If you are interested in watching films that feature surveillance as a theme or as a plot arc, the list below would be a good place to start.
Snowden
The film covers the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a former national Security Agency contractor, who was later disappointed by the intelligence community. He decided to leak classified data, and consequently became a fugitive because of disclosing NSA secrets.
The leaked NSA’s illegal surveillance techniques in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press. Snowden is a great film to watch if you want to get some insight into the magnitude and depth of state agency surveillance.
The Social Dilemma
The documentary raises concerns about the impact of social media on our privacy and our feelings and our political and social behavior.
The speakers featured in the film emphasize that our brains are being manipulated and rewired by algorithms that are designed to get our attention and distort our perception of reality.
Some of the former industry professionals featured in the film include:
Justin Rosenstein
The inventor of Facebook’s most ubiquitous feature, the “like” button, Co-Founder of Asana and One Project; Former engineering lead at Facebook; Former product manager at Google
Jaron Lanier
Computer scientist and founding father of virtual reality
Shoshana Zuboff
Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School; Author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism”
Jeff Seibert
Former Senior Director of Product at Twitter
Roger McNamee
Early Facebook investor; Author of “Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe”
Joe Toscano
Former Experience Design Consultant at Google; Author of “Automating Humanity
Cynthia Wong
Former Senior Internet Researcher at Human Rights Watch
Tristan Harris
Former Google Design Ethicist; Co-Founder & President of The Center for Humane Technology
They all imply that their original intentions behind the inventions were good but the tools they created evolved and are now being used for malicious purposes.
Black Mirror
Black Mirror is tv series that examines the modern society and how it would change with regards to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies. It highlights topics related to humanity’s relationship with technology, techno-culture and our shifts in behavior to match the technological advancements.
