Twitter, Team America: World Police, and Kim Jong Il’s Legacy
Kim Jong Il’s death has prompted a massive reaction on Twitter since its announcement; but not of the late dictator’s life and what some might call a legacy, rather his infamous depiction in South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s 2004 comedy “Team America: World Police”.
Just in case you missed it the first time around, “Team America” is a satirical comedy about a clandestine team of terrorist-hunters squaring off against the late dictator and his wayward Hollywood allies.
Oh, and I should mention that the film was shot using marionettes rather than using actors or traditional animation.
Here is one of the film’s more famous scenes depicting Kim Jong Il to whet your interest while you contemplate finding the movie on Netflix:
[iframe src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/6z8iKVayOKk” width=”420? height=”315?]
According to NY Daily News, the film itself became a high-trending Twitter topic almost instantly after the Sunday announcement of the North Korean dictator’s death-by-heart-attack at the age of 69 in Pyongyang. Here are some of the reactions:
@imagethief posted:
“I will remember Kim Jong Il by observing 90 minutes of silence while I watch ‘Team America: World Police’ this weekend,”
FourFourTom posted:
“Kim Jong Il, Colonel Gaddafi, Osama bin Laden Saddam Hussein all dead within the last 5 years. Conclusive proof that Team America exists,”
So does art imitate life, or is it the other way around? Kim Jong Il (the real one, not the puppet) was a film-freak himself, reportedly owning a collection of over 10,000 DVDs. His appreciation of film was so deep that he even kidnapped South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok to make movies for his pleasure.
Gaddafi, UBL, Kim Jong Il, all in the same year. Are there any more Roger Moore Bond-era villains left in the world? And what about you? Are you renting “Team America: World Police” tonight?
