In a statement released today from the White House, President Obama let North Korea know that its dictator doesn’t have the right to impose censorship on the United States.
[su_quote cite=”Barack Obama”]We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States.[/su_quote]
While I commend the President for not wilting under the current hacking scandal and standing up for one of America’s most sacred freedoms, I still stand by my recent post about how short-sighted Sony Pictures was to make a movie like “The Interview.” I feel this way not because I support censorship — I am a HUGE proponent of free speech.
No, I take this particular stand because sometimes a little common sense can go a long way. Especially in a global economy where borders between nations have become little more than physical. In our digitally driven world, a new thought process needs to be applied when approaching projects with potentially volatile plot lines.
Does Kim Jon un or any other foreign dictator have the right to tell American film studios what movies they can and cannot make or release?
Absolutely not.
But we’re fooling ourselves if we believe that what’s made in America stays in America and doesn’t have consequences beyond our borders. Times are different, but dictators don’t change. If the North Korean hack against Sony Pictures is any indication of what’s to come, imposing censorship of a satirical film will be the least of our worries.
