Today we have a treat for all tech nerds out there, with 11 best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix.
Most of these focus on the ways technology interact with our daily life. Not all of those interactions are positive, but technology changes the ways we live almost every day. Whether it is changing the way we create things or the way we safeguard our privacy, it can be both a powerful ally and fierce enemy. After all, any technology is as good as its users.
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To rank the best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix, we had to devise a system, similar to that we used on our list of the best sports documentaries streaming on Netflix. Going simply by IMDb rating just wouldn’t cut it, although we did include it in our final ranking. We also scoured dozen of lists on most popular sites in order to get an accurate feel for public opinion. We mixed it all together and came up with a genuine Insider Monkey ranking.
11. Video Games: The Movie
Site Rank: 1; IMdB rank1; Total Rank: 2
Directed by: Jeremy Snead
Founded by the Kickstarter campaign Video Games: The Movie goes behind the curtains of the video industry. The film shows the process of game making, going into details about how games are conceived, through the design process, creation and finally marketed and sold. Jeremy Snead tried – and managed, for the most part – to explain the gamers’ culture, including both the players and designers. The movie presents games as a new medium for storytelling and explains why they are so popular among younger audience and how important creative process is for the immersion process. It also offers a few interesting possibilities for the future of video games.
10. I Dream of Wires
Site Rank: 7; IMdB Rank: 2; Total Rank: 9
Directed by: Robert Fantinatto
It would be very hard imagining modern music without synthesizers. The dawn of electronic music made by modular synthesizers came in early 1960. It opened a new frontier for music creators, by offering them a completely new set of sounds, previously unheard anywhere on the planet. As one of the pioneers of the electronic music Morton Subotnick said: “You can get this tearing of the fabric of the universe sound.” Although modular synthesizers almost went extinct in 1980, after the height of their popularity in the 1970s, they have made a comeback and are today the important part of the music industry.
And now, let’s see what else we have on our list of best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix.
9. Objectified
Site Rank: 6; IMdB Rank: 4; Total Rank: 10
Directed by: Gary Hustwit
The Western culture is often being accused of being highly materialistic one and obsessed with manufactured objects. Some critics even claim that the purchase of often overpriced things have become a purpose in itself, that we buy things just for the sake of buying them and not so much because we need them. But how much of this obsession is the consequence of human nature, and how much of it is created by design? Objectified ranks 9th on our list of best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix and it deals with our relationship with everyday objects and consequently, with the people that design them and how they influence our shopping – and even lifestyle – choices.
8. Surviving Progress
Site Rank: 4; IMdB Rank: 7; Total Rank: 11
Directed by Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks
The progress of human civilization has brought, among many wonderful things, an existential threat to our species. The pace at which we are using our natural resources can’t be sustained for much longer and we already feel the consequences of our overconsumption. Based on the best-selling book Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright, the movie explores how the development of new technologies can lead entire civilizations into traps that are very hard, if not outright impossible, to get out from. The quintessential question Surviving Progress asks is our evolution essentially a dead-end? Can we, as a species, develop in a way that won’t end with a planetary disaster that will make humans extinct?
7. Downloaded
Site Rank:8,IMdB Rank: 3Total Rank: 11
Directed by Alex Winter
When Napster was released in 1999, it changed the way we use the Internet forever. It was the first global file sharing network and it brought music industry to its knees. The recent altercations of the Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents are just the continuation of the fight music companies started almost 20 years ago against few high school kids that shock their world with a few lines of code. The movie features interviews with Napster creators, Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The other side is represented by former RIAA CEO Hilary Rosen, former Sony Music CEO Don Ienner, and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Henry Rollins, Mike D, Trent Reznor, and Noel Gallagher are also present in the film.
6. Tim’s Vermeer
Site Rank: 2; IMdB Rank: 10; Total Rank: 12
Directed by Teller (Raymond Joseph Teller)
Johannes Vermeer was a 17th-century Dutch painter whose paintings are regarded as some of the best art pieces ever created. His attention to details, photorealism and use of color has led some art critics to propose that he had some sort of mechanical help while creating his masterpieces. Tim Jenison sets out to prove that theory by using camera obscura and faithfully reproducing one of the Vermeer’s best paintings, The Music Lesson, despite completely lacking any form of a classical art training or education. The movie is directed and produced by his friends, the famous magician duo Penn and Teller. A well-earned 6th spot on our list of 11 best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix.
5. Side by Side
Site Rank: 5; IMDb Rank: 8; Total Rank: 13
Directed by Christopher Kenneally
Is traditional filmmaking, using photochemical film, dead? While the jury may still be out on that one, the percentage of movies made using pure digital technologies is rising every year. At first, it was just special effects, but today, we have movies who haven’t used a single traditional camera during the production. This especially goes for 3D movies. Side by Side ranks 5th on our list of best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix. It is produced by Keany Reeves, features interviews with some of the biggest names in the movie industry, like James Cameron, John Malkovich, Martin Scorsese, Robert Rodriguez, Christopher Nolan and many more, all voicing their opinion on the digital revolution sweeping through movie making.
4. The Internet’s Own Boy
Site Rank: 3; IMdB Rank: 11; Total Rank: 14
Directed by Brian Knappenberger
When Aaron Schwartz took his own life on January 11, 2013, the Internet stopped for a split second. People all over the world mourn the 26-year old kid who at such young age managed to prove himself as one of the leading human rights champions on the planet. This movie tries to explain who he really was and how he became so influential. His life and work as a programmer, activist, and writer are detailed in interviews with his family and friends. Events leading to his suicide are well covered and highly controversial decisions made by the prosecutors’ office that have influenced his decision to hang himself are shown in detail. And now, let’s see the top three on our list of best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix.
3. Terms and Conditions May Apply
Site Rank:9; IMdB Rank: 6; Total Rank: 15
Directed by Cullen Hoback
If you are worried about your privacy (and let’s face it, you would have to be very ignorant of current developments regarding online surveillance not to be) this movie which ranks 3rd on our list of best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix is a must-see. Terms and Conditions May Apply goes in depth exploring what large corporations and even our governments are doing with all the data they collect on us and how they go about collecting it. Word of warning: you might experience high levels of rage once you discover their methods. From recording our shopping habits to tapping our phones, nothing seems to be off limit to them. The worst part? We agreed to it when we clicked I agree on that user agreement nobody bothers to read.
2. Print the Legend
Site Rank: 10; IMdB Rank: 5; Total Rank: 15
Directed by Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel
Are 3D printers new steam engines? Just as the James Watt’s invention forever changed our world in the 19th century, 3D printers are seemingly on the same path. Even President Obama acknowledged it in his State of the Union speech. Print the Legend features 3D printing companies like MakerBot and 3D Systems. A part of the movie is dedicated to a highly controversial subject of 3D gun printing and gun rights advocate Cody Wilson. The movie won the Special Jury Award at SXSW Film Festival in 2014.
1. Indie Game: The Movie
Site Rank: 11; IMdB Rank: 9; Total Rank: 20
Directed by Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky
The movie follows 4 independent game developers, exploring how hard it is to develop games without the backing of a major studio and their resources. The games in question (Braid, Super Meat Boy, and Fez) are funded through Kickstarter campaigns. The film won an editing award at the 2012 Sundance Festival and has been highly praised by both critics and the public. It holds a score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.7 on IMdB. Indie Game: The Movie holds firmly top spot on our list of 11 best tech documentaries streaming on Netflix.
