So last night I downloaded and watched “The Interview” from Amazon. The cost to watch it was $5.99. Was it worth it – a quantifiable “yes.” There is a good review/comparison of the movie to real life N. Korea by a defector in “The New Yorker.”
For the record, I like “stupid – funny” movies. The Interview, in particular, fills the bill. It is not a movie that anyone with two brain cells connecting would take seriously. It is obviously a parody of the North Korean leader – Kim Jong-un. One may even say it is done in poor taste, but that’s a different conversation. As stated in The New Yorker article, it is not just a parody of North Korea, it is also a parody of our (the United States’) attitudes towards North Korea. This was a funny, although at times corny movie. It was just as advertised – a funny (and at the same time silly stupid) movie making fun of both the North Korean leadership and the United States attitude toward them – all the while throwing stones at our cultures obsession with gossip news, which I thought was quite funny.
For me, my favorite character was Sook, played by Diana Bang. Attractive & funny – great combination. She played well opposite Seth Rogen.
All the commotion around this movie proves two things:
One: To me, this falls in the same category as the Mohammad cartoons which, while seemingly harmless to most westerners – were blasphemy for Muslim extremists. The Christian Science Monitor has some an interesting article on various religious inspired riots. The New York Times had a series of articles, including one entitled: Power of imagery. An article on the Muslim response from their perspective. This movie was no different, a satirical movie, that no one with two brain cells would take seriously. The cyber attack on Sony did more to promote the film than the studio could ever have done. The US has now placed sanctions on North Korea in response.
Two: Far too many people take way too much way too seriously! Sure, there needs to be some level of political correctness, and one person’s need for self expression does not trump another persons expectancy of safety. It’s all part of our (the citizenry’s) social contract with our government. We, as citizens have the responsibilities to respect one another – even if we disagree with them. There is a neat poll on Debate.org that asks; “Has our society become too politically correct?” At the time of this writing – 70% of respondents stated YES, we are too politically correct. I am one of them. There were a couple of comments that caught my attention.
YES comments included:
“Fear of reprisals stifles debate.” – The writer continues to comment that good people with differing views are not expressing themselves for fear of being called out as racist, bigoted or unintelligent. If people would return to logic based discussion, rather than insults and name calling based on ones views, perhaps we could return to a functioning system, both politically and socially.
“Yes, there is too much censorship and control over speech.” – The writer makes a case for freedom of thought, and how can you have thought if inquiry is not allowed? The writer goes on to state there exists no intellectual honesty without the right to dissent and that too many people are silenced because their words challenge others and that is inconvenient for them. Freedom of speech matters more than someone’s hurt feelings.
NO comments included:
“Freedom of Speech is not Freedom from Consequence.” – I liked this comment, a very valid point is made, but I think the comment reflects more of the yes vote than a no vote. The writer states You are still free to say or do what you want, but like all of your actions you should expect consequences as a result. Others have the RIGHT and the freedom to criticize you for your beliefs/words/actions.
“We have not.” – The writer states that being PC is really a matter of being polite to on another. Not saying offensive things really is not a bad thing.
Back to our topic of conversation, the movie “The Interview.” Would I see the movie again, not if I had to pay for it. It’s a good time the first time, but I’ll just wait for it to come out on Netflix before I watch it again. Enjoy.
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