{"id":5666,"date":"2013-07-03T01:00:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-03T05:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=5666"},"modified":"2013-07-03T14:42:23","modified_gmt":"2013-07-03T18:42:23","slug":"how-to-make-a-film-in-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/how-to-make-a-film-in-north-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Film in North Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NK_585x585\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However much a government interferes with the lives of its population it seems to never try to dictate the expression of art from its creative citizens.\u00a0 Over the centuries and throughout the world art has been the one medium in which people could express their concerns, hopes and dreams without political intrusion.\u00a0 The early and mid 20th<\/sup> century created a small blip, with its wars and political posturing oppressive governments used the medium and emerging film technology to instigate government controlled art and film propaganda to construct notions of statehood and patriotism in a time of conflict.\u00a0 The most apparent examples were the socialist realism that emerged from the former Soviet Union and its sphere of influence and of course Hitler\u2019s Germany. \u00a0At present when governments try to interfere with the production of films within their own country they are target of bitter criticsism by the artistic community.\u00a0\u00a0For example in 2011 British Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that the UK film industry produce more \u2018commercial\u2019 and \u2018rewarding\u2019 films in the same vein as The Queen<\/i> (2006) or The Kings Speech<\/i> (2010) that could turn a profit and also promote a grand appearance of The United Kingdom to the world.\u00a0\u00a0The backlash came from far and wide with British filmmakers such as Ridley Scott and\u00a0Hollywood veteran Robert Redford\u00a0denouncing Cameron\u2019s narrow and capitalist view of artistic expression. In most modern societies artistic expression is required to be isolated from the establishment so that it can freely comment, analyse and criticise it. \u00a0There is however still one place left in the world that dictates the production of art and film, that place is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or as its often known to the outside world North Korea. \u00a0North Korea’s leadership has for decades put the needs of its own social revolution and outward appearance before that of individual artistic\u00a0endeavour. This has meant that the\u00a0film\u00a0and artistic output of\u00a0North Korea directly corresponds with the leadership\u2019s outdated socialist ideology that it peddles to its citizens and the world.<\/p>\n

To understand the restrictive nature of filmmaking and art in North Korea, we must first understand the ideology that informs the nation.\u00a0 Every aspect of daily life in North Korea is to serve the leadership and the country\u2019s own official Juche ideology.\u00a0 A rudimentary version of the Juche ideology was created in the late fifties and early sixties at a time when North Korea\u2019s economic and social structure was fairly strong, at least compared to its southern neighbour.\u00a0 The Party Leadership required an ideology similar in socialist values to that of Marxism, Stalinism and Maoism, as the country was founded on the military assistance of both Chairman Mao and Stalin.\u00a0 The Juche ideology is credited to the country\u2019s eternal president Kim Il-Sung, however it was his son Kim Jong-Il that pulled the loose threads of the ideology together and adapted the theory to all aspects of life and living conditions.\u00a0 In the early seventies Juche became official doctrine of the county, replacing any remains of the communist Isms. To an outsider of North Korea (and some might argue even an insider) the Juche ideology is virtually impenetrable.\u00a0 Reading any North Korean communiqu\u00e9 is comparable to being bludgeoned over the head with a mighty hammer and sickle.\u00a0 The basic premise from the Juche ideology is this:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The people must have independence in thought and politics, economic self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in defence.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully in revolution and construction.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Methods of revolution and construction must be suitable to the situation of the country.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The most important work of revolution and construction is moulding people ideologically as communists and mobilizing them to constructive action.<\/p>\n

These four points are in terrible contradiction to the reality of North Korea today, where no freedom in political thought exists and where policy certainly does not reflect the \u201cwill and aspirations\u201d of the masses, when internal policy that serves to maintain power of the leading elite has crippled the economy and left most the population starving, homeless and reliant on food and medical aid from NGO\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Hypothetically speaking making a film in North Korea would be equally a frustrating and liberating prospect. \u00a0The Juche doctrine on filmmaking that Kim Jong-Il authored in 1987 titled The Cinema and Directing<\/i> is a manifesto for filmmakers that deeply imbeds the ideology into every aspect of the creative process with militant use of language. \u00a0\u00a0The first chapter of the book: \u2018The Director is the Commander of the Creative Group\u2019 sets the tone.\u00a0 The idea proposed in this chapter is that the director holds the creative vision and flair, but cannot accomplish his vision without the creative group, therefore the production team becomes akin to a military unit, working together in harmony and equality with each other. \u00a0It is somewhat refreshing to read praise for the lowest production member who goes unnoticed in so many mainstream Western productions; \u201cSince the film is made through the joint efforts and wisdom of many people, every participant in the production should fulfil their role and responsibility like the master he is.\u201d\u00a0 (Kim 1987, 7).\u00a0 In comparison to the Hollywood system the use of solidarity and comradeship is nonexistent in the age of egotistical and dictatorial directors such as Titanic<\/i> and Avatar<\/i> director James Cameron.\u00a0\u00a0 In fact the egotists of Hollywood could learn something from this manifesto in sharing and exploring their creative vision with others:<\/p>\n

In analysing and considering a production the director should not be too egotistical.\u00a0 Every artist has his own creative individuality and may have different views on a production.\u00a0 If the director does not take this into account and holds his own views and ignores the opinions of other creative workers, it will be difficult to establish a uniform view on a production (Kim 1987, 10).<\/p>\n

The strength of the new system lies in the fact that it guarantees the solid unity and cohesion of the creative group based on the Juche idea and gives full play to the awareness and credibility of all the members and the director\u2019s guidance goes deep into the creative work and life so as to bring about an uninterrupted flow of innovation (ibid, 9)<\/p>\n

The text appears to offer incredible creative freedom for the production group, from the director to the key grip there is a sense of artistic duty to perform, but in reality this is an illusion.\u00a0 All of North Korea\u2019s film output is designed solely as propaganda that glorifies the leadership, the nation and the doctrine of Juche.\u00a0 No film or art can criticise or comment negatively on the hardships faced by the Korean people throughout the past decades nor condemn the military or leadership.\u00a0 All film production must adhere to the Juche ideology and as point four above clearly states must mould its viewers ideologically as communists.<\/p>\n

The basic duty of the creative group is to make revolutionary films of high ideological and artistic value, which make an effective contribution to arming people fully with the Party\u2019s monolithic ideology\u2026 (ibid, 9)<\/p>\n

In other words nothing contained within the film can go off message from the Party line.<\/p>\n

The ideological kernel of a production is the seed which the director and all the other creative workers should bring into flower through their collective efforts and wisdom\u2026Therefore, the director should be very careful that none of the creative team loses the seed or introduces anything which has nothing to do with it. (ibid, 12)<\/p>\n

One only assumes that the \u2018seed\u2019 to which Kim Jong-Il is encouraging the film crew to bring to flower is the Juche ideology itself.<\/p>\n

There are many admirable aspects of The Cinema and Directing<\/i>. It would appear that Kim Jong-Il would have perhaps been more comfortable in the director\u2019s chair as opposed to the dictators\u2019 throne.\u00a0 Without the nonsensical Juche popping up in virtually every paragraph, and the constant reminders that the film is for revolutionary purposes, the text almost serves as an ideal and practical film production manual.\u00a0 Certainly the aspect of comradeship and equality within the production unit is in itself revolutionary. Mainstream film production systems throughout the world, but especially in Hollywood, rely on the artistic vision and execution of the director.\u00a0 In North Korea the director is simply the leader of the unit and the film\u2019s production is a collective endeavour.<\/p>\n

There might be evidence to suggest that the new leadership in North Korea is loosening its grip on the arts or at least allowing outside influence to modernise the dated narratives of so many North Korean Films.\u00a0 In 2012 a joint British-Belgian-North Korean production titled Comrade Kim Goes Flying<\/i> premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.\u00a0 The film follows the exploits of a young girl as she attempts to leave her mundane life as a coalminer and work in the circus as a trapeze artist.\u00a0 The film is certainly at odds with past North Korean films in that it features a strong female protagonist, a first for North Korean cinema, and is in effect a romantic comedy.\u00a0 The doctrine of Kim Jong-Il\u2019s The Cinema and Directing<\/i> is not at all apparent nor is the current leadership\u2019s reestablishment of the Juche ideology.\u00a0\u00a0 Comrade Kim Goes Flying <\/i>may not change the situation in North Korea, but it points to a future in which art can be free from governmental control and fall into the hands of the people.\u00a0 When it does the freedom of expression that will follow will be hard to suppress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

However much a government interferes with the lives of its population it seems to never try to dictate the expression of art from its creative citizens. Over the centuries and throughout the world art has been the one medium in which people could express their concerns, hopes and dreams without political intrusion. The early and mid 20th century created a small blip, with its wars and political posturing oppressive governments used the medium and emerging film technology to instigate government controlled art and film propaganda to construct notions of statehood and patriotism in a time of conflict. The most apparent examples were the socialist realism that emerged from the former Soviet Union and its sphere of influence and of course Hitler\u2019s Germany. At present when governments try to interfere with the production of films within their own country they are target of bitter criticsism by the artistic community. READ MORE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":5769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,218,201,219],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5666"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5778,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions\/5778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}