***
Sony Pictures, the White House and the FBI should get a medal for the greatest political marketing triumph of 2014.
After the horror show following the November 24 hack of Sony Pictures by the Guardians of Peace (GOP), America rallied behind Washington’s theory that Sony was the hapless victim of a Cold War cyberattack. Kim is certainly an easy guy to dislike and no friend of the Americans – no friend of anybody but Kim for that matter. (He comes by it legitimately. His dad and predecessor once had an actor hired to play grandpa Kim Il-sung in a movie role, for which the actor underwent plastic surgery to more closely resemble a Kim; once the shoot was over, the actor was shipped off to a concentration camp.)
The triumph of Cold War marketing over any hint of Sony’s bad behavior is all the more remarkable given the nasty quarrels that have embroiled US stakeholders, press and critics of all stripes. Not to mention the fact that as recently as New Year’s Eve, cryptographer Bruce Schneier and others were still casting doubt on the official claim that the hack was carried out by the Kim regime.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Lining up for The Interview as an exercise in patriotism
“The fact that they’re showing this movie shows that America still has a backbone regardless of the critics,” said Jay Killion, a golf pro who caught a screening at Tower City Cinemas in Cleveland.
Continue reading →
The Kings of Content have always shown an intense and belligerent dislike for new technologies, regardless of their promise or popularity. History is littered with the embarrassing results. Take Jack Valenti.