I signed up for Amazon Prime last year, partly to have free videos to watch while I'm living in a basement away from my family. I bookmarked a bunch of them through Read It Later, but haven't spent a whole lot of time catching up.
Tonight I was going through some of the videos I bookmarked, and came across a National Geographic on Inside North Korea. I figured that sounded interesting, so I watched it.
There wasn't much I didn't already know, but it was insightful. The camera crew had to come in under cover with a doctor on a humanitarian mission, because you can't just show up and start filming in North Korea. They had government minions with them every step of the way. One of the minions threatened to expell them because a cameraman had to lay down on the ground to get a large statue of "Dear Leader" into his camera's view.
I was particularly blown away by the outright worship of Kim Jong Il (who has passed away since this documentary was filmed). I have heard of heads of state being worshipped as gods, in fact, early Christians ran into a lot of trouble in the case of Ceaser worship. It's still disconcerting to actually see it in practice.
The journalist wondered how many of the people were displaying true belief and how many were just acting out of fear. She concluded after so many generations of isolation and brainwashing, there probably wasn't a line between the two anymore.
If you get a chance to watch this documentary, it's interesting. It's free for Prime members to stream.
The blind worship of the late dictator also struck me in a profound way. I was sadly intrigued by the mindset that produces this behavior. Instead of thanking the doctors for restoring their sight, the people praise and worship KJI.
Kudos to Lisa Ling for going behind the curtain!
Posted by: Nathan Eckel | April 10, 2012 at 11:30
Exactly. I'm not trying to make a political statement, but I get a cold chill every time I see that video from 2008 of children singing a song about or to at the time Senator/Presidential Candidate Obama. "He's gonna bring happiness..."
Posted by: Eric S. Mueller | April 14, 2012 at 21:42