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Hey readers! Andrew here. Welcome to the Wednesday edition of Internet Insider.
Today in her “Now Streaming” column, our Senior Culture Reporter Audra dives into how Hulu censoring portions of Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn just proves the film’s entire point.
As always, we’ve also got the most essential news from across the ‘net today—including how a new hack could end up being a huge deal.
Let’s dive right in.
—A.W.
BREAK THE INTERNET
HACKING: A cybercrime group is claiming that it compromised Okta, an authentication company used by thousands of organizations across the globe. Our Tech Reporter Mikael spells out what the hack means and explains why it could turn out to be a huge deal.
UNHOUSED ON TIKTOK: Our IRL Reporter Tricia has a great feature on how viral videos on TikTok are rapidly transforming the public perception of what modern-day homelessness looks like. You can check out her report here.
STARLINK: Shortly after the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine, Elon Musk said that “thousands” of his Starlink satellites to help keep Ukrainians connected to the internet. But are those satellites actually making a difference?
Hulu censoring ‘Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn’ proves its point
Using the horror of a leaked sex tape to explore Romanian culture—especially during the pandemic—Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a layered but unwieldy look at outrage. It takes a big swing with its unconventional structure, and some viewers will tap out early, but it’s one of the more memorable films I’ve seen this year.
It’s now on Hulu, which is great because it should be available to a wider audience.
Unfortunately, it’s also been censored in its journey from festivals to streaming.
The film begins with the entirety of the sex tape, but Hulu’s version has a colorful card over the more explicit parts, as critic Alison Willmore pointed out last week. Placed there by director Radu Jude, the text reads “Censored version, folks!!! Censorship = money,” alongside quotes from Frank Zappa and E.E. Cummings. Yes, this film is a comedy.
On the same Disney-owned streaming platform where Sebastian Stan has an extended conversation with his semi-erect prosthetic penis, a few minutes of unsimulated sex is apparently too much. Amazon’s version is also reportedly censored. Russia outright banned it last summer. The uncensored version is on iTunes, and seeing that version is vital to the whole message of the film.
Broken up into three chapters, BLBOLP first follows Emi (Katia Pascariu), a history teacher, as she walks around Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
Jude lingers on signs, people, and buildings long after she’s walked on. It’s a meditative walking tour, but Emi is consumed by the fact that her husband uploaded a private sex tape they made, and now students and faculty have seen it (and the reuploads). The middle part is a series of videos, images, and concepts; bits of Romanian history, some of it horrific and incriminating, some of it censored.
The third chapter is Emi facing the outraged parents of her students, and the film devolves into a satire of Romanian society during the pandemic. After being humiliated online, Emi is humiliated in an outdoor setting, one that slowly becomes farcical as the evening wears on and the masked throng devolves into misogyny, racism, and conspiratorial thinking.
The ending is truly something to witness—if you’re watching the uncensored version.
BLBOLP is a radical entry for Jude, who’s considered part of the Romanian New Wave. The film calls out hypocrisy as it applies to politics and institutions of power.
A streamer like Hulu censoring it just proves its point.
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BEFORE YOU GO
A TikToker has gone viral after sharing several “terrible” job interview experiences. The video, posted by user Ken Waks, tells the story of three different job interviews, each one horrible in its own way.
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