Watched this as a Netflix streaming video.
The nominal reason to make this documentary was to follow a couple of preteen age girl gymnasts who, along with thousands of other boys and girls, men and women, train daily for hours each day in preparation for the next Mass Games. They train with no guarantee that they will be chosen to perform. Their training even takes precedence over their classroom work.
North Korea is a very insular society, the people have a god-like reverence for their leader, the General, and his dead father, the founder and former dictator who they consider lives forever. Part of the method is to foment hatred for the American Imperialism, which is taught from early childhood. This is reinforced at every chance they get. Adults sometimes spoke of the invasion of Iraq, which they are taught might be the same fate for North Korea.
For those of us mostly ignorant of North Korea and its society, this film is a worthwhile viewing. What I noticed is the children are not too different from children all over the world, wanting to sleep late or watch TV instead of study, or even skip out of exercise class if they could. But the whole country, officials, parents, educators, are all so closely aligned in the mission of the country,that individualism must disappear in favor of the collective, the children end up following the destiny that is dictated for them.
It made me think somewhere between that, and the excessive permissiveness in many societies, is a good balance where children grow up with appropriate freedoms but still with the right amount of discipline.
The nominal reason to make this documentary was to follow a couple of preteen age girl gymnasts who, along with thousands of other boys and girls, men and women, train daily for hours each day in preparation for the next Mass Games. They train with no guarantee that they will be chosen to perform. Their training even takes precedence over their classroom work.
North Korea is a very insular society, the people have a god-like reverence for their leader, the General, and his dead father, the founder and former dictator who they consider lives forever. Part of the method is to foment hatred for the American Imperialism, which is taught from early childhood. This is reinforced at every chance they get. Adults sometimes spoke of the invasion of Iraq, which they are taught might be the same fate for North Korea.
For those of us mostly ignorant of North Korea and its society, this film is a worthwhile viewing. What I noticed is the children are not too different from children all over the world, wanting to sleep late or watch TV instead of study, or even skip out of exercise class if they could. But the whole country, officials, parents, educators, are all so closely aligned in the mission of the country,that individualism must disappear in favor of the collective, the children end up following the destiny that is dictated for them.
It made me think somewhere between that, and the excessive permissiveness in many societies, is a good balance where children grow up with appropriate freedoms but still with the right amount of discipline.