Matthew Miller’s North Korea Imprisonment As Explained By ‘Mean Girls’

After interviewing Matthew Todd Miller for NK News, journalist Nate Thayer called him “the tourist from hell." Miller, a 25 year old from Bakersfield, California, went to North Korea with the intention of being arrested, and was ultimately successful. He was released earlier this month.

Miller entered North Korea knowing no one. The notebook, which he called “over the top” in an exclusive interview with NK News, was discovered by authorities. He was in danger of becoming a pawn for competing power systems. Sound familiar? It should.

What happened to Miller is somewhat baffling, but can be explained no better than by the plot of "Mean Girls." The ex-political-prisoner is a little bit of Cady Heron and a little bit of Regina George--which is fine, as there is a little bit of Regina in all of us.

When Cady started at North Shore High School, after moving from Africa, she faced fears about making friends and learning the customs of a new place. Miller was similarly anxious, telling NK News he was afraid that he wouldn’t be arrested as planned.

Anyway, things got a little out of hand. Miller’s plan started to fall through when North Korea didn’t immediately seize on the opportunity to leverage his imprisonment against the U.S. That's similar to when Janis Ian thought she could use Cady for revenge on Regina but then that backfired… crap.