This actually happened several months ago, but it didn't catch the attention of the internet until early December.
(copypasta'd from KYM) "In early October 2015, Turkish doctor Bilgin Çiftçi was expelled from the Public Health Institution of Turkey for sharing a “totally looks like” image comparing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Gollum on Facebook (shown below). Additionally, Çiftçi was charged by authorities for violating a Turkish penal code stating that insults against the president are punishable by up to four years in prison.
During Çiftçi’s trial, he argued that the image was not insulting since the character is often interpreted as a hero. The judge subsequently called for an expert panel to evaluate Çiftçi’s defense made up of academics, psychologists and an expert on film and television, who would examine the case until the court reconvenes in February. On December 2nd, 2015, Redditor Karrakan posted an article about the court cast to /r/worldnews."
Putting aside how fucking ridiculous this is, it's hilarious to me that they're calling in an "expert panel" on Lord of the Rings to evaluate Gollum's character. I'm really hoping that it's a bunch of pretentious neckbeards.
And on a more serious note, this shows what a horrible fucking leader Erdogan, as if his attempts to undermine Turkey's secularism with his Islamist agenda or the fact that he spent Turkey's funds on a fucking 600+ million dollar palace weren't enough. Ironically, Gollum is a much more realistic, deep, and sympathetic character than Erdogan is, so I'd say that it's insulting to Gollum to be compared to him.
I really hope Dr. Çiftçi gets out of this. As a commenter eloquently put it, "Memes aren't meant to put you in jail, they are supposed to set you free."
(copypasta'd from KYM) "In early October 2015, Turkish doctor Bilgin Çiftçi was expelled from the Public Health Institution of Turkey for sharing a “totally looks like” image comparing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Gollum on Facebook (shown below). Additionally, Çiftçi was charged by authorities for violating a Turkish penal code stating that insults against the president are punishable by up to four years in prison.
During Çiftçi’s trial, he argued that the image was not insulting since the character is often interpreted as a hero. The judge subsequently called for an expert panel to evaluate Çiftçi’s defense made up of academics, psychologists and an expert on film and television, who would examine the case until the court reconvenes in February. On December 2nd, 2015, Redditor Karrakan posted an article about the court cast to /r/worldnews."
Putting aside how fucking ridiculous this is, it's hilarious to me that they're calling in an "expert panel" on Lord of the Rings to evaluate Gollum's character. I'm really hoping that it's a bunch of pretentious neckbeards.
And on a more serious note, this shows what a horrible fucking leader Erdogan, as if his attempts to undermine Turkey's secularism with his Islamist agenda or the fact that he spent Turkey's funds on a fucking 600+ million dollar palace weren't enough. Ironically, Gollum is a much more realistic, deep, and sympathetic character than Erdogan is, so I'd say that it's insulting to Gollum to be compared to him.
I really hope Dr. Çiftçi gets out of this. As a commenter eloquently put it, "Memes aren't meant to put you in jail, they are supposed to set you free."
