North Korean Defector to Airdrop 100,000 DVDs and USB sticks with copies of The Interview into North - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Normally, each balloon is laden with USB sticks with Wikipedia entries, DVDs of popular TV shows, anti-government leaflets, and even [B]single American dollar bills. (The last is included so starving North Koreans can buy rice on the black market.)[/B][/QUOTE] Wow, I just noticed this

Here's an optimistic documentary about NK[video=youtube;yqdlXmsTP6Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqdlXmsTP6Y[/video]

[QUOTE=Viva;46840466]this movie is seriously going to actually make a difference? oh my god, i love history. its so weird, to think that like if this actually does cause some incite among the population, in history courses we'll be learning about how a movie made a global impact on dictatorship.[/QUOTE] Wouldn't be the first time. [t]https://girlsdofilm.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/charlie-chaplin-the-great-dictator-1940_2.jpg?[/t] [t]http://www.tasteofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Mr.-Smith-Goes-to-Washington.jpg[/t]

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;46840328]even if every north korean had a dvd player, what would this achieve? do you really think a seth rogen stoner flick get north koreans to rise up? they won't get it, and that's provided that they actually get a chance to see the movie before they and their entire family get put into a concentration camp/ shot for being enemies of the state.[/QUOTE] Hey man, I'm not defending what the guy is doing, I'm just saying the plan isn't unreasonable based on whether or not North Koreans have the means to watch what he is launching. [editline]3rd January 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Saigon;46842309]Do most North Koreans even have computers capable of using USB sticks? Or perhaps the question should bee: Do most North Koreans even have computers?[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=DVH;46842357]I suppose some of those portable DVD players have USB support. I also suppose some of those DVD players have batteries or rural Nork homes have power. Then it's a matter of smuggling cheap Chinese DVD players into North Korea and selling them on the black market.[/QUOTE] Gj reading the thread. They willfully import electronics from China, according to what the guy (who taught computer science in NK) said. Some time ago there were reports of NK producing its own brand of Android phones and tablets recently (though it's possible those just came from China). [editline]3rd January 2015[/editline] Things like Android tablets were fairly common as-well, according to the guy. Many Chinese brands have full sized USB ports or OTG support, which would allow them to watch the movie off the USB stick.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;46840328]even if every north korean had a dvd player, what would this achieve? do you really think a seth rogen stoner flick get north koreans to rise up? they won't get it, and that's provided that they actually get a chance to see the movie before they and their entire family get put into a concentration camp/ shot for being enemies of the state.[/QUOTE] It doesn't matter if they don't get it. The point is to get North Koreans to think. To think about their "glorious leader" in a different light. To ignite their curiosity of the outside world. Some will be imprisoned, shot, starved, sure, but that's the unfortunate reality in NK right now. Any progress toward change, this included, is a good thing. A spark becomes a flame. A flame becomes a fire.

[QUOTE=blerb;46847083]It doesn't matter if they don't get it. The point is to get North Koreans to think. To think about their "glorious leader" in a different light. To ignite their curiosity of the outside world. Some will be imprisoned, shot, starved, sure, but that's the unfortunate reality in NK right now. Any progress toward change, this included, is a good thing. A spark becomes a flame. A flame becomes a fire.[/QUOTE] Do you seriously think that a population that has been filled with anti-US propaganda since the day they were born would be influenced by a US-made comedy? Comedy that shows their leader enjoying western shit? With fart and butt jokes?

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;46851240]Do you seriously think that a population that has been filled with anti-US propaganda since the day they were born would be influenced by a US-made comedy? Comedy that shows their leader enjoying western shit? With fart and butt jokes?[/QUOTE] Well, it certainly shows we don't really take their leader seriously. Maybe that might influence them to think a bit. I read somewhere once from an article written by a North Korean escapee where he expressed that many North Koreans really don't think their leader's all that great, but are forced to keep quiet about it. Perhaps this just might be the push they need for the revolution to start, being shown how Americans view their leader.

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;46851240]Do you seriously think that a population that has been filled with anti-US propaganda since the day they were born would be influenced by a US-made comedy? Comedy that shows their leader enjoying western shit? With fart and butt jokes?[/QUOTE] Come on, the North Korean population isn't indoctrinated the way you think they are. Most of them have by this stage seen at least some foreign media in their lives which hasn't portrayed the outside world in a negative light. Many have access to films and movies, especially comedies. Now if you think about this Seth Rogen movie, the average North Korean will probably hear it by word of mouth. They earn a little money from the black market, cottage industries, and other oddjobs that have become commonplace by now. North Koreans are still pretty communal and do things together, so they will often go to the same house with friends and family to watch movies. The most popular movies (if I recall) tend to be actually pirated Hollywood blockbusters. They also have a bit of an uncritical eye (North Koreans will view the United States as being violent as portrayed in the movies for instead), but one that is capable of accepting outside points of view. Right now I bet you that thousands of North Koreans are watching this movie right now. They are selling and renting them or watching in secret. Government officials are being bribed out the ass because the movie is too big for the black market to let go, and the government is too incompetent to shut it down. Will it have an impact? Potentially, but of course not in a vacuum. Kim isn't the most popular of leaders, and several North Koreans (when filmed secretly) have expressed a mixture of disappointment at him being in power and criticize him. The sorts who don't struggle for subsistence constantly (the ones who have access to meat and maybe own a Chinese dvd player or radio) are the ones who will be mostly seeing this right now (but you can bet most of the poor will have seen it within a year). They demand reforms roughly along the lines of what China has undertaken in the past few decades. The fact that the North Korean government is so embarrassed about this movie, has been incapable of stopping or slowing its spread (and has accidentally aided in its distribution), are signs of the disease eating away at the state there. While it won't cause collapse, it will hasten it and will be one of the first films mocking the leader that North Koreans will see.