of North America's negative perception of "the way it is over there".   North Korea's leader is portrayed as living luxuriously while the general population is poor and oppressed.  Kim Jong-un is also depicted as almost childish, willing to risk the lives of his people to satisfy his own ego. This is not the first time North Korea has been satirized on the American movie screen.  The movie "Team America", whose characters are played by marionettes, is an equally offensive film in which Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un's father and predecessor, plays a role. This film, however, is more focussed on US foreign policy than on North Korea and is a gut splitting laugh at the USA's perceived tendency to "police the world".   Like "The Interview", "Team America" stirred up its own bee hive of controversy.  (For more on Team America see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_America:_World_Police)

Regardless of who hacked Sony Pictures and attempted to stop the release of "The Interview",  in my opinion they failed to reach their goal.  They did achieve a strong reaction but suppression was not the outcome.  Instead they created the best advertising the film could get, engendering a vast amount of interest for people to watch it and find out what was so bloody controversial!

Filmmakers, cartoonists, commentators who wish to bring to light widely accepted but erroneous aspects of the human condition often use satire to achieve their ends. It is a means of jarring our minds, waking us up to what otherwise might slide by in our busy lives. No perceived human folly is sacred in the eyes of the satirist.  He uses his art to catch our attention.  "The Interview" uses political satire to achieve a comedic effect.

Satire can be seen in a variety of ways.  We may laugh, be insulted or disgusted, become irate or say "right  on!" It is meant to cause a reaction. It's not that easy to be made fun of in the media, to have your secrets told, your dirty laundry exposed, your strongest beliefs ridiculed.  No government, institution, religion or individual is completely willing to say "anything goes" and, if the circumstances are right, all are quite capable of  putting a lid on free speech.  If what is said is perceived to incite hate, war, prejudice - if it is inaccurate or disloyal - well, how far is too far? Who decides? Strong conflicting views bring out widely differing responses to that question. You can't say much of anything without offending someone.  Does that mean we all should restrict our observations and conversations to safe topics like the weather?  Heck, even the weather is controversial these days!

Following in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings in France, I wonder where lies the future of free speech in film, cartoons, journalism, on the net, in any public forum (including blogs).  A nation, a religion, an individual, a culture that is comfortable with its beliefs and actions should have the ability to laugh at itself.  If it can't, maybe something should be questioned, put under scrutiny.  I believe satirical comedy films and cartoons have an important place in the realm of free speech.  They draw attention to shortcomings, follies, archaic views and outright lies.  They are opinions to be accepted, rejected or ignored.  They may be in poor taste or insulting to some but they provide a humorous means to show us where we are inaccurate, downright wrong or just plain foolish. They have the ability to activate your brain.  That's a good thing.