The Interview: A Political Statement

A wave of panic, anger, and patriotism washed over America when Sony Pictures revealed there was a breach in their security and private information of their employees and future films were obtained by hackers. There is no clear-cut evidence as to which country the hackers are residents of, but Sony is pointing their finger at North Korea. The hackers call themselves the “Guardians of Peace,” but they are quite the opposite. In early december, the hackers posted an online message threatening to implement a 9/11 type attack on any theaters that showed the anticipated comedy, The Interview.  Seeing this as a terrorist threat, Sony immediately withdrew the movie. However, actors and American citizens expressed their profound disapproval of Sony’s decision. President Barack Obama also claimed it was “a mistake” and a blow to our freedom of speech. Under public scrutiny, Sony Pictures revoked their previous decision and marked December 24th as The Interview’s online release date and December 25th as its theatrical date. Only a small portion of independent theaters in the United States showed the film. It was also released on Youtube, Google Play, Amazon and Xbox Video. Seth Rogen showed his excitement by tweeting, “The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn’t give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day!”

The Interview revolves around Dave Skylark (Dave Franco) and Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) who get recruited by the CIA after scoring an exclusive interview with North Korea’s leader. They are given a single task: assassinate Kim Jong Un. With most movies, the challenge is inserting honest humor. The Interview failed this challenge, without a doubt. This film fell into the category of movies that were hyped up, but inevitably fell short. Honestly, it was boring and dull. It achieved its purpose as a satire and works as a political statement defending our freedom of speech but aside from that, the film lacks that something special. Although television interviews and promotional trailers were cancelled, it didn’t decrease the film’s popularity. Rather, the publicity that came from the ordeal increased its sales. The Interview became the best-selling online film by Sony Pictures. In the end, however, it will leave you saying, “All that fuss, over this?”