A North Korean critique of Western media
- Thread starter MammothBlade
- Start date
Recommended Videos
What this video is failing to point out in a lot of cases is that the behaviors they are pointing out are criticized just as much by people over here. The shopping for children thing has made madonna and angelina more of a laughingstock in the public eye than it has given them reputations of charity.
And did you notice how when they talked about the tobacco industry being present in films, they had to go back to black and white and early colour films, because that sort of heavy handed advertising was banned, and it is now considered a bad idea to have too much smoking in your media. Generally movies will show bad guys and criminals smoking more often than the protagonists in modern films.
And as for your claims about Paris Hilton and reality television! Well they are... um... apparently pretty accurate. Okay, you got us there. "Freak show programming featuring talentless narcissists" yeah I can't deny that one bit.
Of course the whole thing is incredibly hypocritical. The north koreans keep their people uneducated and relegated to horrible living conditions, only instead of keeping them glued to their couches they teach them that it's all the fault of some other country they'll never be able to visit. They tell the people they are poor because of the lifestyles of American celebrities, even though it is their government refusing to engage in meaningful international relations and trade that keeps them down. They tell the people they need their armies in case the americans invade, but its north korea constantly threatening its neighbors and attempting nuclear proliferation. They tell the people that our culture is a horrible vacuous wasteland, but kill or imprison anyone who speaks out against their government. They condemn the cult of celebrity in the west while brainwashing their people to worship their head of government as a god and allow him to live in wealth and power above everyone else.
Yes, western media has some serious issues. Yes, the cult of celebrity ranges from merely bad to incredibly disturbing. But North Korea has a LONG way to go before they have the right to call us on our shit.
And did you notice how when they talked about the tobacco industry being present in films, they had to go back to black and white and early colour films, because that sort of heavy handed advertising was banned, and it is now considered a bad idea to have too much smoking in your media. Generally movies will show bad guys and criminals smoking more often than the protagonists in modern films.
And as for your claims about Paris Hilton and reality television! Well they are... um... apparently pretty accurate. Okay, you got us there. "Freak show programming featuring talentless narcissists" yeah I can't deny that one bit.
Of course the whole thing is incredibly hypocritical. The north koreans keep their people uneducated and relegated to horrible living conditions, only instead of keeping them glued to their couches they teach them that it's all the fault of some other country they'll never be able to visit. They tell the people they are poor because of the lifestyles of American celebrities, even though it is their government refusing to engage in meaningful international relations and trade that keeps them down. They tell the people they need their armies in case the americans invade, but its north korea constantly threatening its neighbors and attempting nuclear proliferation. They tell the people that our culture is a horrible vacuous wasteland, but kill or imprison anyone who speaks out against their government. They condemn the cult of celebrity in the west while brainwashing their people to worship their head of government as a god and allow him to live in wealth and power above everyone else.
Yes, western media has some serious issues. Yes, the cult of celebrity ranges from merely bad to incredibly disturbing. But North Korea has a LONG way to go before they have the right to call us on our shit.
"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." - Winston Churchill
This isn't so much of a case of the pot calling the kettle black, as it is the actual colour black calling the kettle black. You have to admit though, when it comes to propaganda, they're the folks who know best about it! ^_^
This isn't so much of a case of the pot calling the kettle black, as it is the actual colour black calling the kettle black. You have to admit though, when it comes to propaganda, they're the folks who know best about it! ^_^
I'm pretty sure that these criticisms apply to most countries and i agree with most of them, thats the reason why i don't even bother to turn on my TV anymore, it's gotten too annoying even to use it for background noise. But that doesn't mean that it's all bad, as long as we have James Cameron there is hope!
Well, like most propaganda pieces and works of disinformation it includes just enough truth to coat the lies. It also carefully shies away from comparisons between the US and North Korea itself and it's own problems.
There is no such thing as a Utopia, and what this seems to miss is that the US has a lot of flaws, people realize this, and this kind of "banal entertainment" exists as a form of escapism for people to get their minds off of those things.
The vast majority of people DO know about the homeless problem, and it greatly affects their point of view (one way or another) and comes out in terms of politics and who people try to elect for leadership, not to mention many community action programs and such. Granted as a big problem it's not one that is in the process of being solved overnight.
Statements about Americans not knowing where Britan is, being unable to tell you where the ocean is, and similar things, are of course entirely unqualified, and are worked in with the points about the banality of American culture (in of itself) to so as to hopefully avoid question. This sidestepping issues like Korea's tight control of information, where yout typical American... if he WAS really ignorant of some of these things, can probably find out just about any bit of general information he or she desires with their cell phone.
When it comes to politics/warfare/etc... you'll notice a lack of comparison with North Korea, not to mention a lack of mention of not only our motivations (on a lot of levels) for going to war, but also that it's a huge issue within the US where the population is divided almost 50-50. Our military actions being a huge political hotbutton in elections that continue to be resolved with single digit percentages. Right now Obama is leading the election which is less than a month away by a whopping margin of 2%. This means even if he wins 48% of the people disagreed with him. A point which kind of shows that the American people aren't being lead entirely mindlessly in one direction... unlike say North Korea.
When it comes to violence, that's an entire discussion in of itself, simply put I do not think violence is inherantly bad. However it's interesting to note that the US is hardly the only consumer of such games, and a lot of the most graphic games are created in the east and then not released to the west (despite protests from gamers) because it's feared they might offend the wrong people.
A lot of this didn't need to be pointed out, but I figured I'd do it anyway. The bottom line is the US isn't perfect, and we seek a lot of escapism, with our resources this escapism is very intense and of high quality, but people generally do not forget the reality they are seeking temporary escape from.
I suspect there might be a note of jealousy here. Probably because North Korean entertainment includes things like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5tkXgw2OMY
The music video (I hope that's a good link) that made a certain dictator's girlfriend famous...
In short it's equally banal, but of lower quality. Not to mention kind of disturbing in it's apparent message of happy domestic servitude.
There is no such thing as a Utopia, and what this seems to miss is that the US has a lot of flaws, people realize this, and this kind of "banal entertainment" exists as a form of escapism for people to get their minds off of those things.
The vast majority of people DO know about the homeless problem, and it greatly affects their point of view (one way or another) and comes out in terms of politics and who people try to elect for leadership, not to mention many community action programs and such. Granted as a big problem it's not one that is in the process of being solved overnight.
Statements about Americans not knowing where Britan is, being unable to tell you where the ocean is, and similar things, are of course entirely unqualified, and are worked in with the points about the banality of American culture (in of itself) to so as to hopefully avoid question. This sidestepping issues like Korea's tight control of information, where yout typical American... if he WAS really ignorant of some of these things, can probably find out just about any bit of general information he or she desires with their cell phone.
When it comes to politics/warfare/etc... you'll notice a lack of comparison with North Korea, not to mention a lack of mention of not only our motivations (on a lot of levels) for going to war, but also that it's a huge issue within the US where the population is divided almost 50-50. Our military actions being a huge political hotbutton in elections that continue to be resolved with single digit percentages. Right now Obama is leading the election which is less than a month away by a whopping margin of 2%. This means even if he wins 48% of the people disagreed with him. A point which kind of shows that the American people aren't being lead entirely mindlessly in one direction... unlike say North Korea.
When it comes to violence, that's an entire discussion in of itself, simply put I do not think violence is inherantly bad. However it's interesting to note that the US is hardly the only consumer of such games, and a lot of the most graphic games are created in the east and then not released to the west (despite protests from gamers) because it's feared they might offend the wrong people.
A lot of this didn't need to be pointed out, but I figured I'd do it anyway. The bottom line is the US isn't perfect, and we seek a lot of escapism, with our resources this escapism is very intense and of high quality, but people generally do not forget the reality they are seeking temporary escape from.
I suspect there might be a note of jealousy here. Probably because North Korean entertainment includes things like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5tkXgw2OMY
The music video (I hope that's a good link) that made a certain dictator's girlfriend famous...
In short it's equally banal, but of lower quality. Not to mention kind of disturbing in it's apparent message of happy domestic servitude.
That's part of what upsets me about western society.MammothBlade said:
We have freedoms unimagined by our ancestors, and the kind of spare time that even our parents/grandparents just wouldn't have known what to do with.
We have access to so much of the world now thanks to Aeroplanes and the Internet...
And people utilise all that to watch XFactor and Jeremy Kyle.
Is this genuinely North Korean? It's the sort of thing we'd right in the Onion and feels bang on for parody (the slow calm delivery of narcissist parasite). I guess the translator saw the humour if not the case.
Anyway NK or not, we all know this stuff. It's all true, which is why this video is very funny for a lot of us. But they are in many ways inherent problems of human nature and what is a flaw of capitalism, is still a heck of a lot better than the flaws of a system that is prone to throwing up narcissitic meglomaniac dictators. At least we don't literally give Paris Hilton the power over life and death.
(Although please note this isn't a reason to stop trying to find ways to improve capitalism. There are flaws and that fact alone should mean we strive to find a way to rid it of those flaws. Just because it's the best solution we have available to us right now doesn't mean it will be forever the best solution. The feudal system was the not-perfect but best currently available solution (probably), it doesn't mean we shouldn't hope for an industrial revolution.
Anyway NK or not, we all know this stuff. It's all true, which is why this video is very funny for a lot of us. But they are in many ways inherent problems of human nature and what is a flaw of capitalism, is still a heck of a lot better than the flaws of a system that is prone to throwing up narcissitic meglomaniac dictators. At least we don't literally give Paris Hilton the power over life and death.
(Although please note this isn't a reason to stop trying to find ways to improve capitalism. There are flaws and that fact alone should mean we strive to find a way to rid it of those flaws. Just because it's the best solution we have available to us right now doesn't mean it will be forever the best solution. The feudal system was the not-perfect but best currently available solution (probably), it doesn't mean we shouldn't hope for an industrial revolution.
Seriously? Are we really going to get this superior and arrogant toward others just because they enjoy different media to us?Aaron Foltz said:
Whats so wrong with liking celebrities? I mean on an objective basis, why is it wrong to like and enjoy following the lives of these celebrities.
You talk like NOT liking celebrities makes us some sort of uber elite group of ultra hipster superheros but it doesnt.
What YOU and most people in this thread AND north korea are trying to do is this:
"By cultural and subjective standards the media they enjoy appears strange and unfathomable to us! THAT MUST BE A PERSONAL FAILURE ON THESE PEOPLES PARTS AND MAKES US BETTER THAN THEM!"
I mean come on. You SEEN japanese media?!
How can we possible claim moral supperiority over anyone based on something as trivial as what media they enjoy. Seriously? Fucking seriously? How asinine. Its asinine when North Korea do it. Its asinine when we do it. I suggest everyone who thinks it makes them better than others to insult these random people other people choose to derive happiness from or NOT like these people grow up. Media isnt a source of superiority. It isnt a contest. North Korea pulled some weak sauce shit here. Its pathetic.
If the best they can say is "The media some of their people enjoy seems silly to us!" then thats ok by me. Because i cant even fathom a weaker criticism. I dont like these celebrities personally. I have NO idea why people follow them. But it doesnt make me better than the people who enjoy them. Nor does it mean our culture is going down the drain. Have you SEEN 70's disco culture?!
If there is truly a failure in our culture, nay every culture, its that everyone assumes they are the special ones, watching society burn around them because interests change and that MUST be bad. Fact. Your generation isnt special or smart. Youre just parroting what every generation before you has said about the generation after them. About the media after theirs. And its equally as much bullshit.
You realize we don't live in a society that's anywhere close to pure capitalism, right?cotss2012 said:You're right. [a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/In-N-Out-Burger-Hourly-Pay-E14276.htm"]Some businesses pay quite a bit more[/a].dyre said:if you think pure capitalism involves paying workers $7.25/hr, you've got a very rose-tinted view of things
Colour me embarrassed i cocked that one up didnt i?cotss2012 said:
Ill correct that now and feel sheepish. I love the way that the only part of my (somewhat inflammatory and opinionated) post you responded to was the incorrect time period
At least its more accurate now.EDIT: Derpy sentence structure.
That's not the sort of comparison I'm looking for though because there were very specific economic conditions that made those superstates possible. And even then, the Roman empire for example was fed by hundreds of thousands of people living basically feudal lives, but because it was an empire that could take further away and out of sight. There system in the end involved them being elevated because they were profiting from ruling over many more unelevated countries that were paying the cost of elevation.cotss2012 said:
If for example, Britain had a working non-feudal system, or a country in a similar economic/geographical situation to Britain had a successful better poltico/economic system but it collapsed into a feudal system, that's more of what I'm after. But the Roman/Persian system would involve Britain owning a large part of the world which is a different circumstance
Yet feudalism was an improvement over slavery for many of those whose ancestors had been outright slaves or lion food in Rome and its peers. It's rather lazy to say that it was absolutely a huge "step backwards", when there were some things which improved, too.cotss2012 said:
I think they're just jealous that it was South Korea that developed the Gangnam Style.
The further horror is that Psy is currently worth more by himself than the entire North Korean economy.
And I guess Psy doesn't threaten his neighbours with devastation hitherto unknown to mankind. Which is nice.
The further horror is that Psy is currently worth more by himself than the entire North Korean economy.
And I guess Psy doesn't threaten his neighbours with devastation hitherto unknown to mankind. Which is nice.
It's not just a critique of Western (predominantly US) media, it's a critique of lifestyle and values (as propagated by said media).
Pick a country. There's a significant chance they could've made a similar short documentary (prolly without the derogatory language). What can I say, maybe it hurts because it's true and doesn't look like it'll change any time soon.
What do attempts at "tu quoque" and "but look at all the good things" change about the actual merit of the critique?
Pick a country. There's a significant chance they could've made a similar short documentary (prolly without the derogatory language). What can I say, maybe it hurts because it's true and doesn't look like it'll change any time soon.
What do attempts at "tu quoque" and "but look at all the good things" change about the actual merit of the critique?
I have a hard time believing that 11% of my country can't find its own country on a map. Its gotta be bull shit. Please please let it be bull shit.
To be fair much of what gets aired on television these days is rather appauling, the only show ive actually been genuinly interested in watching and will no doubt make an effort to watch every week is red dwarf, I realise that some people have made out that X is not as good as some of the older series but at least this new series is capable of actually being funny, I don't mean at least its trying to be funny or that it tacks on a laugh track to let us know which bits ought to be funny, what I mean is that this series has actually managed to make me crack a smile and that is rare for a TV show these days.