North Korean Film On American Propaganda

By on June 1, 2012 in News 24

Ever wonder how we look from the outside? One propaganda-drenched society critiques another, as North Korean filmmakers present the U.S. citizenry as brainwashed “slaves” to illusions created by corporations:

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  • Duncanfan

    So accurate. Isn’t their another planet ready where us sane people can inhabit?

    • Anarchy Pony

      Would it disappoint you to learn that this IS that planet!? BUM BUM BUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

      • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

        Are you mad?! Sane people cannot fix things, they can only cut and run(now we need another planet because there’s nowhere left to run here.)

  • Monkey See Monkey Do

    Brilliant video. Not for the squeamish. It seems that the masters of propaganda are the best people to dissect propaganda.

    • Haystack

      We’re the masters of propaganda. Their methods are outmoded and based on physical terror, but we’ve learned how to get people to live in a velvet prison. 

      For the most part I thought the film was a dead on, but really it was just Western self-criticism and not North Korean insight. All of their material was drawn from Westerners like Chomsky, Zinn, Dawkins, etc…. Still, hearing it narrated from an “outside” perspective was just haunting. 

      • Monkey See Monkey Do

        True that. I guess the North Korean govt is well acquainted with a certain style of propaganda that is unique to them, taking on the form of a cult in many respects. It was interesting to see to see the videos source material, such as Chomsky, Zinn etc. Using aspects of their material to define a certain reality was excellent use of disinformation. I do wonder though, would Chomsky books even be legal in North Korea?

        • Haystack

          Yeah, that was the real irony of it. They’re were trying to present the west as utterly despotic, while at the same time giving example after example of westerners criticizing their own governments in ways that would never be possible in the NPK. 

  • Nancy Pelosi

    It seems like it was cut short…Is this the full length version or if not, can I find the full length elsewhere? Fascinating and a punch right to the gut.  Good work disinfo team!

    • http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

      click on the YouTube icon on this vid
      there you will find the links to Part 2-3

  • http://buzzcoastin.posterous.com BuzzCoastin

    it’s not like any of this stuff is secret 
    which merely underscores how successful
    the Amerikan Dream psyop has been

    tell them they are the freest people on earth
    then enslave them with laws to restrict freedom

    tell them they’re the bravest people on earth
    and make them cower in fear of terrorists

    tell them it is a government by-for and of the people
    then let the elites set the rules and laws

    promise them anything
    but give them Arpège

  • Elmyr23

    Our Eternal President… man people are so dumb on so many different ways. the movie “Idiocracy” is right, we wait for smart to people to populate the world while idiots reproduce like crazy. But it is obvious that we are still getting smarter all the time.

    • Anarchy Pony

      technically advanced=/=smart.

      • TapMeYouFascists

        The dominant culture’s technologies don’t advance; they metastasize.

    • http://hormeticminds.blogspot.com/ Chaorder Gradient

      “smart” people are too busy with their work to know how to raise kids

  • MoralDrift

    Yeah takes one to know one I suppose. Like other posters have noted, the US practices a slick form of repression perhaps matched only by the British who I think are slightly further along. 

    One key point though that is often left out of analysis of N Korea and China as well, the regimes in place although communist by name operate on very old styles of elite rule and patronage systems (corruption). In that respect, its possibly why the propaganda is less evolved…the system itself is an anachronism in that it proclaims to herald modernity while it clings to power relationships as old as time.

    To be fair, I shouldn’t have lumped them together, as China takes an entirely different tack nowadays which is becoming more and more refined all the time. They are quickly learning how to use the web to influence opinions in a way that seems to be genuine grass roots but is engineered and manufactured to pit opposing factions against each other and allow steam to be blown off while furthering policy goals at the same time. 

    This more sophisticated measure of control is being developed while the old obfuscate and deny, sing happy songs machine carries on in the traditional press…come to think of it…the PRC and the US are pretty similar on this mark. The biggest difference is the US lets you waste time on facebook and China makes using google a pain in the ass

    • Redacted

      Very apt. I agree with your assessment of the Chinese. They have indeed been using the internet from the day the first connection in China went live. I’m also going to guess the first Chinese people to use the internet were Government, working to propagandize it as much as possible before the first private citizens got on it.

  • rtb61

    Here’s betting this particular North Korean film maker will either defect or be killed.
    The first rule of propaganda is your never ever teach your victims about the principles of propaganda because they will logically use that knowledge to review the information being feed to them about their own government, it really, really is a stupid mistake.
    Likely this is signs of a panic about more and more information from elicit sources sneaking into and being distributed around North Korea.
    The most embarrassing thing about this video, it is mostly true. Of course western propaganda whilst bad is still not as bad as the North Korean variant.

  • Tourist

    I’ll stick with Adam Curtis’s films, thanks all the same!

  • guest

    Is there any details about the film and/or the director? I am a native South Korean, but I find little northern accent in the movie. I am not sure if this is meant to be shown to insiders of North Korea. Above all, these viewpoints are plainly western, as some commenters mentioned before.

    • Monkey See Monkey Do

      Good point, seems more likely it was a piece meant for outsiders.

  • sabineprogram

    I have just posted the following on my YouTube channel re. ‘Propaganda’:
    I
    have been contacted by the Police and asked to go in for an interview tomorrow
    (June 16) and discuss how I came into possession of this documentary. On legal
    advice I am posting this statement: on a recent trip to visit family in Seoul I
    was approached by two North Korean defectors with a request to translate a
    film. The following day I met with them and they handed me a disc with a copy
    of the film, which they said had recently been brought into the country by a
    defector new to their group. They asked me to translate the film and “make
    sure the world saw it” and an agreement was made to protect their
    identities (and mine). Despite my concerns about what I was viewing, I
    proceeded to translate and post the film here because of the extraordinary
    content. As I have posted earlier, I don’t believe this film was ever intended
    for a domestic audience. I believe the ‘defectors’ specifically targeted me
    because of my reputation as a translator and interpreter. The fact that I have
    continued to translate and post the film in spite of this belief does not make
    me complicit in their intention to spread their ideology. I’ve chosen to keep
    posting this film because – regardless of who made it – everyone should see it
    for the issues it raises. Please share the uploaded parts while it’s still on
    YouTube. I believe it is my right to share this film and that is what I will
    tell the Police tomorrow.

     

    Thank
    You,

     

    Sabine

    • Monkey See Monkey Do

      Good luck tomorrow with the cops, which country do you live in? It’s certainly strange the police want to talk with you. They probably want the names of the defectors.

      • Jalbert234

        COME ON!!! How can you fall for ‘Sabine’s’ rubbish! This is an American made bitter and angry conspiracy film with no positive message at all. It wants to create fear of a different kind. At least the film-makers should just say they made it rather than this hocus pocus N Korea ‘Viral’ idea rubbish.

  • Jalbert234

    Come on people, this is just total American conspiracy style bitterness, the likes of which we’ve seen in lots of documentaries. This was not made by North Korea!!! This is an American made doc. Good concept, but a very angry and bitter warped message with some truths mixed in.