Film of Week: We Are Legion — Story of the Hacktivists

This week’s film of the week is an absolute must-watch documentary for anybody remotely interested in what’s happening in the present and what lies in store for the future.

Directed by Brian Knappenberger, it is the story of how a disparate global community of techie, nihilistic geeks blossomed into a disparate global community of geeks with power and purpose, and in the process became public enemy number one.

After all, now that Al Qaeda is the enemy of our enemy, and therefore our friend (at least until the next homegrown terrorist attack), the global military industrial-intelligence complex has to find some new nemesis to justify its multi-trillion dollar budget. So, instead of fighting bearded young men with box cutters and shoe bombs, the U.S. government now has its sights firmly trained on a far more dangerous and elusive threat — the hacktivist communty.

After watching the film, you can see why the government and its corporate owners partners are worried. Consisting primarily of IT-proficient teenagers and twenty-somethings, hacktivist movements such as Anonymous and LulzSec have attacked the websites and generally humiliated some of the world’s most powerful corporations, government institutions and religious sects.

Those hacktivists who get caught are paying a heavy price (up to 15 years in prison) — a testament to the government’s fear of this new generation of techno-warriors. And fear them they should, for it is primarily the youngest (and often brightest) members of our communities who are being made to pay the most for the transgressions and sins of our leaders in government, finance and business.

If you liked this movie, you might want to check out our rather humble, though growing, collection of Films of the Week.reblogged with photos..thanks to http://ragingbullshit.com