Sony Case Sets Troubling Precedent

"(CNN) -- Not everyone will remember "Death of a President," the 2006 movie that included a controversial scene in which President George W. Bush was killed by a sniper. (I, on the other hand, can't forget it because my fiancé is an actress and had a big role in that movie).

"Another thing I can't forget is the outrage that DOAP sparked among some conservative commentators, including some of those very same people who are now defending Sony's film "The Interview," about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Death of a President" won an award at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival and was slated to play in several theater chains in America. That is, until some on the right went ballistic over it.

"Rush Limbaugh slammed the movie, reportedly calling the film's director a "sicko" and saying the movie was part of an "age of insanity." Fox News' Michelle Malkin denounced the film in an article she penned for the conservative website, "Town Hall" titled, "Kill Bush Mania." Matt Drudge used the word "SHOCK" (all in caps) to describe the film on the front page of his Drudge Report. And Sean Hannity grilled the film's director on his Fox News show with questions like "Do you not have a responsibility to think of the impact, the impressions that could be made on people" by depicting the shooting of Bush?

"The outrage wasn't confined to the media. Rep. Peter King of New York, then chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, dubbed the film disgusting, claimed it "could incite real violence" and reportedly warned that the filmmakers "would have blood on their hands if anything should ever happen." King went on to call for no movie theater or TV network in America to show the film: "Any theater that would show this, any TV station that would show this, is acting irresponsibly. It would be a disgrace for it to be shown anywhere."

"In response to this outrage, the film was indeed pulled...

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pulled by the theater chains or the studio and after how long?
I can see on metacritic it had
a 49 rating which is pretty low.
I also note your article says that it remained in non chain theaters.
 
^Now if Limbaugh, FOX News and the rest mentioned had only hacked into a website, distributed private business information and then made thinly veiled threats to blow up any theater where the movie was played, you might have a relevant point. As it is you're comparing apples and oranges to defend cyber terrorism.
 
although your core point was interesting and therefore I am glad I read it... the part about a Hollywood and liberalism - is countered ironically by some of the hacked info.
Some of the most troublesome emails for Sony's Paschal surround a discussion about an Obama fundraiser at Katazenberg's.






kut2k2 said:
As usual the ET rightwing clown car sees something happen and get it assbackwards. Here's what happened: an arrogant and foolish Hollywood corporation which has nothing to do with liberalism decides to make a stupid so-called comedy that slaps the face of a living ruthless dictator in order to make a profit -- not art, not a political statement, just another crass grab at profits by hitting at a target that is presumed to be safe to hit. Surprise! The presumed easy target finds a way to place his boot between the legs of the arrogant prigs at Sony and make them squeal like little piggies. It almost makes NK admirable for once. Almost.

The bottom line: everybody has heard the expression Don't Poke the Bear. But every now and then some fool goes and does it. When said fool gets his head torn off, does it make sense to get mad at the bear or reason that what happened to the fool was just evolution in action?

When you pick a fight with even a seemingly weak opponent, make sure your pants aren't around your ankles. Sony picked a fight while having a weak, easily breachble IT department and they've learned the consequences of being both arrogant and stupid. When North Korea attacks our national security network or our financial system or our power grid, I'll join the call to nuke them. But when they bitchslap an arrogant entertainment company that picked a fight for no sane reason, I just sit back and laugh.
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FortuneTeller said:
Are you a commie?
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No, I'm something you may be unfamiliar with: a thinker. Right now the talking heads on CNBC are losing their minds, acting like the NK hack on $ony is the new Pearl Harbor. Total bullshit. I explained my position in my first post. North Korea did not attack America, they attacked a greedy corporation that thought it was safe from repercussions for its silly insulting flick about a current national leader.

The Freedom of Speech argument is specious. We don't have unlimited freedom of speech. There are limits to what you can say and where you can say it. What $ony did was the equivalent of fighting words, and they got a response they didn't like. So be it.

If all you can do is ask a silly question like am I a commie, you're as thoughtless as $ony was.
 
jem said:
although your core point was interesting and therefore I am glad I read it... the part about a Hollywood and liberalism - is countered ironically by some of the hacked info.
Some of the most troublesome emails for Sony's Paschal surround a discussion about an Obama fundraiser at Katazenberg's.
More...

The funny part about the leaked emails is that they prove that everything right-wing people have been saying for years about the Hollywood leftists is absolutely true.
 
OBAMA’S COWARDLY HYPOCRISY ON SONY

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by JOEL B. POLLAK19 Dec 201477


In his last press conference of 2014, President Barack Obama blamed Sony for pulling The Interview after hacking attacks and terror threats from North Korea. Yet not only did President Obama do and say nothing to defend Sony at the time, he also created a precedent in Benghazi in 2012 that likely contributed to Sony’s surrender. By blaming an obscure YouTube video, and jailing the filmmaker, Obama sent a signal that he would not protect American filmmakers from foreign attacks.
In that light, Obama’s remarks are clearly a cowardly attempt to shift blame entirely to the filmmaker. While Sony probably deserves much of the criticism it is receiving for its swift surrender, no private company can be expected to stand up, alone, to cyber-terrorist threats from a nuclear-armed dictatorship.

Had Obama actually done what he claims about cyber-security, had he defended the company, and had he not blamed a YouTube video for Benghazi, the result may have been different.

Senior Editor-at-Large Joel B
 
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