To: Prime Minister Harper and President Obama
There has been a serious issue raised in the last week with regards to the Sony movie, The Interview, proposing the assassination of Kim Jong-un. There has been a lot of concern about the terrorist reprisal that may be inflicted on movie goers. Although, I would never agree with terrorism I can understand why people might be furious about the movie. Sony's decision to move forward with this plot shows at minimum very poor taste and possibly criminal intent.
It's time to review what is allowed for public and what is not? What is freedom of expression and when is that freedom abused. It is easy to comprehend why we as a society are quite rightfully and socially correct in disallowing sexual exploitation of minors. But, how close to the line is depicting the assassination of any specific person, especially a living world leader?
Sony crossed the lined when they made specific reference to Kim Jong-un. How would you feel if it was your father, depicted by name instead of Kim Jong-un? What would you want to do to the SOBs who were involved in the movie? On the other hand, I watched and had a good laugh at the movie, The Dictator, which had no reference to any specific person.
I am not going to watch the movie The Interview because from what I have gleamed in the media it displays very poor taste, not because I am afraid to go to the movies.
When such events go wrong the first place to look for the solution is in the mirror. The movie is wrong and Canada and America allowed it to be produced in their countries. I would hope that Prime Minister Harper and President Obama show solidarity and apologize to Kim Jong-un on behalf of Canadians and Americans and deal appropriately with Sony. Some people might say that by apologizing we are succumbing to terrorism, but by not apologizing because we are afraid of terrorism, means terrorists have already won! We should be the people we wish to be.
Gerald Lundquist
Prince George
