A 2009 box office science fiction film that was banned in North Korea

While American films have seen decades of success around the world, there’s something about Hollywood that some countries don’t seem to like. To be more specific, there is something about Hollywood that China does not like. The Chinese Communist Party has a frankly embarrassing record when it comes to banning perfectly harmless, even delightfully charming, classics. Just look at the time China banned Back to the Future for a wild reason That time travel movies in general “disrespect history”. It also took until 2006’s “Casino Royale” for the ban on James Bond to be lifted in China, which is pretty crazy considering the character rose to legendary pop culture status soon after. The 1962 film “Dr. No” began cinema’s most enduring series of films.

Banning art of any kind is a pretty dodgy business if you ask me, but China isn’t the only culprit on this front. If you want to talk about treating the population as if they were merely state property, the Chinese Communist Party is only superior in the East to the “society” that Kim Jong Un oversees in North Korea. The latest incarnation of “Great Leader” Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un inherited a country with a long and proud tradition of banning creative products for obscure reasons emanating from these totalitarian regimes — “offending the national spirit” kind of thing.

Take the time Seth Rogen almost started a war with North Korea During his comedy film “The Interview” in 2014. At that time, Per BBCKim and his colleagues described the film’s screening as a “blatant act of terrorism and war” and condemned the “reckless American provocative madness” of empowering a “gangster filmmaker”, which clearly led to a “wave of hatred and anger” in the country. Homeland. In this case, you can see how a movie that mocked Kim Jong Un himself might have given a makeover to the dictator’s underwear. But it was not the first time that North Korea banned a film because it offended the country’s feelings. In fact, they have completely banned a film that depicts the destruction of large swaths of the United States in minute detail, proving that there is truly nothing to satisfy these tyrants.

“2012” was a huge hit when it debuted in 2009 $757 million By providing moviegoers with amazing shocking action. Roland Emmerich’s film saw the world exposed to every natural disaster imaginable as the apocalypse arrives, and John Cusack attempts to extricate his family from a collapsing Los Angeles to safety. This particular scene remains one of the most memorable in the film, as the City of Angels falls into the abyss just like Cusack and company. Fly through the carnage in a Cessna plane.

You would think that a film depicting the complete destruction of Los Angeles – certainly the perfect symbol of American excess – would have a good impact on North Koreans. After all, even those of us who live in Los Angeles had hoped, at least once in our lives, that the ground would collapse after trying to merge from 5 to 134 during rush hour. If you live in a country that has a hatred of Western ideals baked into its guidelines, you’ll jump at the chance to see Los Angeles’ Desolation in all its cinematic glory.

Unfortunately, citizens of one of the world’s most repressive countries were robbed of the opportunity to rejoice in the downfall of the United States when Kim Jong Un’s predecessor, Kim Jong Il, banned… “2012” – A disaster movie to end all disaster movies – From the country. What upset the so-called “Dear Leader”? Well, it turns out that 2012 was a very important year for North Koreans. Let me explain.

North Korea is what Christopher Hitchens used to refer to as “Necrocracy.” Any country where the head of state is a dead man. Kim Il Sung remains the nation’s leader despite his death in 1994, which should go some way to shifting his dynasty’s malignant grip on the country. As such, you can imagine that his sons were keen to celebrate the centenary of their father’s birth on April 15, 2012. According to TelegraphKim Jong Il had set 2012 as the year in which North Korea would open the great doors to become a rising superpower.

So, when Hollywood produced a movie that destroyed the entire world during that very year, Kim Jong Il was not happy about it. In fact, he went so far as to simply ban the film from being shown in theaters. like time Reportedly, any North Korean national found with a smuggled copy of the book “2012” would allegedly be charged with “serious provocation against the development of the state” and could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

If it makes North Koreans feel any better, “2012” only has a 40% rating Rotten tomatoesSo Kim Jong Il could at least claim to have done Roland Emmerich a favor by preventing more critics from seeing the film – if his country were allowed an independent press.