Flashback Review: The Lives of Others

by K.J. Wetherholt

In hearing about the 12 year sentence of lard labor for nothing more specific than "grave crimes" against North Korea, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are on the minds of many, including the realization that they are indeed pawns of a totalitarian regime bent on "proving" some sort of strength through the subjugation of others. Instead, it proves nothing but cowardice, for only a despotic regime would brutally subjugate others to prove a sense of power or control.

With this in mind, it reminded me of the film The Lives of Others, which I reviewed first in 2007 for the Humanitarian Media Foundation (HMF). I wanted to repost this here, because the issues are similar. North Korea is, like East Germany was during the Cold War, a communist regime which controlled its population through fear, tyranny, and an abject lack of personal freedom, believing that such methods were necessary for absolute power and control of its population. No one knew the truth about such regimes unless those inside were able to smuggle news out. While we do not know if Laura Ling and Euna Lee were across the border into North Korea from China, we do know that they were researching and doing a story on human trafficking. And it is true that now they have some sense what other citizens of North Korea most fear when facing off against the government. Continued...

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