The Interview and its dilemna

The Interview just recently, got the green light to be aired in some cinemas in the United States, apparently after it had decided to scrap the movie due to threats from North Korea about a possible attack on the White House and The Pentagon. The Interview basically depicts how two reporters were mobilised by the CIA to kill North Korean Supreme leader Kim Jong Un. And this would have definitely been deemed provocative to North Korea.

The unveiling of this controversial movie was soon followed by a massive cyber attack on SONY studios which was coincidentally the one which produced the movie. The North Koreans subsequently denied the attacks, but many nations remained adamant that they were the culprits.

Threatening further attacks on if the movie were to be released, SONY decided to scrap this movie. However, in yet another turn of events, SONY decided that the movie be aired in cinemas around the United States. They could also be downloaded offline too, minimal fees chargeable.

Why has the authorities changed their mind so quickly on a decision that is as significant as it is not only to the company alone but to the nation as well?  When SONY decided to scrap the movie, it faced much criticism from many within and outside the US. Many felt that by doing so meant that SONY studios did acknowledge the threat and that it had in fact relented and caved in effectively legitimising the cyber attack.

Nevertheless, the incident may signal a new era of how war in the 21st century may be waged. The fact that a cyber attack could compel SONY to pull back its controversial movie suggests the inert strength that a cyber attack could bring about. This also thus explains why Obama opposed SONY for doing that. As people on the sidelines witnessing this event unfold, we will definitely urge SONY not to so easily cave in to the hackers' demands. However, if we were in SONY's shoes, it would have been a different thing all together. SONY is the direct victim of this cyber attack and would definitely understand what is at stake, and wouldn't be willing to take any risks.
However, there is a need for us to look at the bigger picture. This attack isn't on SONY alone, it is on the United States as well, thus it was best that they viewed this innocuous incident from the nation's point of view and just give the movie the go ahead, which was exactly what they did. And I think they made the right decision on this matter.