The internet might be just a few decades old, but it has transformed human life in ways we can’t even comprehend. Cinema has long tried to make sense of these changes by exploring how the internet can work as both a friend and a foe.
Here are ten of the best movies that explore life in the digital age and trigger conversations we might not even be ready to face yet.
10. Cam (2018)
Drawn from writer Isa Mazzei’s own story, ‘Cam’ follows a camgirl named Alice who discovers that a doppelganger has taken over her online account. Now, they are operating online using her identity.
Alice finds herself trapped in this system that she can neither understand nor control and is unable to reclaim her own identity. The film mirrors all the vulnerabilities we face on virtual platforms and their complex algorithms that have no recourse.
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9. We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (2021)
This haunting horror film uses a low-fidelity aesthetic to perfectly recreate the experience of late-night internet browsing. The story revolves around Casey, a lonely teenager who becomes absorbed by an online role-playing challenge known as the ‘World’s Fair’.
Up alone in her attic bedroom, she spends her whole time documenting the changes this obsession causes in her. The only problem is that the line between fiction and reality is so blurred that she has started to lose the understanding of her own surroundings.
8. Summer Wars (2009)
Set in a time where society largely functions through a massive virtual reality network called Oz, ‘Summer Wars’ feels remarkably close to our own world. The story follows Kenji Koiso, a shy high school student who helps to maintain this platform.
When a rogue artificial intelligence manipulates Kenji into getting access to the platform, Oz falls into a state of chaos. With both his digital world and real world in danger, Kenji tries to set things right.
7. Searching (2018)
Undoubtedly one of the most inventive thrillers of all time, the 2018 movie ‘Searching’ unfolds entirely through computer screens. At the center of it all is a desperate father trying to search for his missing teenage daughter. With no physical clue present, he resorts to her digital footprints
By digging through her chat logs, social media profiles, and online accounts, he tries to trace back her life. But what he finds instead is a massive gap between curated online personas and real life.
6. Pulse (2001)
Long before the conversation surrounding internet addiction and digital loneliness became common, the Japanese horror film ‘Pulse’ imagined how technology can slowly destroy human connection.
The movie is a link of strange events that are traced back to a mysterious website that spirits are using to enter the real world. More and more people have started to disappear, and the society is unraveling under the weight of this invisible enemy.
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5. Eighth Grade (2018)
Few films have captured the realities of growing up during the digital age as accurately as Bo Burnham’s ‘Eighth Grade’. The film follows Kayla Day, a teenage girl struggling with anxiety during her final week of middle school.
She regularly uploads motivational videos on YouTube, but in reality, she suffers from insecurities. Through Kayla’s story, the movie paints an authentic picture of adolescence during a time when the world is surrounded by screens.
4. Citizenfour (2014)
Few documentaries have had the cultural impact that Oscar-winning documentary ‘Citizenfour’ boasts. It takes a chilling look at government surveillance post 9/11. Beginning as an investigation into modern society and privacy, the documentary soon takes a dramatic turn.
It unfolds in real time to capture the days leading up to one of the most significant revelations in modern history that leaked life-changing information about the National Security Agency’s global surveillance programs.
3. Perfect Blue (1997)
Before society even started understanding internet culture, ‘Perfect Blue’ explored the threats that come with its darker side. The film follows Mima Kirigoe, a pop idol who leaves her music career behind to pursue acting.
As she struggles to chase a new career, Mima becomes a target of an obsessive fan and finds her sense of reality beginning to unravel. ‘Perfect Blue’ somehow takes up all the anxieties that define the faceless online life today.
2. The Social Network (2010)
Starring Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, ‘The Social Network’ tells a dramatized story of how one of the biggest internet platforms came into existence. From a small project in the dorms of Harvard, we follow its rise to connecting billions of people around the world.
The film takes up the friendship, rivalries, and a series of legal disputes that shaped the rise of Facebook. But the biggest irony reveals itself when we see that a platform designed to bring people together actually originated from broken friendships and social isolation.
1. Her (2013)
This 2013 film somehow made the biggest and most accurate prediction about current digital life. Set in a near-future world, ‘Her’ follows Theodore, a lonely writer who develops a romantic relationship with an advanced operating system.
At first glance, the idea of falling in love with artificial intelligence may seem ridiculous, but we know how relevant the topic has become in the current year. Both ahead of its time and also deeply grounded, ‘Her’ explores a side of the internet we never thought we would encounter.
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