Christopher Hitchens: North Korea = George Orwell's 1984

[halflifeproductionz]

the dear moron is dead, haha.

[luizcadu]

That was the first thing I thought when I saw a documentary about North Korea. It's as close as it can get to "1984".

There are radios in the residences that spill out propaganda 24 hours a day, and they can't be turned off. People worship the "great leader" as if he was God. You can't even move from city to city within the country.

I had never realized what a powerful weapon brainwashing is, until I saw this documentary.

[anonomous1324]

To see what he is talking about, I advise looking up "Welcome to North Korea" here on youtube.

On a somewhat related note, why does nobody question it when a leader, believed to be a god, dies (of natural causes to boot)?

[tipoomaster]

@anonomous1324

Pretty sure the official response is that his ghost is still leading the people. Like Hitchens so eloquently put it, its a necrocracy.

[mleeson94]

Insanity. North Korea, that is.

[batgirl217]

I thought North Korea was founded in 1948.

[SouthernMilitaryGuru]

@batgirl217 It was, but 1984 was published in 1948 so the analogy remains valid.

[hejcoze]

Before anyone asks: It's a flag of Kurdistan.

[tipoomaster]

@hejcoze

Yes, he always wears that on his suit.

[Morclaw]

@hejcoze And I guess he had nothing to do with planting you in the audience xD

[IranianAtheism]

@hejcoze Why the Kurdish flag?

[tipoomaster]

@IranianAtheism

Hitchens supports a separate Kurdish state.

[pensword5]

I must imagine that "chirp chirp chirp" in korean bird language must translate roughly into, "asshole in a track suit wearing queer sunglasses"

[la2111]

The trinity has been realised, Kim Jong-un son of Kim Jong Il, has been recently unveiled as the holy ghost lol

[writersblock26]

@la2111 Well, since the Holy Spirit is essentially amorphous, I think a better approximation would be the "Juche" ideology.