It’s almost the weekend. You’ve worked all week, sitting behind a desk, coding. You’re tired and need time to unwind. What will you be doing? Exploring all that Maine and New Hampshire has to offer? Or is this one of those weekends where you want to stay inside with a movie or two? If the later is what your weekend holds, don’t forget to check out a few of the movies on this list of top 10 tech movies!
Office Space:
This 1999 comedy, about technologists who work for a less than ideal software company, has become a classic. Office Space follows a handful of workers who don’t like their job, who are picked on by higher management, and who are frustrated by technology that doesn’t work (cue the printer). This satirical movie, with the tagline ‘work sucks,’ is sympathetic to the plight of IT professionals cbd bu.
The Social Network:
Released in 2010, The Social Network has garnered quite a following. The movie, about the founding of Facebook, won several major awards upon its release. While the drama covers more than the initial founding of Facebook, and spends a lot of time covering its lawsuits, the film has received critical acclaim for capturing the coding process more accurately than movies like The Net or Hackers.
WarGames:
Interestingly, this 1983 science-fiction movie is known for turning a generation of young children onto a career in technology. The movie follows a young hacker who, unknowingly, breaks into the U.S. government’s military system and almost starts a nuclear war. Although the technology is outdated to a 2012 viewership, it has become a classic due to the way it affected many present day technologists at a young age.
Minority Report:
This 2002 science fiction film features precogs, robot-like creatures that can tell when a criminal is going to commit a crime. This foresight allows crimes to be prevented, and brings the idea of free will versus determinism to the forefront.
As the film is set in 2054, and showcases a whole different set of technology than was available in 2002, it also brings to mind the question of what the future of technology has in store. The Minority Report wasn’t far off in their estimates. We have the tablets in 2012 that were featured as a far-off technology in 2002.
2001: A Space Odyssey:
This 1968 film, set in 2001, deals with the ideas of technology and artificial intelligence. Known as one of the most influential movies ever made, this movie greatly impacted how computers were depicted in film. 2001: A Space Odyssey certainly gets you thinking about past technologies, and where the future lies.
The Matrix Trilogy:
The franchise, released in a four-year period from 1999 to 2003, shows a possible, future, dystopian Earth. In the films, the world is run by machines that control humans. The special effects are incredible, but like with other movies in this list, it makes you consider how technology will interact, or even run, lives in future generations.
Brazil:
In this 1985 science fantasy fiction, the main character lives in a world that relies heavily on subpar technology and is ruled by a totalitarian government. While many people find the film comedic today, it showcases how technology can both simplify and complicate a life.
We live in Public:
This 2009 film is different from the others in that it is a documentary. We Live in Public is about Internet pioneer Josh Harris who made his millions during the early web boom. He was ahead of his times when it came to the use of video and social media, and even had his every move broadcasted for some time. Ultimately, it became too difficult for him, and he cracked under the pressure. His experiment brought to the forefront the issues of Internet privacy before it became a popular topic with Facebook.
Apollo13:
While this movie isn’t necessarily about the kind of coding or tech you may be used to, it does accurately use space technology. The film is a dramatization of the 1970 Apollo 13 space mission, where the spaceship experienced malfunctions that left three astronauts with little air and power. Through their technical prowess, and help from Mission Control, they are able to make it safely back home. This film is unique in that it uses the transcript of the actual mission, as well as a reduced gravity aircraft in order to make the movie more realistic.
Tron:
In this 1982 film, a computer hacker is split into molecules and forced inside of a computer. The only way he can get out is to work with the computer programs, and use his technical ingenuity. This movie became a cult hit, and interestingly helped spur the computer-generated image movie movement.
Now that you have this list, what will you be watching this weekend? Are any of these your favorite? Are there any that you would add to the list? Let us know in the comments section, or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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