North Korea Threatens To Nuke US With Copied Video Game Footage
from the so-is-that-infringement? dept
If you happened to check your favorite major news site in the past 24 hours, you probably already know about this incredibly strange video North Korea’s state media has been running, in which a peacefully sleeping Korean man dreams of a nuclear rocket detonating on American soil while Korean text is overlayed and Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World” plays in the background.
Awww, we think about you when we’re dreaming, too, you guys!
Now, since I can’t translate Korean, I can only assume the text amounts to some kind of assertion that Michael Jackson was taken long before his time by a massive American military plot and that a nuke up our rectums will be issued as retribution. Really, who can tell? But I’ll tell you what I can translate, and that’s video game footage. I say this because it turns out that North Korea, in the tradition of the Chinese Air Force, apparently decided to simply yank a bunch of nuke footage from Modern Warfare 3 to use in this wonderfully disturbing bit of propaganda. This side by side will show you the rip.
Essentially, that terribly frightening part where New York is ablaze is all from MW3, with an additional explosion or two added along side a grainy filter and ‘Ol Glory. For most normal people in The States, their reaction to this is probably, “So what?” But I know Techdirt readers aren’t all in the States, nor are they normal, so I’m sure amongst your first thoughts was, “Hey! That’s copyright infringement!” Well, the Forbes post got our juices flowing with this:
UPDATE: Activision actually DID have it killed, which is sort of hilarious.
America! So mark today as the day that copyright saved us all… And you people say we never have anything good to say about… Oh, wait… it turns out that the original video was actually taken down by the user who uploaded it (i.e., whatever North Korea’s version of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo is), so it wasn’t so much a victory for America! as it was a failure of America!’s media fact-checking efforts.
Filed Under: copyright, modern warfare 3, north korea, nuclear, threats, video games
Comments on “North Korea Threatens To Nuke US With Copied Video Game Footage”
I dream a dream…….dammit, it is back in my head now
I hate you Hugh Jackson
I may not agree with your daydreaming of gumby spaceships that rain fire on scenes from MW3, but I will defend to the death your right to make a video mashup of it…
Re: Re:
Given the current climate on copyright you might need to…
Missing a warning, at your peril!
I think your prejudices against those Krazy Norks have blinded you to a truth. The Norks have acquired tech to actually run Modern Warfare 3, and to capture motion pictures off a running video game! There’s a lesson here…
Re: Missing a warning, at your peril!
You didn’t really think they use those servers from the WPO for checking on patents did you?
Re: Missing a warning, at your peril!
OMG, they have murder simulators!!!
Re: Re: Missing a warning, at your peril!
We need laws to deal with this unprecedented cyberthreat! Call the US Congress and their infinite wisdom!
Re: Missing a warning, at your peril!
yeah its computer dude
OMG, next thing you know aliens will invade us and declare “All your base are now belongs to us”!!!
Re: Re:
Do these aliens look like Cats?
Does anyone know what the text says? It might not be a threat, it might just be some guy daydreaming about getting Modern Warfare 3 but can’t because of a release window.
Re: Re:
I wonder if they got HOMEFRONT!
Re: The translation
Here ya go: linkage
Re: Re:
Well played sir. 1000 internets to you!!
Re: Re:
Oh come on, their computers (can I call those things computers?) must be able to run bittorrent. Right? Is North Korea even connected to the Internet?
Ok this is too funny…
Possibly misinterpreting the video.
Coming from USSR and having experienced their propaganda, I think that everyone might be misinterpreting the video.
The usual communist line of propaganda goes as follows:
1. Our state is the best state in the world.
2. Our technological advances are surpassing those of capitalist pigs.
3. Our nation will flourish while the capitalist west will decay due to greed and decadence.
Keep in mind, this stuff is hammered into people’s brains 24/7 since childbirth. Knowing that and watching the video, here is what I see:
We are the most technologically advanced nation, and now we can travel into space. We will continue space exploration for the human kind while the west is decaying. Because people in the west are not blessed to live in the most technologically advanced communist nation (North Korea), they are surely soon to revolt. Queue footage of a city burning in flames of communist revolution.
Of course, I don’t speak Korean so I can be wrong.
Another journalistic failure by mainstream media.
Fringe nutbar makes a movie critical of Islam, Islamic world goes into frothing-at-the-mouth meltdown.
Foreign government makes an equal quality movie about actually murdering millions of people…meh.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out the AMERICAN government is actually behind this.
Re: Re:
I would.
I would not be surprised to learn though that all that panic inducing rethoric comming from Washington was really about paving the way to enable the government to do naughty things like attacking other countries without oversight or congress authorization.
NY Times: Broad Powers seen for Obama in Cyberstrikes
That story right there is what make me believe that the government was just fluffing people to make the case for grabbing more power and use it in an offensive way without having to answer to no one.
REGULATE NOW!
It’s clear that video games are turning North Korea into nuclear terrorists. Call your congressman today! Video games are the devil!!
Techdirt readers aren't all in the States, nor are they normal
Hey. Hey! I resemble that remark. 🙂
Re: Techdirt readers aren't all in the States, nor are they normal
I think he was referring to bob/AJ/ootb/usual critics.. 😉
I couldn’t stop laughing through the whole thing, then after reading the translation of the poem at Reddit I laughed harder.
Though one thing really bugs me about that video.
Why is it snowing in space???? WHY?
Re: Re:
Reminds me of Die Hard 4.0
A freaking supersonic jet should be insanely hot due to friction with air at supersonic speeds (I won’t mention engine heat). But Bruce can easily use it as a platform without further complications.
So yes, there can be snow in space. And noise, don’t forget noise!
Re: Re: Re:
Actually you’re wrong. It gets hot due to air compression on the leading edge of the aircraft, not due to air fraction.
It was sort of just floating around for a bit and metals tend to have good thermal conductivity (although it might not in this case for stealth reasons), so it’s conceivable the heating from supersonic speeds could have dissipated by the time he jumped on it.
Re: Re: Re:
Actually you’re wrong. It gets hot due to air compression on the leading edge of the aircraft, not due to air fraction.
It was sort of just floating around for a bit and metals tend to have good thermal conductivity (although it might not in this case for stealth reasons), so it’s conceivable the heating from supersonic speeds could have dissipated by the time he jumped on it. Well, his shoes might have been okay…I wouldn’t be so sure about touching it with his hands.
Additionally, he’s freaking Bruce Willis, you think standard physics apply to him?
Re: Re:
The video is funny.
The fact that it’s set to a muzak version of “We Are The World” is nothing short of classic.
And the North Korean dreams have been brought down by the might DMCA.
Hey!
Did the state department ship them the game consoles that can run MW3?