Technology Docudramas

Musk and Twitter

Rumors are that Twitter is doing a massive layoff today. The changes that have happened on that network since Elon took over have been fascinating to watch. One moment he looks like he has a plan that might work. The next everything is a train wreck. Regardless of how you feel about his custodial efforts, he has made Twitter interesting again.

This was a big movie. I think it did well, but it should be a companion piece to the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma that explains how Facebook manipulates groups with their algorithms.

This morning I realized that all of his actions and the ensuing drama tie into my very favorite tv/film genre. It’s very small and I’m not even sure that there’s a formalized name, but it’s basically the dramatization of real life events or scandals that involve technology companies. Some people are really into true crime shows or history documentaries. This is my version of that.

This was a made-for-tv movie and it’s arguably my favorite. I think it may have been the first technology docudrama I encountered. For me it still holds up well.

I only bring this up to say that I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to the inevitable movie about Twitter’s takeover. Obviously, today isn’t about entertainment. There are real people who will face economic uncertainty and may even face issues with their work VISAS because today’s layoffs. I hope that all of them land on their feet and don’t wish any of them ill.

This is one of the very best technology documentaries I’ve watched. Everyone should watch it.

I’ve never been able to decide whether Elon Musk is a conman or a visionary. He goes back and forth between those two extremes and does so very quickly. I think it’s obvious that he enjoys playing to a crowd and has no problem presenting himself as either villain or savior. Only time will tell whether he’s actually good at running Twitter, but I can tell you that his actions will make for a great miniseries.