My name is Julia and I love documentaries. My ideal station for movie watching is in bed, on my laptop, lights dimmed, notepad out. I’ve written documentary reviews for Franklin and Marshall’s college newspaper, maybe you recognize my column No Pudding Tonight… but I seriously doubt you would. 😛
North Korea has always been my Never Land. When I was younger, I saw a night picture of Earth from space, focused on the Eastern hemisphere. I didn’t know there was a N. Korea, but I saw it had no light. It became a mysterious black hole in my mind, and I wanted to know who lived there and why.
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Vice takes a fresh approach to the cultural content of today’s world, integrating falsities of American assumptions with the reality of everyday life. N. Korea is a truly fascinating place, with, what I would argue, the most unique population in the world.
It all started with a basketball game. Kim Jong-un loves basketball, and Vice wanted a way of snagging an interview with him, so they went ahead and took on the project, “The Hermit Kingdom: Diplomatic Basketball.”
Every so often N. Korea goes into a nuclear uproar of intense strangely-translated threats, they get a media spotlight in the West for a week, and then they go back on the global back-burner of human rights violations and torrential famine. This documentary was made during one of those tense moments in N. Korean news, and the friendships that were born from it are twisted yet inspiring.
Naturally, Dennis Rodman and the Harlem Globetrotters were on board.
At first, none of the crew knew what to expect, and you can see their fear from the moment they arrive. N. Korea is known for its isolated tours passing very specific monuments, and you can pick out practically the same dozen natives in any gallery of photographs from this country. They don’t let many N. Koreans see foreigners, and it’s near impossible to venture off the tour.
They eventually get around to the game and discover The Supreme Leader has gone all out on this event. An absolutely packed orderly stadium, with the country’s top young athletes standing in a single file line on deck for Vice’s amateur pick up game.
The whole trip was meant to give attention to N. Korea’s youngsters, but of course the Globetrotters were met by the tallest N. Koreans in the country. Dennis Rodman did the greeting and pleasantries.
After the game they have a formal dinner party off camera, at which point Dennis Rodman bonds with Kim Jong-un 4 lyfe. No kidding, the basketball legend declared that he has a personal friendship with N. Korea’s dictator, totally separate from his citizenship to the U.S., and considers their relationship distinctly unrelated to any political ties.
He returned to N. Korea after the documentary was made for another friendly basketball-related visit, but many were in uproar at his brash actions.
His response after agreeing he’ll never go back in an ESPN interview: “At least someone tried. So that’s how I look at it. You know, I don’t want to be a hero, I don’t want to be this, I don’t want to be that. I just wanted to be, just do happy things and do great things in life. That’s all I wanted to do. That’s it.”
He was bold, and there’s something incredibly awing in his motives. He tried to cut himself from the politics our world is trapped in, and give this stranger a pure connection to the outside, but it just wasn’t possible.
The close of the documentary shows a super crowded playground where the crew decided to jump out of the van and check the place out, a rarity for N. Korean visits. The officials were tense, but the scene itself turned joyful with small children practicing how to spin a basketball on their fingers, and smiles all around.
You can’t erase history, you can only make history. I say kudos to Rodman, and a dozen red delicious apples, for trying to change the world we live in by sharing a slice of humanity.
A little more info for you:
There’s a ton more to discover about N. Korea and its people — check out Vice’s Travel Guide! Every so often the country does a sort of ‘role call’ where if you’re missing from the country the family you left behind can get in… well, a ton of trouble. There are many many escape/return stories out there from migrant workers moving around S. Korea and China for work, but needing to return for this reason.
For the curious, there’s a start! Feel free to leave comments to circulate the informed.
AND ONE MORE THING: I love Seth Rogan and James Franco, for this reason and many others.
You Like Them Apples 