Discussing “The Interview” controversy

Western films have been pissing off supposedly “little” countries in the East for years now. It’s nothing new. In 2006 we had Borat (which probably portrayed America worse than it did Kazakhstan) and ten years ago we learnt that Kim Jong-il was just a “ronery” little guy in Team America.

But while these films were undoubtedly offensive to the nations involved, the controversy they created is a drop in the ocean to that surrounding the latest Judd Apatow comedy, “The Interview” in which Seth Rogen and James Franco play interviewers tasked with assassinating the latest North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un.

While such a plot line was always going to elicit controversy, few would have predicted the large scale cyber attack carried out on Sony Pictures. While I should point out that nothing has been confirmed, it appears that the attack is in response to the film, and it could have been sponsored by the North Korean government.

Even more surprising than that? It actually worked. Sony have cancelled the release of The Interview, following threats of terrorism from the ironically named group apparently responsible, “Guardians of Peace”.

Again, nothing wholly new. Seemingly harmless films such as Zoolander and Pirates of the Caribbean have been banned in countries that have been offended by their content. No problem there, governments have a right to ban a film if they deem it offensive.

However the difference in the case of “The Interview” is that Sony have seemingly caved to the hackers demands, and have been prevented from showing an American film on American soil, against their will.

But as we have seen in cases such as “A Clockwork Orange”, censoring a film can have exactly the opposite the desired effect. While the violent Kubrick film was shelved for almost thirty years, it is now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.

A Clockwork Orange shows that a film can very rarely be fully banned, and it wouldn't be surprising if The Interview sees the lights of day in some capacity. Streaming service Crackle are supposedly in talks to release the film, and even Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin is emerging as a knight in shining armor for the film.

In any case, the whole affair will probably turn out to be a blessing in disguise for The Interview. Thousands have flocked to imdb.com in protest to give the film a 10 out of 10 rating and it could go on to be a cult classic.