Go to contents

Sony Pictures hurt feelings of `utmost dignity`

Posted December. 19, 2014 07:18,   

한국어

In the ancient dynasties, there was a custom not to call the names of kings. People thought it would be inappropriate to call recklessly a name of someone in high position. That custom has gone into history but the sentiment that gave a birth to the custom still remains. When the first TV series or movie about the nation’s president was produced, whether it was in Korea or the U.S., the public sentiment was quite careful. Still, it is not easy to make a soap opera or a film dealing with the incumbent president.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is called the highest dignity in his kingdom. Dignity in Latin is Augustus. The first emperor in the ancient Roman Empire was given the title of Augustus. St. Augustinus is the most renowned patristic philosopher’s name. In France, a great king was named "King of Dignity, Philip (Philippe-Auguste)." North Korea, which is not satisfied with dignity, adds "the highest." The highest dignity would be translated into ‘the uppermost ruler" in Korean, which could be reserved for God or an extremely unrealistic hero in the imaginary martial arts novel.

Release of American comedy movie "Interview," whose story is about assassination of North Korean supreme leadership, has been canceled. An unidentified group titled "Guardians of Peace (GOP)" recently made a threat saying that “Remember September 11, 2011.” As movie theaters gave up showing the movie, the movie maker Sony Pictures has canceled the film’s release. As codes written in Korean alphabets were found in a malicious software used in hacking of the entertainment company in November, North Korea is suspected to be behind the hacking. The secluded country may interpret the movie as an attack or insult to the nation.

A name and its image have magical and supernatural power. Any nation would have resistance to a film that depicts an assassination of her leader. It is another issue to give into a threat of terror attack and decide not to release the completed movie, leaving the quality aside. Germany awarded Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard for his controversial cartoon of Islamic prophet Muhammad, which indicates the freedom of expression in Europe. Timothy Stanley, a historian and columnist for Britain`s Daily Telegraph, said in his article to CNN, “There`s a sad irony in the fact that one of the great tests of America`s freedom of speech should involve a movie that, according to some reviewers, utterly sucks.”