Sony Pictures leak: How North Koreans are always the baddies

Hollywood has cast North Koreans as convenient baddies and figures of fun in a lot of movies, now the Communist state is getting a bit fed up.

North Korea has refused to deny it hacked Sony Pictures, following claims it was behind leaks of films such as Annie.

While the FBI is investigating the cyber-attack, a spokesman for North Korea's UN mission said: "The hostile forces are relating everything to the DPRK (North Korea). I kindly advise you to just wait and see."

A film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco has caused the row. The Interview, an action-comedy about a TV show host recruited by the CIA to assassinate current North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, has been described by the secretive state as an "undisguised sponsoring of terrorism".

Although Kim Jong-il (Jong-un's dad) famously loved films, reportedly owning more than 20,000 videos and DVDs. His son appears to be much less of a movie fan.

Kim Jong-un complained to the United Nations and the US over the comedy film in June, asking for it to be withdrawn.

But it's hardly the first time North Korea has been stereotyped as a bit of a crazy, possibly very scary place. Here's Newsbeat's guide:

Die Another Day

The two main baddies in this Bond film are North Korean: Colonel-turned-playboy Tan-Sun Moon and his henchman Zao, with his gem-studded face.

Portrayed as thugs and playboys, Moon and Zoa both meet a sticky end; Zao in freezing water, impaled on a chandelier while Moon is electrocuted at the hands of his own hi-tech suit, activated through Bond's cunning.

There were protests in Seoul, South Korea over the way the two countries were represented in the film. Colonel Moon was dramatised as wanting to invade the South

Ricky Yune, who played Zao

GI Joe: Retaliation

Bruce Willis and The Rock, who starred in GI Joe: Retaliation

The opening scene sees a North Korean guard have his coffee cup shot out of his hand and the North Korean flag replaced with the GI Joe banner.

North Koreans, while not actually the main bad guys, seem to be the go-to villains for opening scenes. (see Salt)

Salt

Angelina Jolie at the premiere of Salt

The opening scene from this 2010 film sees Angelina Jolie (Evelyn Salt) being tortured at the hands of the North Korean government, which suspects she is a spy.

Despite this, the film as a whole looks at the tense relations between Russia and the US.

Olympus Has Fallen

In this film starring Gerard Butler, North Korean terrorists are portrayed as the biggest threat to international security since 9/11.

In semi-apocalyptic scenes, the White House burns, the skies turn black with smoke as bombs hit Washington and the threat of nuclear destruction at the hands of fictional North Korea comes terrifyingly close.

Part of the poster for Olympus Has Fallen

However at the time the film was released, Gerard Butler told The Washington Times: "We made a point about not making it about North Korea.

"These bad guys could have been from the Middle East, could have been from an African country.

"They could have been from anywhere. The point is it's an attack on the freedom and sovereignty of America."

Red Dawn

Josh Hutcherson, who is currently starring in The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 1, also acted in Red Dawn

The remake of Red Dawn, featuring Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas and Josh Hutcherson, made a conscious decision to change the nationality of the baddies, from Chinese to North Korean, reportedly spending $1m on tweaking various flags and badges after a backlash from the Chinese government.

According to the LA Times this was a commercial decision, with Chinese audiences seen a valuable export market for US films.

The original 1984 film, set in the Cold War era, saw Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze battle against Cuban and Soviet insurgents.

Team America

Kim Jong-il was mercilessly mocked in this satire, his song I'm So Ronery playing on the racist stereotype that people from Asia cannot say their Ls. The Kim puppet sang that he was "sadry arone... sitting on my rittle throne".

Kim Jong-il in the film Team America: World Police

The true situation in North Korea is not funny. As many as two million people have starved to death since the mid-1990s, according to aid agencies.

A United Nations report from earlier this year found the regime guilty of "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" and "crimes against humanity".

And the totalitarian regime forbids speaking out against conditions.

One North Korean defector told the BBC how her grandfather had been incarcerated in a prison camp for a "slip of the tongue".

He said that in the camps prisoners were fed to the dogs as punishments and dead bodies were left to rot where they fell.

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