The Internets Own Boy The Story of Aaron Swartz
The story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz. From Swartz's help in the development of the basic internet protocol RSS to his co-founding of Reddit, his fingerprints are all over the internet. But it was Swartz's groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing combined with his aggressive approach to information access that ensnared him in a two year legal nightmare. It was a battle that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26. Aaron's story touched a nerve with people far beyond the online communities in which he was a celebrity. This film is a personal story about what we lose when we are tone deaf about technology and its relationship to our civil liberties.
8 June 1955, London, England, UK
21 December 1947, San Mateo, California, USA
8 November 1986, Chicago, Illinois, USA
17 July 1971, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
November 12, 2014
I was hesitant about seeing this movie. I thought it was just another film glamorizing suicidal people. It turns out to be more of a celebration of the short, but incredibly productive life of Aron Swartz and the things he stood for.
July 10, 2014
Fascinating, maddening, and ultimately very sad.
June 27, 2014
A touching, morally outraged portrait that, in memory of Swartz, may inspire people to ask hard questions about how the new world is being shaped away from view, behind closed doors.
August 31, 2014
Knappenberger argues that the case against Swartz was overzealously pursued in order to make an example of him and on the evidence presented here it's hard to disagree.
January 22, 2015
A brilliant and idealistic soul sacrificed at the altar of Barack Obama's war on intellectual and political transparency.
December 03, 2014
Talking (egg)heads reiterate outrage over the Obama Justice Department's witch hunt against him, but Swartz's ex-girlfriend adds heart when she tearfully recalls first seeing the ''end date'' on his Wikipedia page.
July 09, 2014
The film not only canonizes its hero - who committed suicide amid a nasty federal indictment against him - but also brushes aside any big-picture concerns about national security and Internet piracy.
November 26, 2014
Passionately tells a tragic tale of injustice.
August 29, 2014
An essential - and enraging - documentary about the life, career, and death of Internet activist Aaron Swartz, a danger to corporate hegemony whose work could not be allowed to continue.
June 27, 2014
Deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.
August 29, 2014
Brian Knappenberger's captivating film gives much to think about, including what oversight should be required when the government looks into our lives.
June 28, 2014
Aaron Swartz's story should make you furious.
