Translating into Русский. The English version is shown until it is ready.
South Korea ruling-party lawmakers decry 'anachronistic censorship' over film 'Assassin(s)'
Коротко
Lawmakers of the Democratic Party on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee issued a statement on Oct. 6 calling for an immediate halt to what they called excessive political attacks and anachronistic political censorship over the film “Assassin(s)”. They cited demands for the filmmakers and related staff to appear as witnesses at a parliamentary audit, talk of legal measures and unverified claims of external pressure over a state bank's investment. Separately, Newsis reported the film topped its second weekend at the box office, drawing 412,012 admissions from Oct. 2 to 4 and 2,233,963 cumulative admissions.
Читать полностью 2 мин чтения
Lawmakers of South Korea's Democratic Party on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee issued a statement on Oct. 6 calling for an immediate halt to what they called excessive political attacks and anachronistic political censorship over the film “Assassin(s)”. According to the statement, carried by Yonhap and Asia Economy, demands for the filmmakers and related staff to appear as witnesses at a parliamentary audit, references to legal measures and unverified claims of external pressure over a state bank's investment process amount to suppression of culture and art and an attempt at political censorship. [ 1 , 3 ]
The lawmakers said artistic imagination and conspiracy theories must be distinguished, arguing that a film implying a conclusion different from official announcements or raising questions should not be treated as immorality or historical distortion. Evaluating and interpreting a cultural work, they said, is entirely a matter for audiences and the public, and calls for an immediate halt to screenings would be a return to the cultural censorship of past dictatorships. [ 1 , 3 ]
They added that diverse interpretations of and questions about historical events belong in a free public sphere, not in a party-led campaign to denounce a specific work and talk of punishment, and called for an end to framing for political gain. Attempts to control the viewing or evaluation of a particular film, the statement said, reflect an arrogance that treats the public as objects of guidance, and the party said it would firmly uphold the principle that no political power may infringe freedom of expression or creative autonomy. [ 1 , 3 ]
Separately, Newsis reported that the film topped the box office in its second weekend, drawing 412,012 admissions from Oct. 2 to 4 and reaching 2,233,963 cumulative admissions, according to the integrated cinema ticketing network. The documents do not describe the film's content or the specific historical-distortion claims made by conservative critics, which are reported only as they appear in the ruling party's statement. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Почему это важно
The dispute puts a sitting parliamentary committee on one side of an argument over how a historical film may be read, and the ruling party has framed it as a test of whether any political power can limit expression and creative autonomy. Because the documents report the conservative side's objections only through the ruling party's statement, it is not clear from the coverage whether an audit, legal steps or a review of the state bank's investment have actually been pursued.
Ключевые факты
- Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee issued a statement on Oct. 6 about the film “Assassin(s)”. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The statement called for an immediate halt to what the lawmakers described as excessive political attacks and anachronistic political censorship. [ 1 , 3 ]
- It cited witness requests for the filmmakers and related staff at a parliamentary audit, talk of legal measures and unverified claims of external pressure over a state bank's investment process. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The lawmakers said artistic imagination and conspiracy theories must be distinguished, and that judging a film's interpretation belongs to audiences and the public. [ 1 , 3 ]
- They said calls for an immediate halt to screenings would amount to a return to the cultural censorship of past dictatorships. [ 1 ]
- Newsis reported the film drew 412,012 admissions from Oct. 2 to 4 and 2,233,963 cumulatively, according to the integrated cinema ticketing network. [ 2 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee issued a statement on Oct. 6 calling for an end to what they called excessive political attacks and anachronistic political censorship over the film “Assassin(s)”. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The statement cited demands for the filmmakers and related staff to appear as witnesses at a parliamentary audit, references to legal measures and unverified claims of external pressure over a state bank's investment process. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The lawmakers argued that artistic imagination should be distinguished from conspiracy theories and that interpreting a cultural work is a matter for audiences and the public. [ 1 , 3 ]
Пока неясно
- What conservative critics actually said about the film and who said it The documents report the conservative side's historical-distortion complaints only through the ruling party's statement, so the specific claims and speakers are not directly documented.
- Whether audit witness requests, legal action or an investigation into the state bank's investment have actually been pursued The documents describe these as things the ruling party says are being raised; no document confirms that any such step has been taken.
- What the film depicts or which historical events it addresses No document describes the film's subject matter; the dispute is reported only in terms of the reaction to it.
- The film's second-weekend box-office performance and cumulative admissions Reported only by Newsis, citing the integrated cinema ticketing network; no other document in the set carries these figures.
Что пишут местные СМИ
Хронология, местное время
- Yonhap publishes the Democratic Party committee members' statement criticising political attacks and censorship over the film. [ 1 ]
- Newsis reports the statement and that the film drew 412,012 admissions from Oct. 2 to 4, with 2,233,963 cumulative admissions, citing the integrated cinema ticketing network. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy reports the statement, including the call to stop framing the film for political gain. [ 3 ]