I think I better flag this highly salient film-related piece up. By Will Gompertz, it discusses Selma, a forthcoming biopic of Martin Luther king, demonstrating it’s relevance today. In the sixties, a black president was unthinkable; yet despite Obama being in the white house, racism is still a major problem, both in America and here. As Gompertz points out, events in Furguson this year made the timing of the film’s release quite uncanny, bringing the question of police racism front and centre once again; the situation is as tense as it ever was. We also have the issue of censorship and free speech cropping up this week in relation to North Korea: I don’t quite know what to make of that row, but Gompertz makes a link, stating that, given freedom of expression is enshrined in the American Constitution, Sony’s decision not to release that film is quite staggering. I think I agree; sony seems to be kowtowing to despots, effectively setting a very worrying precedent. Are all American film houses going to have to restrain themselves for fear of offending someone from now on? That would blunt this sharpest of tools. What would Dr. King have said?