An Alternate View on “The Interview”

Stay with me on this one…as the young folks say, it’s complicated.  So a Japanese company, for all practical purposes, becomes an American company and then produces a film depicting the dictator in charge of an historical enemy of America becoming targeted for assassination by the CIA.  At one point, the movie depicts the dictator in a sexually compromising scene and then ultimately ends with the assassination of said dictator -- his head exploding for the exciting conclusion of the movie.  And the really funny part, it’s a comedy.

The sad part, that nation (America) that produced the film (The Interview) ended-up cowering from cyber and real-world threats reportedly from that same nation the film sought to make fun of (North Korea).  Supposedly it was the sexual scene (reportedly an orgy) that reviled, and thus riled, the enemy nation to wage their cyber vandalism. That same Japanese company (Sony), initially decided not to release the film about the dictator (Kim Jong Un) after their company was hacked, its executives embarrassed, and the theaters threatened. 

Then, on 19 December 2014, the FBI said it believed the North Korean state was behind the Sony hacking.  President Obama, in a press conference later the same day, pushed Sony to release the film. He said they should have called him first – he’d have directed that they distribute it.  There was a time when America would not have contemplated partaking in the making of such a foul film. It’s bad enough Hollywood is filming filth and promoting promiscuity – it’s irrational to invite retribution by promoting it from the Presidential bully pulpit.  We are in a precarious position when our enemy holds the moral high ground.

It’s not the only time our foes have sought to lecture us on our lecherousness.  Russia refused to allow the adoption of their orphans by Americans because of our demonstrated depravity.  In DEC 2012, the Russian parliament approved the banning of adoption by Americans.  In a vote of 400 to four, they made illegal the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples and by single people who live in countries where same-sex “marriage” is legal.   Said the vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, “The Russian government has been very consistent, in that the major objective has been to protect vulnerable children…and they have consistently done so with regard to homosexual propaganda so that children won’t be entering into those relationships that lead to tragedy and death often. This [adoption law] is just an extension of their concern for children.” 

Another recent film that caused a stir was one the White House continually lied to us about.  They repeatedly blamed an obscure YouTube movie for “a demonstration that led to riots” and ultimately the death of a US ambassador, an embassy employee, and two ex-Navy SEALs in Benghazi.  Obama later misled the world, telling the United Nations, “That is what we saw play out in the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world.  I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity.  It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well…”   No, it wasn’t the movie; it was the Benghazi cover-up that’s an insult to all Americans.

Now I’m confused about exactly what is crude and what is disgusting.   I’m confused about the Obama movie rating system.   So the Benghazi movie that they lied to us about “must be rejected” while he promotes an indisputably prurient movie to prove a point?  The Interview was eventually released, becoming Sony’s biggest film released online - making more than $15 million in just four days. 

But wait, there’s more.  On 2 JAN 2015 Obama issued an Executive Order stating, “The provocative, destabilizing, and repressive actions and policies of the Government of North Korea, including its destructive, coercive cyber-related actions during November and December 2014 constitute a continuing threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”  Not to be outdone, North Korea compared Obama’s behavior to a monkey. "Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," said a spokesman at the National Defense Commission in a statement reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.

If only this were all just an infantile comedy. 

This column appears in the 7 JAN 2015 Upson Beacon.