Fall of the Rebel Angels by artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1562)
Last week, I visited with a potential investor/partner. His company has produced many films, amongst other amazing projects. After hearing my pitch and passion for this story, he asked, “What movie has changed the world?” I responded that I’m not trying to save the world, but rather just have an impact on the lives of some people.
As I’ve pondered this question, I realize that the answer runs deep. Can media change the world? What’s its impact on society and culture? Could one film a heart? Could it spark a revolution? What is the battle we are fighting today, and how does information play into that? What movie has impacted your life?
The hero’s journey didn’t begin on earth—it began in the heavens. Every great story is a shadow of that first divine war between good and evil.
One of my favorite podcasts by Dr. Jack Logan is called The Ancient Tradition. One episode discusses the Great Primordial Theomachy, the great battle among the gods at the beginning. Dr. Logan points out that both in ancient texts and in today’s blockbuster novels and films, this motif, known as the combat myth, or the hero’s journey, is widely recognized. In Christopher Vogel’s book, The Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers, he says: “[T]he hero’s journey is not an invention, but an observation. It is a recognition of a beautiful design, a set of principles that govern the conduct of life and the world of storytelling, the way physics and chemistry govern the physical world.” He’s basically arguing that the hero’s journey has a divine source from which our greatest stories, our greatest literature, our greatest movies spring. And they resonate with the human spirit precisely because they express an eternal reality, or actual events that took place before the earth was created. Could it be that these stories resonate with us because they represent the divine model that each of us faces in our daily lives?
I think it’s important for us to frequently ponder this question: What is the purpose of our lives? If we don’t find the meaning of this question, then it can be exponentially more difficult to conclude what we should be doing with our time, resources, thoughts, energy, and will. Perhaps the focus of our lives should be centered on the purpose for which God put us here, which is likely to bring us the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment.
The greatest threat to tyranny is not guns — it’s imagination.
Suppose information from a movie could have such an impact that the powers of the earth would fear it coming forth. This reminds me of one of the themes from The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019), a four-season Amazon Prime Video series based on Philip K. Dick's novel. It explores a dystopian 1962, twenty years after the Axis powers won WWII, dividing the United States into a German-controlled East, a Japanese-controlled West, and a neutral Rocky Mountain zone. In The Man in the High Castle, the Reich has already won. Their propaganda has rewritten the meaning of World War II. Generations grow up believing the Axis victory was inevitable and justified.
Then the films appear.
They do something the Party fears most: they introduce evidence of a different past. But visual proof that another outcome existed. That is why Hitler fears them. Because if citizens see a world where the Allies won, then:
- The Reich is not destiny.
- History is not fixed.
- Power is not absolute.
- Reality itself is unstable.
The films function like a forbidden memory.
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” - George Orwell, 1984
George Orwell’s novel, 1984, is a dystopian future in which the world is divided into three perpetual superstates locked in endless war, and the nation of Oceania is ruled by an all-powerful Party led by the symbolic figure Big Brother. The government maintains control through constant surveillance (telescreens), propaganda, engineered language (Newspeak), and the systematic rewriting of history. In this reality, objective truth no longer exists. Reality itself is shaped by the Party, and independent thought is treated as a crime. The main character, Winston Smith, is a low-ranking member of a totalitarian regime that controls every aspect of life. The novel is a stark warning about surveillance, propaganda, and the terrifying power of controlling the past to control the future. The Party rewrites newspapers, alters photographs, and deletes people from history. The goal isn’t just censorship. It’s controlling what is real by controlling what is remembered.
If records disappear, events disappear.
If memory collapses, resistance collapses.
Truth becomes elastic.
Both stories argue that whoever controls the past controls reality itself.
Back to North Korea
Ever since reading the book “A Necessary Lie”, I’ve been fascinated by North Korea (NK). I am amazed that the two stories I mentioned above are fictional, but NK is not. It is a reality not only for those who live in that country but for all of us living elsewhere. And thinking about those living closest to NK, our friends in South Korea, makes my heart pound. I follow the articles published by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), and it seems almost daily that a headline like this one from yesterday appears: “Kim Jong-un Declares South Korea Eternal Enemy, Threatens Collapse.”
HRNK recently published a new research paper called The Reconnaissance General Bureau: The Kim Regime’s “Precious Treasured Sword.” Earlier this week, I was invited to join the discussion for the public launch of this paper. I learned that survival is the regime’s fundamental strategic objective. Before this Zoom meeting, I’d never heard of the regime’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), which is the country’s primary foreign intelligence agency. HRNK describes it as the soul or central nervous system of NK. However, NK’s RGB is “not only a military reconnaissance unit, but also a combat unit, a cyber warfare group, an espionage bureau, a criminal enterprise, a terrorist organization, and a revolutionary entity all organized under a single control and command network that directly reports to North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un.” See the HRNK.
This blew my mind.
Many are aware of the regime’s disdain for anyone who threatens their survival, or can become a political pawn because of stories like the 21-year-old American college student Otto Warmbier and the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the older half-brother of Kim Jong-un, at the Malaysian airport. While international law prohibits intentionally targeting civilians, some states maintain doctrines or practices that treat certain foreign individuals as legitimate targets when labeled as terrorists, enemy combatants, or threats to national security. The RBG maintains an operational doctrine that treats foreign citizens as legitimate targets. They are considered a terrorist organization in part because they will kill people who help North Korean’s escape from North Korea, amongst many other terrorist acts. Core to their ability to finance their survival and sustain the regime’s ability to fund its nuclear weapon programs are cyber warfare crimes. Stealing crypto. Cyber extortion. Call centers in Southeast Asia and Africa were established to commit fraud, theft, and cheat innocent organizations and people of their life savings. All of these activities destabilize our freedoms, create fear and darkness that dampens hope. They are doing it simply to survive, to maintain their way of life.
This is why vigilance matters. We inherit freedom from those who came before us, but it endures only if we have the courage to stand on the side of good and take action.
“Freedom is not more than one generation away.”
Ronald Reagan
By way of update, Matthew is working on the second draft of the script right now. We are developing marketing strategies for building an audience. We are refining the foundation's mission. We've finalized the brand and style guide. More to come soon.
Gratefully Yours,
Erik Felsted
