A New American Tradition:
Watching “The Interview”
By
Robert Fine
It is with great joy that I just learned that we can now all watch “The Interview” on YouTube, for $5.99 of course. Yesterday, a number of independent theaters around the country came to an agreement with Sony to show the picture starting on Christmas Day, including my very own local theatre, around the block, The West End, here in Washington, DC. Big shout out to The West End.
On this Christmas Eve 2014, I do greatly cherish my personal freedom to watch any movie I like. Even a potentially stupid, crass and possibly very insulting movie such as “The Interview”. I haven’t watched it yet, so that’s just one possible movie review. Living in Washington, I don’t take lightly the potential of terrorist events, or a nut job with a gun jumping the White House, but when we are cowered into not wanting to attend a movie because of hacker threats online, we defeat the purpose of what we’ve been fighting for since 9/11, and even farther back.
In the scheme of things, it might seem trivial all this nonsense over a comedy movie like “The Interview”, but it is what freedom allows us in this country. It’s very easy as an American to take these freedoms for granted. China, a 21st Century economic and military superpower does not allow these basic freedoms to their population. The simple choice to watch any movie we want, no matter how controversial, stupid or insulting, is an important freedom that makes America and other countries like it, places worth living, and protecting.
So, as a proud American, I’m going to do my civic duty, besides voting, and watch “The Interview” tonight, this Christmas Eve. I wouldn’t be surprised if this became a new annual American tradition, like watching “A Christmas Story” twenty-four hours a day.
You can watch “The Interview” now on YouTube here.
