Photo by KNS/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 In the 1990s, a large group of prisoners were released from North Korea’s secret labor camps. These were not criminals, nor were they even political enemies. On the contrary, they were, in the words of a defector, the grandchildren and even great-grandchildren of “landlords, capitalists, collaborators with the Japanese colonial government, and other people with bad family background.” The Soviet Union once arrested the wives and children of political prisoners, and Russia recently sent the brother of a dissident politician to prison. But North Korea kept generations of families living in camps for decades on end. 
 
 And some of them are still there. Even some of those who were apparently released 20 years ago never left: With no homes and no ties, and no knowledge of life outside the gulag, many decided to simply stay put. They were “free”—but had nowhere to live except the same prison barracks they had always known. Others do seem to have vanished, but not because they were released. The number of prisoners in North Korean camps is thought to have dropped in recent years, yet there is no evidence of anyone leaving. Instead, prisoners—possibly tens of thousands of them—may well have died of starvation. 
 
 This, then, is the nature of the regime that has been so much in the news for the past month: It imprisons whole families for generations. When food is short, it quietly allows thousands to die off. And it keeps such tight control over its camps that information about them is extremely hard to come by, even in a world of omnipresent telephones and instant messaging. Organizations such as the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea go to extraordinary lengths to follow what happens inside the country using satellite photographs and information from defectors. But those who do escape over the Chinese border sometimes take years to get to South Korea, suffering beatings, rape, and starvation along the way. By the time they arrive, their memories of the prison camps can be years out of date. 
 
 There is something about the harshness and the evil nature of the North Korean regime that defies imagination. 
 
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 Worse, their stories can be hard to absorb. It’s not easy to relate to the defectors themselves. They are often shy, emotionally stunted, and unable to adjust to life in South Korea or anywhere else. I once heard several North Korean ex-prisoners speak of their lives behind barbed wire at an event on Capitol Hill. The stories they told were appalling. But although the audience listened dutifully, it was clear they were waiting for some congressman to denounce the regime in more familiar language. 
 
 Perhaps that helps explain why their years of efforts have had less impact on public policy than the news that North Korean hackers may have broken into the computer system of Sony Pictures, and may even have released some gossip about Angelina Jolie, in revenge for the release of The Interview, an unfunny comedy about the North Korean dictator. I don’t mean to downplay the danger of hacking—the next target could be a nuclear power plant. But it’s still amazing that Sony’s troubles, and North Korea’s possible involvement, persuaded the American president to impose more sanctions last week. Multiple reports of massive human rights abuse over many decades never had the same effect. 
 
 And perhaps they never can. There is something about the harshness and the evil nature of the North Korean regime that defies imagination: It’s so bizarre that it makes us laugh rather than cry. Even the makers of The Interview were unable to conceive of the regime except in the crudest, slapstick form. Kim Jong-un, like his father, Kim Jong-il, is easily made into a figure of fun, a joke of a Hollywood bad guy. We read eagerly about his exploits playing basketball, just as we read about his father’s alleged obsession with Elvis Presley and his fear of flying. ||||| The prevailing (though likely wrong) theory behind Sony's recent hack-disaster is North Korean revenge, a national strike against the studio for its movie depiction of Kim Jong Un's assassination. And according to leaked emails obtained by Gawker, Sony executives were worried about the flick even before they got hacked. 
 
 A previous report by Bloomberg said Sony execs altered the gory finale of The Interview, toning down the extent to which Kim Jong Un's head is exploded and set aflame. But the movie faced more problems than just Supreme Leader's immolation scene—Sony executives and distribution partners around the world were worried that the movie was too offensive, "desperately unfunny," and worst of all, starred James Franco. 
 
 Emails sent from UK Sony Pictures exec Peter Taylor to president of Sony Pictures Releasing International Steven O'Dell are particularly harsh, describing the comedy as a "misfire," "unfunny and repetitive," with "a level of realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie." Taylor holds one of the film's co-stars in particularly low regard: "James Franco proves once again that irritation is his strong suit which is a shame because the character could have been appealing and funny out of his hands." 
 
 In other words: Not the kind of movie you want to risk an international incident over. 
 
 The truth is, Sony's been worried about this for a long time. The company was so concerned about angering China that Nigel Clark, the head of international marketing, emailed a script of the movie to the general manager of SPE China, Li Chow, back in December 2013. Chow writes that "it is unlikely that Sony will be hurt by making the film" but suggests changing "the part... when they sneak into China to get into N. Korea": 
 
 Dear Nigel, I read the script and it is difficult to say whether the government will object. In times when there is no political tension in the region, it would not be a problem. Films that had run into problems are because China is directly involved. In recent years, China seems to have distanced itself from N. Korea and it is unlikely that Sony will be hurt by making the film. Having said that, the part that would need to be changed is when they sneak into China to get into N. Korea because this will surely anger China. There are, of course, always risks involved because the government is reactionary and therefore, unpredictable. Best regards, Li 
 
 The movie was made—but a marketing PDF from October betrays the studio's uneasiness with the film, suggesting everyone stay away from its very obvious (and very bloody, heavy handed political themes): 
 
 For a movie that is literally about two Americans assassinating a foreign leader, that seems like an understatement. The studio is afraid to even let too many people know about the film's premise: 
 
 Sony's international distribution partners—who saw the movie at a screening in London in June—show a lot of uncertainty that anyone, anyone in the world, will enjoy this movie. 
 
 In the Netherlands, distributors worried about its "limited potential" thanks to an "unbalanced" "execution": 
 
 "The movie does start with a very strong opening scene with Eminem coming out and the plot of the producer and the talkshow host wanting to interview the North Korean dictator, but getting dragged into a murder conspiracy is for sure promising, but the execution is unbalanced at best and in the final action packed scenes, the movie spins completely out of control, unfortunately also making use of such gory violence that the age rating spikes to 16, hence limiting the audience from the start. The movie does have some funny moments, but all in all we feel that the movie has a limited potential in the Netherlands" 
 
 South Korea, understandably, wants nothing to do with the movie and its "strange North Korean accent," thanks in part to "the political issue about North Korea": 
 
 Dear Steven Although this is a fun and unique comedy film with good performance by main talents, all my staff requested NRP. Because main talents are still weak to appeal, vulnerable genre to our market and anticipated +18. Above all, it make a North Korean head too much caricature and strange North Korean accent is not acceptable to our audience. Also there would be a big potential to produce the political issue about North Korea as well. However, depending on the trend and phenomenon of social and political issues after openings in US and other major territories, we can review our release plan again. Best regards Sun 
 
 France thinks that French moviegoers will be turned off by the "facts improbability"—and also because French people don't think Rogen is funny: 
 
 The concept is crazy and fun, absurd in a good way, but for the French audience, I'm afraid they are going too far in the facts improbability. Unfortunately, Seth Rogen's humor doesn't really translate here, but maybe the release of neighbors in August will help to change French's opinion. 
 
 Taiwan is blunt: "We don't find it entertaining at all." The one bright spot in a movie that has "Seth Rogen's written all over it" is the presence song by Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou—though "all the rest seems to be only about selling Katy Perry songs: 
 
 We've just watched THE INTERVIEW, and to be very honest, we are a bit disappointed and don't think the film stands a chance in our market. The concept of THE DICTATOR meeting ARGO may sound fun, but probably due to culture difference, we don't find it entertaining at all. Not to mention our audience doesn't react well to jokes about foreign politics. And we also don't understand why it needs to get so violent in the end, which should get the film an R-18 rating here. THE INTERVIEW does have Seth Rogen's written all over it. He's not afraid of making fun of hetero/homo sexuality, drugs, politics, and even his own nudity. And this one again has Seth's favorite situational theme, about how true "bromance" can only be revealed at the time they drag each other into deep ShXt : ) The lines seem to be written based on Seth Rogen and James Franco, which reminds us a lot of PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Unfortunately it is the humor our audience does not embrace so much. The only nice surprise was hearing Jay Chou's song in the background when Seth visiting China in the film, all the rest seems to be only about selling Katy Perry songs. 
 
 The Interview currently carries a 40% "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes (that's awful), and its stars have gone silent to the press since the movie's premiere over the weekend. If Sony's data breach really is an act of North Korean reprisal, it's hard to imagine a movie less worth getting hacked over. 
 
 But there's some good news: at least one sophisticated demographic with highbrow taste thinks Sony's got a hit on their hands:
– The US has imposed new sanctions on North Korea over the Sony hack, and Slate writer Anne Applebaum finds it strange that a screwball comedy forced the hand of the White House, while "multiple reports of massive human rights abuse over many decades never had the same effect." This is a country that sends political foes—and their families—to labor camps for life and that lets its own people starve. And yet it took the hacking of a movie studio to trigger penalties. The problem is that "we can comprehend Sony," writes Applebaum, but we can't seem to comprehend the rest of what's going on there. "There is something about the harshness and the evil nature of the North Korean regime that defies imagination: It’s so bizarre that it makes us laugh rather than cry." But maybe there's hope from an unexpected source? At Vox, Alex Abad-Santos is glad that for all its crudeness and slapstick comedy, Seth Rogen's movie The Interview avoids portraying Kim Jong-Un as a "clownish Asian stereotype." Perhaps it's a sign that we're moving away from the representation of "goofballs" toward something more honest. Click for the full column, or for Applebaum's full column.