With the cancelled release of movie The Interview, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, North Korea has rambunctiously made its way into the news yet again. The country has joined in on the recent hacking debacle against the company Sony as a medium to threaten attacks on theaters that planned on showing the movie Christmas day. The movie, The Interview, has caused great uproar in North Korea as the plot hinges on the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
In a country that bases its political power off brain-washing, torture, slavery, and death among the masses, any remark regarding North Korea other than submissiveness is considered a violation of authority. While it is easy for us, an ocean away, to poke holes of recent North Korean politics, what good are we truly doing? Comedy is one form that we can use to satirically analyze wrongdoings around the world. But doesThe Interview adequately shed light on serious issues or does it take away deserved brevity from the atrocities going on in and around Pyongyang? Rather than describing all the events in gruesome detail, I urge that those reading take the time out of their day to watch this video of a speech by Yeonmi Park.
She gives an exceptionally realistic and inconsolable portrait of what is truly going on in North Korea. Consider this an opportunity to learn of the harrowing details that go on in a country that oppresses freedom and justice. Think of the privileges that we have in our lives and then imagine them being taken away, simply because one family has an insatiable desire for power.
