Fact Checking

We are now used to the idea of movies being banned. Some of them right here on our own shores. "The Interview" wasn't supposed to be seen in the United States. Then, suddenly it was everywhere: YouTube, private screenings, little theaters, big theaters. Nothing like a little controversy to stir up some box office. A big controversy translates to a big box office. This little movie made nearly three million dollars over the extended holiday weekend. Could it be that the Sony hack was an inside job? If so, then maybe the IT department should have been installed as the PR department for them a long time ago.

Then there are the controversies that don't center on those things scientific. What about the ones that are more historic? Do you live in Egypt? Did you want to see "Exodus: Gods and Kings?" You won't. Not as long as that country's Culture Ministry says that film puts forth a reading of Egypt's history that is at odds with the story of Moses told by the world's monotheistic religions. Censors objected to the "intentional gross historical fallacies that offend Egypt and its pharaonic ancient history in yet another attempt to Judaize Egyptian civilization, which confirms the international Zionist fingerprints all over the film." The ministry said the movie inaccurately depicts ancient Egyptians as "savages" who kill and hang Jews, arguing that hanging did not exist in ancient Egypt. It said the film also presents a "racist" depiction of Jews as a people who mounted an armed rebellion. The ministry said religious scriptures present Jews as weak and oppressed. How about that whole turning a staff into a serpent thing? Plagues of locusts? Parting the Red Sea? Nope. Not really an issue. Historical accuracy seems so start and end with the depiction of certain peoples and their cultures. None of that supposed magic or miracles were brought into question. Besides, everyone knows that Moses is Charlton Heston, not Batman.
Of course, it could be suggested here that the same kind of things that kept "Exodus" from being seen in Egypt are really the kind of things that would keep "The Interview" from playing in North Korea. Then again, last time I checked, there wasn't a theater chain in North Korea that was interested in showing "The Interview." So let it be written. So let it be done.