The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz
2014 · Movie · NR · 105 min · ★ 7.9 · 83% critics
This documentary follows a young programming prodigy and information activist whose push for open access and social justice puts him on a collision course with powerful institutions. As legal pressure mounts, the story raises urgent questions about fairness, freedom, and who gets to control knowledge in the digital age.
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Details
- Years
- 2014
- Release date
- 2014-06-27
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Critic score
- 83/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.9/10 (463 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want an emotional, issue-driven documentary about internet freedom, activism, and the justice system; Not for you if you dislike heavy, tragic true stories or advocacy-leaning narratives like Making a Murderer.
Pros: moving real-life story; thought-provoking justice questions; engaging interviews and footage | Cons: one-sided portrayal at times; leaves some details unclear; loud music over dialogue
Themes
- suicide
- hacker
- biography
- based on true story
- internet
- news
- free software
- cyber actvism
Cast & crew
Aaron Swartz
as Self
Tim Berners-Lee
as Self
Cory Doctorow
as Self
- PE
Peter Eckersley
as Self
Lawrence Lessig
as Self
Brewster Kahle
as Self
- CC
Cindy Cohn
as Self
Zoe Lofgren
as Self
- GC
Gabriella Coleman
as Self
Zach Braff
Directed by Brian Knappenberger