'The Interview' Cancellation: Violation Of Free Speech?

Discussion in 'Serious Chat' started by Derek, Dec 19, 2014.

  1. #1
    Derek

    Derek LPAssociation.com Administrator LPA Administrator

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    Discuss the cancellation of 'The Interview' here. Did Sony Pictures make the right choice in canceling the movie given the terroristic threats, or were they wrong to cave? Is this a violation of America's free speech, or the rightful cancellation of a movie that had no point in being made to begin with?

    Discuss and please remain respectful. Flaming or antagonistic comments will result in infractions, and the thread being closed. Let's discuss this maturely and like adults.

    #MURICA
     
  2. #2
    minuteforce

    minuteforce Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance. LPA Team

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    So, again, why did the government do absolutely nothing (at least in view of the public) in response to what I assume were terrorist threats?
     
  3. #3
    Gibs

    Gibs The Prog Nerd Über Member

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    From a purely business standpoint, I can fully understand why Sony would pull the movie. Had some kind of shootings/attacks actually occured in theaters showing the movie, they would be ruined; they could have prevented them from happening.

    However, with the pulling of the movie, Sony is setting a precedent that you can successfuly attack America's free speech. They are showing that through threats, movie studios might back away from supporting controversial art and allow themselves to be censored, something that is a real tragedy in my eyes.

    This was a really poor move on Sony's part.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2014
  4. #4
    minuteforce

    minuteforce Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance. LPA Team

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    Damned if you do and damned if you don't. :sleep:
     
  5. #5
    Derek

    Derek LPAssociation.com Administrator LPA Administrator

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    The FBI is still investigating the hack as well as the threats. Obviously if there's a credible threat (and not just some bored kid in North Korea having some lulz) I'm sure action will be taken...especially considering it threatens American lives.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/18/us-response-sony-hack_n_6349066.html
     
  6. #6
    Jesse

    Jesse Out of the abyss. LPA Über VIP

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    Yes, it's a violation of free speech. It's blackmailing an American corporation to censor itself in fear of retaliation. It sets a horrible precedent on current freedoms held by US citizens and may severely impact these freedoms in the future. Right now, a very hot topic is internet freedoms on subjects such as MPAA's Goliath project which is basically a zombified SOPA implementation, and of the subject Net Neutrality. With a country that is able to hack and blackmail companies of another, it is understandable that the likes of the MPAA other likewise associations and companies will further push to be granted more power about what users can post online and what they can have removed, or achieve more control over all.


    Call me silly but I say it's also reasonable to assume that if North Korea comes to the conclusions that if their threats work (and they do, apparently and they have shown they're more than threats because they actually take action), then they'll try it again for other things they do not agree with. As it is, Sony Pictures entertainment is at the whim of a manic dictatorial regime and by canceling all showings of the interview and by refusing the release of it in all forms via piracy, vod, dvd, bluray and online streaming, they're enabling North Korea to express further harm.

    With reports of NK having 3,000 specially trained hackers used for Cyber Warfare and claims that they may have the 3rd most powerful cyber army in the world, (if true, it's more powerful than China's) that makes such threats all the more worse. I must make a point here in saying, it's not about the movie, it's not about the content of the movie, it's about the precedents it allows that North Korea or any other country take it to heart that they can change or remove the way the citizens of a country behave or express themselves be it through music, protests, movies or other art-forms. I think it's a naive position to say these fears are unfounded or that people that hold them are paranoid, it would be paranoid if it did not happen, it literally changes the way Sony and other companies will behave. There are already several companies that are changing their behavior in fear of retaliation, Paramount is banning the showing of Team America in theatres, New Regency has canceled their new movie titled "Pyongyang." As you can see, other companies separate from Sony are pulling creations they've spent millions on because they're afraid of further threats by the North Korean regime. That is the embodiment of limiting free speech.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2014
  7. #7
    Todd

    Todd FLǕGGȦ∂NKđ€ČHIŒβǾLʃÊN LPA Administrator

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    The fact that we let ourselves get beat by a 30 year old tin pot dictator who can't launch a missile that goes further than a bottle rocket is embarrassing.
     
  8. #8
    Erica

    Erica Meh LPA Über VIP

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    Yeah, Sony ought to be ashamed of themselves. Talk about pussing out. I hope this movie finds another way to come to life.
     
  9. #9
    MKH

    MKH Bat of Gotham LPA Super VIP

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    This was one of the dumbest things done in US history. Why's 'Murica acting like the world isn't itching for North Korea to fire first so we can just have South Korea, the fun Korea, be the ONLY Korea?

    And all over a movie? What, did they not watch Team America? Smh, stupid as fuck.
     
  10. #10
    Derek

    Derek LPAssociation.com Administrator LPA Administrator

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    Sony has stated they still wish to release it. They just need a distributor for VOD:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/19/michael-lynton-the-interview_n_6356956.html
     
  11. #11
    minuteforce

    minuteforce Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance. LPA Team

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    Well, that's good, at least.
     
  12. #12
    Todd

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    I'll believe it when I see it. Sony could probably have it up on iTunes or Amazon tomorrow if they wanted to.

    I don't think any of the big names in online movie distribution - Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc, would balk at having it on their service. It would bring more free advertising and publicity than all the money in the world could buy, and they all probably have high confidence in the security of their systems. They're already targets of hackers because of the juicy personal and payment information they store for millions of customers and they haven't been hacked, and I doubt there's anything the North Koreans could do to them that others haven't tried already.
     
  13. #13
    Jesse

    Jesse Out of the abyss. LPA Über VIP

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    Considering they already have several avenues in which to release the film I can't do anything but preemptively call bull on the excuse that all theaters or VOD services want nothing to do with the film . Further more they already have the infrastructure in place for online, they could release the film via PlayStation or Crackle and if they're not going to do that, BitTorrent has kindly offered to allow it on their service. (No, this is not the piracy thing, it's an legitimate for pay service.)

    But It's only been a short amount of time, so they may well still show it but it really looks like they're saying one thing and doing another, as far as I can see.
     
  14. #14
    travz21

    travz21 Muscle Museum LPA Super Member

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    They are a private business that censored their own movie. I don't see how this has anything to do with free speech. The first amendment protects you from being prosecuted by the government unless you say something that infringes on another's rights.

    What people equate to "free speech" these days is that they can say anything they want anywhere and nobody can stop them or do anything about it. Not true.


    I think this could have been the plan from the start, though. So much free publicity. I doubt the hacking and the threats were part of the plan, however. They're getting owned in that regard.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2014
  15. #15
    Agent

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    [video=youtube;uIjAaQKZI9I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIjAaQKZI9I[/video]
     
  16. #16
    Jesse

    Jesse Out of the abyss. LPA Über VIP

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    http://www.reuters.com/article/2014...N0JY08620141220?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

    So... North Korea is now saying they're not behind the hack and is threatening the US to let it help with the investigation probe or else there shall be grave consequences. WTF... That's like someone going "I didn't murder that guy, but you better let me help out finding the murderer cause it's definitely NOT me!"
     
  17. #17
    Apop

    Apop LPA VIP LPA VIP

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    Nailed it. North Korea is no threat.
     
  18. #18
    Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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    Wait, what?
     
  19. #19
    Todd

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    No one is itching for North Korea to fire first because Seoul is just 30 miles from the North Korean border and within range of their weapons. It's perhaps the only city North Korea could attack, and with 25 million people living there, nobody wants that. And Kim would be crazy enough to attack South Korea for something they had nothing to do with - they're one of our biggest allies in the region.
     
  20. #20
    Jesse

    Jesse Out of the abyss. LPA Über VIP

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    No one is afraid of North Korea's threatening of physical violence. Yeah, they have nukes but they don't really have a proper system to actually launch them anywhere except South Korea, and they know that if they do that, they're fucking toast. As it is, they've been threatening to nuke places forever and we can be pretty sure that that's an empty threat for now...

    What people are afraid of is their servers being compromised and North Korea hacking and gaining access to their systems, using that information to extort these victims with threats of retaliation, something which is not a paranoid fear because they've already proven as fact that they're willing to do it and that they have been successful at blackmailing American and Japanese corporations into folding into their demands. You can't say something is paranoid when it's already in progress.


    http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/20/...a-to-admit-culpability-for-sony-pictures-hack

    FBI calls out North Korea's suggestion that they be allowed to help find the "Real culprits" of the attack.

     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2014

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