We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (2012)

While I am fighting through this miserable cold, I decided to kick back and relax tonight. Luckily, Bren decided to find something interesting to watch. To my surprise, it was a documentary on a very polarizing subject. What was it? It was the 2012 documentary We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists.

Plot/ We Are Legion traces the collective's breathtaking evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown, global movement, one armed with new weapons of civil disobedience for an online world.

It has been a while since I ventured into a documentary, and this one may be one of the best I have seen in some time. This one is extremely informative and definitely is a great gateway inside the mind of the collective. Whether you are a fan of anonymous or not, the ideals that exist within the mutual voice should be applauded. Information is power and ideas are bulletproof, thoughts that the globalists that are attempting to overtake society fear and want to destroy. If you do not believe me, listen to some of the speeches by President Obama and candidate Clinton, they want to hand over control of the internet and control free speech to usher in totalitarian control throughout the world. This documentary does a great job at showing the hactivist movement from their humble beginnings, through their development through Reddit and 4chan, and to where they are today. One of the areas that were surprising was the overall lack of supervision or structure within the organization, creating a dynamic that could is both helpful and harmful to the organization. Overall, it does only focus on a few of the more notable causes, but it does show the viewer the power of the movement. In the end, if you would like to see a documentary that is informative and highlights a movement that is often misunderstood, you have to watch this. It is well worth your time!

The Fifth Estate (2013)

A few months ago, I sat back and watched Underground: the Julian Assange Story, a movie focused on the early career of one of the most famous hackers known. I should have stopped there. While I do support the whistleblowers and what Assange stands for, I cannot sit back and watch him and his efforts be drug through the mud by an agenda driven Hollywood establishment. That is exactly what is happening here in The Fifth Estate.

Plot/ A dramatic thriller based on real events that reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century's most fiercely debated organization.

I rented this thinking it was going to be a biopic, focusing on Assange and WikiLeaks. Unfortunately, while that is what it was called, it was more of a propaganda piece directed toward attacking Assange and further polluting the waters against him. Like him or not, his ideologies make sense, and he should be supported. This film is way too complex for what was trying to be portrayed. Based on multiple books (by legal enemies’ none-the-less) the disjointed feel is apparent from the start. There were some decent acting moments and a couple of decent visuals, but mostly it was a dialog driven and complex political thriller with an agenda. In the end, this movie is nothing close to Underground:  the Julian Assange Story, which talked about his early life and first major hack, that movie has a soul. This one is an agenda driven propaganda fest and should be skipped!

Underground: The Julian Assange Story (2012)

I decided that I needed a small break from the typical Horror or Sci-Fi I watch on a regular basis. After returning from a stage version of Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus, I decided that I needed something a touch more mellow. After some searching, I found an interesting movie title, one I had not seen before. That was the made for television entry Underground: The Julian Assange Story from 2012. 

Plot/ Julian Assange is one of the most significant figures of the twenty first century. But before he was famous, before WikiLeaks, before the internet even existed, he was a teenage computer hacker in Melbourne. This is his story. In 1989, he and two friends started an organization that would break into some of the world's most powerful and secretive organizations.

This made for television movie about the origins of Assange is phenomenal, especially for the budget. The acting is solid all the way around, the storyline amazing and the depth is perfectly harnessed by the soundtrack, cinematography and atmosphere. Honestly, as a made for television entry it is one of the best I have seen in some time. More importantly it delivers a message that the world must hear. Not based on the modern Wikileaks Scandal, this film is much more. It explores the darkness that exists on (what is now) the web and how much we as a society do not know, while showing the steps one will take to let the truth be free. No matter where you sit on the Wikileaks story or Assange, watch this movie. Watch it with an open mind and decide how far you would go to have the truth be told.