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Our earlier post on the North Korean Superbowl rocket attack ad proved so popular that we decided to once again consult renowned media analyst Dr. Daniel Marcus (he’s a “doctor” kind of like Jerry Buss was a “doctor”) for his views on Uriminzokkiri’s latest offering.
As Dr. Marcus observes, “the images come from a variety of places, times, and events, so it is not that they are specifically aligning themselves with Iran or Qaddafi or whomever. Rather, they are aligning themselves with a general practice and reaction against the United States that takes the form of flag-burning in the Middle East. This allows them to be flexible in declaring or maintaining specific alliances, without tying them too closely to any one tendency, other than surging anti-Americanism. The video ends with images of the North Korean military, which shares the anti-US attitude but with striking differences. Whereas the flag-burning scenes are chaotic and presented in random order, and feature the most rudimentary means to combat American imperialism, the images of the NK forces show their discipline and sophisticated weaponry. This is not a rabble, but an organized and trained fighting force, now laden with nuclear arms. Who better to lead the anti-imperialism forces? The US has made a practice of attacking countries which have featured such scenes as the flag-burnings, but an attack on NK would engage a complete different and more fearsome type of foe. Using video of the NK forces, after photos of the flag burners, reinforces the energy and discipline of the parade footage, within an organized sequence of cuts.
Two other points: the global map that features Korea in red at the end seems to not differentiate between North and South, reinforcing the unification theme of other videos; and the video ends with flying doves, representing freedom and peace, the ultimate aims of the NK government, once the American threat is eliminated.”
