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meccalecca
Voice of Reason
Gender: Male
Location: The Land of Enchantment
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- #1
- Posted: 05/05/2016 16:15
- Post subject: North Korea
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Just want to see what other folks from elsewhere in the world think about North Korea.
I was watching the documentary The Propaganda Game about North Korea, and it made me question my own perception of the nation. It's undoubtedly a mysterious, isolated country. The documentary raised some questions about whether America's perception of North Korea is exaggerated due to our own propaganda machine wanting to portray them as something worse than they are. Simultaneously, it's very difficult to trust North Korea in the form that North Korea attempts to present.
The Spanish filmmaker was allowed within the borders to film. Obviously, he was closely monitored and guided. It seemed as though he wasn't even sure if the North Korea he was witnessing was real or staged.
I think Americans have been fed a very specific portrait of North Korea for various reasons (Communism, the Korean war, Cold War, etc), so I'm interested in what others perceptions of this place are.
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alelsupreme
Awful.
Gender: Male
Age: 27
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- #2
- Posted: 05/05/2016 17:03
- Post subject:
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Up there with the Khmer Rouge as the best examples of communism gone horribly, horribly wrong. More like an absolute monarchy than any sort of "Democratic People's Republic", and probably the most oppressive state in existence. Not the nuclear threat many like to paint it as - much like with Iran, people seem to think the leaders are fucking suicidal and are just itching to invite their own destruction - but still a disgraceful state, who's leaders ought to be strung up.
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meccalecca
Voice of Reason
Gender: Male
Location: The Land of Enchantment
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- #3
- Posted: 05/05/2016 17:12
- Post subject:
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| alelsupreme wrote: | | Up there with the Khmer Rouge as the best examples of communism gone horribly, horribly wrong. More like an absolute monarchy than any sort of "Democratic People's Republic", and probably the most oppressive state in existence. Not the nuclear threat many like to paint it as - much like with Iran, people seem to think the leaders are fucking suicidal and are just itching to invite their own destruction - but still a disgraceful state, who's leaders ought to be strung up. |
Yeah, that's pretty much the impression we have here in the States. And I think I believe it's true. They presented themselves in a very idealistic way to the filmmaker, which was extremely eerie. It's crazy to think about how much work they put into skewing the international perception. He convinced them to take him to a church, but it seemed as though it was all an act. And one of the defectors he interviewed backed that up.
One of the main questions raised at the end of the film is "where does North Korea get the money to stay afloat?"
It appears that China is keeping them afloat, because North Korea certainly cannot support itself.
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benpaco
Who's gonna watch you die?
Age: 27
Location: California
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- #4
- Posted: 05/06/2016 04:16
- Post subject:
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| alelsupreme wrote: | | Up there with the Khmer Rouge as the best examples of communism gone horribly, horribly wrong. More like an absolute monarchy than any sort of "Democratic People's Republic", and probably the most oppressive state in existence. Not the nuclear threat many like to paint it as - much like with Iran, people seem to think the leaders are fucking suicidal and are just itching to invite their own destruction - but still a disgraceful state, who's leaders ought to be strung up. |
As my gov teacher told us, the more times you have to affirm you're democratic in your name, the less true it is. "Democratic Republic of Congo", "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", "People's Republic of China", "Lao People's Democratic Republic", even East Germany was technically "The German Democratic Republic.
Also, and excuse me if I'm selectively remembering anything, but in the scheme of things Iran seems a lot more logical than NK. Perhaps it's because the whole region is a bit more ... complex, but Iran seems more willing to compromise and communicate than NK, especially in recent years.
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. . . 2016 . . . 2015 . . .
Things I Make
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BrandonMiaow
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- #5
- Posted: 05/06/2016 04:41
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I saw this story on tumblr and people were genuinely saying he deserved it. a few people mock-celebrating. it kinda made me feel sick. it seems like there's like...North Korea apologists? They were going on about "He visited the country he should have obeyed the laws" What a stunning lack of empathy, tbh. Even if you see him as an entitled white boy it doesn't change the fact that 15 years of hard labor is fucked.
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SquishypuffDave
Gender: Male
Age: 33
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Grzywa
Gender: Male
Location: Polska
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- #7
- Posted: 05/06/2016 05:47
- Post subject:
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| alelsupreme wrote: | | Up there with the Khmer Rouge as the best examples of communism gone horribly, horribly wrong. |
North Korea is an extreme example, but in fact communism didn't work anywhere in the long run. It is wrong in its essence.
_________________
Always shouts out something obscene
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Norman Bates
Gender: Male
Age: 51
Location: Paris, France
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- #8
- Posted: 05/06/2016 07:35
- Post subject:
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| Grzywa wrote: | | communism didn't work anywhere in the long run. It is wrong in its essence. |
Those two sentences don't have any logical link, or you'd have to prove it.
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Grzywa
Gender: Male
Location: Polska
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- #9
- Posted: 05/06/2016 09:06
- Post subject:
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| Norman Bates wrote: | | Those two sentences don't have any logical link, or you'd have to prove it. |
I'm from Poland. Communism fucked my country up and it will take generations to get over its consequences on all levels, particularly the mental one.
Utopias are good in literature and movies, but they do not work in practice.
And the further east you go, the worse it gets. I see no hope for some of the post-soviet countries, like Moldova or Tajikistan. Can you think of any positive examples, success stories ? I can't think of any. Look at Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, the list is long.
So yeah, from my perspective communism is just wrong.
_________________
Always shouts out something obscene
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Norman Bates
Gender: Male
Age: 51
Location: Paris, France
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- #10
- Posted: 05/06/2016 09:29
- Post subject:
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| Grzywa wrote: | I'm from Poland. Communism fucked my country up and it will take generations to get over its consequences on all levels, particularly the mental one.
Utopias are good in literature and movies, but they do not work in practice.
And the further east you go, the worse it gets. I see no hope for some of the post-soviet countries, like Moldova or Tajikistan. Can you think of any positive examples, success stories ? I can't think of any. Look at Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, the list is long.
So yeah, from my perspective communism is just wrong. |
All this doesn't prove that communism is "wrong in nature" in any way.
You'd also have to prove your examples are valid examples of "communism", by which I mean that most of your examples (the ones I know a little about at least) are actually examples of state capitalism gone very wrong indeed (but how could it be otherwise? Capitalism has gone wrong everywhere it's been tried, and therefore is wrong in nature  ).
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