From TIME · Andrew R. Chow · · 3m
Hollywood turns on Big Tech with dystopian films
A new wave of movies casts tech titans as villains rather than heroes, but the industry may lack the power to change minds or survive the backlash.
In brief
A new wave of movies casts tech titans as villains rather than heroes, but the industry may lack the power to change minds or survive the backlash. Hollywood has shifted from celebrating tech founders to depicting them as villains in films about Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Altman, but weak box…
Tech heroes to tech villains
In two thousand fourteen, The Imitation Game celebrated Alan Turing as a hero building powerful technology. Now Hollywood depicts tech titans as villains exploiting their power.
The new wave arrives
This fall, films about Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Altman reject the techno-optimism of the Obama era and offer a damning referendum on tech.
The Social Reckoning's message
In The Social Reckoning, protagonists trying to hold Mark Zuckerberg accountable contend that the only way to get powerful people to change is to cause pain.
“the only way to get powerful people to change is to "cause pain."”
Tech strikes back
Elon Musk threatened to sue Musk director Alex Gibney for defamation. Amazon dropped Artificial from its slate because it has a fifty billion dollar investment in Sam Altman's OpenAI.
Different stories, same question
Alex Gibney's documentary Musk, Aaron Sorkin's drama The Social Reckoning and Nathan Fielder's You Can See Everything all ask why these flawed titans became the way they are.
Breaking the Rosebud pattern
The Imitation Game and The Social Network traced tech genius to emotional pain, rationalizing later harm. These new films conclude tech overlords chart a wayward course because they think differently and callously.
The PayPal Mafia playbook
Peter Thiel and the PayPal Mafia concluded Silicon Valley success required chasing relentless speed and scale at any cost, betting everything on a vision and selling myths to the public.
From soulful to robotic
Aaron Sorkin wrote Zuckerberg as petulant but soulful in The Social Network. In The Social Reckoning, Jeremy Strong plays him as robotic and cruel, making decisions via cold cost analysis.
AI's darker applications
The documentary NAZA, shot in Tel Aviv by two Oscar-winning Israeli directors, describes how AI tools enabled mass surveillance and bombing in Gaza, allowing officers to view victims as ants or targets.
“ants”
Apocalyptic stakes
Musk ends with a visualization of Elon Musk flying off into space as the earth explodes. Director Alex Gibney told TIME in September his dread levels are really high about AI's future.
“really high”
Weak box office, strong message
The Social Reckoning made seventeen million dollars, far below The Social Network's two hundred twenty five million. Musk grossed seven hundred thirty thousand dollars despite strong reviews.
Tech controls the response
Tech titans are withholding journalist access, controlling media presence through friendly platforms, owning film studios that could cut funding for critical work, and building AI to replace filmmakers.
Hollywood's last stand
Hollywood casts itself as an embattled underdog fighting for its life against Big Tech. But the problem is that it is already sitting inside Big Tech's gaping mouth.
“it's already sitting inside Big Tech's gaping mouth”
The takeaway
Hollywood has shifted from celebrating tech founders to depicting them as villains in films about Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Altman, but weak box office returns suggest limited impact on public opinion.
