Alex Yarde is troubled by the move to not show The Interview Movie.
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I just tweeted this- @thatalexyarde: Moviegoers, If you don’t go see our campy stoner comedy #TheInterviewMovie the terrorist wins! #SonyHack
Not five minutes later Variety broke this story—
BREAKING: Major U.S. theaters drop #TheInterview after Sony hacker threats http://t.co/nJCopg5MYa pic.twitter.com/Dpf2caekcj
— Variety (@Variety) December 17, 2014
So I’m of mixed feelings about this. Are we allowing a small group of malcontents to dictate and censor us? Where will this end? If another film is targeted as being offensive to some groups sensibilities will we kowtow then? On the flip side, no one wants to be the major theater chain that showed the film and incur the wrath of some attack by deranged individuals. Again, it’s a stoner comedy about CIA assassination which in light of recent probes into torture and the CIA’s real life attempts on the lives of Fidel Castro and other figures is more than a bit in bad taste—but Art has the right to be tasteless.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if this silly stoner comedy #TheInterviewMovie sparked a debate about censorship, terrorism and free speech? Recent events in Sydney proved that a measured response and a decidedly non-sensationalist view of the hostage crisis that sparked the hashtag #SydneySiege were appropriate in order to not feed the fear of the populace. There was an almost immediate triggering of the #illridewithyou hashtag on social media for Aussies showing solidarity with Muslim citizens. This is the response I’d hope we could muster here in the United States.
What are your thoughts?
So true OirisM
I love how only now is the notion of a threat to free speech being taken seriously.
This threat has existed in western culture for ages, any time some group gets offended over what it doesn’t like. Campus feminists no-platforming Ayaan Hirsi Ali springs to mind.
Newsflash – it isn’t suddenly a problem just because some idiot dictator in a completely different country kicked off.
Sony missed out on a perfect propaganda opportunity for itself. It could have stood up for its rights, released the movie, and then promised to donate all the proceeds to feed starving people in North Korea. That would make Kim look even worse and Sony could claim to be heroes instead of cowards.
I don’t get what’s so scandalous about those leaked e-mails anyway. A studio thinks that actors are spoiled brats? This is news to us?
Well stated PursuitAce. In the mean time NK is looking at us saying “And they (America) claim to be a strong force?” The stage is set for countless others to simply make a threat where we shut things down. There are stronger and more dangerous adversaries then NK who could make the same demands and actually follow through.
Maybe we need Dennis to go and iron things out for us?
“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” Sony said in a statement. Uh, no. This was actually a successful suppression not an effort. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.” Unless of course you threaten us. Then all bets are off. I also like how they act like they have no agency in this. They are just complete victims. This seems to be a recent PR… Read more »
“…of some attack by deranged individuals.” Are you expecting NK Special Ops to take out an IMAX? The only thing pointed at anyone here is a computer. Of course in this century computers can be more dangerous than guns. Just watch these companies lay down. Kinda reminds one of Europe in the thirties. That all worked out though, right?
Stupid, stupid NK government. They don’t understand the most basic lessons:
1) there’s no such thing as negative publicity. (see: Anne Coulter)
2) people make fun of you MORE if you have no sense of humor about yourself. (see: Angelina Jolie)
I learned this all the way back in elementary school.
On the bright side:
There’s no need for a fictional film to make fun of the leader of North Korea. Just read what the NK government says about itself, and read what Kim is really like. Reality is WAY more absurd than any Hollywood movie.
Just have the actor who’s supposed to play Kim read aloud real quotes from the NK leader, just like Tina Fey on SNL directly quoted Sarah Palin for her TV lines. Truth is stranger than fiction.