The Social Dilemma

Starring: Tristan Harris, Jeff Seibert, Bailey Richardson, Joe Toscano, Tim Kendall, Sandy Parakilas, Guillaume Chaslot, Lynn Foxx, Aza Raskin, Skyler Gisondo
Directed by: Jeff Orlowski
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Documentary, Drama
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Explores the damaging side of social networking and ubiquitous technology, as told by many former tech company executives.

Review:

Tim: I was pretty excited to see The Social Dilemma. I'd heard good things from friends and it looked like a compelling documentary. Plus, I have real concerns about how the ubiquity of technology is controlling (and ruining) my life. I was ready to be converted.

What I found here, though, wasn't exactly life changing. The movie has a legitimately powerful message and it raises major concerns about technology of which we all need to pay attention. The issues I had were more with Jeff Orlowski's execution of these ideas. In the end, this is a good movie, but it's not one of the more memorable documentaries I've seen.

When the film is at its best, it raises legitimate questions about the role technology plays in our lives, most notably how we are the products of the big tech companies. This is more than just concerning- it's downright frightening. It's a societal challenge the likes of which we've never experienced in human history. A few people who are mostly out for their own profit have an unbalanced influence on what people think. For many people who become addicted to technology, these tech company executives are literally ruining lives, spreading false information, and engaging in irresponsible experiments with much of humanity. These are global issues and there's very few answers at this point. When the movie delves into these themes, it's wonderful.

However, the film never quite capitalizes on this. It spends a chunk of its runtime with a fictional narrative that's never as interesting as it thinks it is. I like Skyler Gisondo and he gives a good performance, but the cheesy visuals and the over-the-top portrayal of technology does more harm to the movie's message than good. It's supposed to be a cautionary tale, but it loses its way. It's frustrating to watch a documentary also try to tell a fictional narrative, but that narrative doesn't further the film's message. It was a bungled aspect of this film. As the movie progresses, it feels like it loses focus. We get a number of interviews with a decent range of technology experts, leaders, and influencers, but their messages get a bit repetitive as the film goes on. The movie becomes enamored with its subjects, without really considering how to drive its point home. By the end of the film, I didn't experience as much outrage as I needed to. I felt tired and vaguely confused about what I could do to combat this. Delete my social media? Not allow my kids to have a phone until high school? A few ideas are floated, but the movie is focused more on asking questions than providing answers. That works great in the first half, less so in the latter one.

The quality of the interviewees is a bit all over the place. Tristan Harris emerges as the real star and he delivers many of the film's most sobering and memorable moments. Tim Kendall is oddly intense, but his scenes were more compelling than most. Several of the others tend to blend together and many comments we see don't really add to the message, as much as repeat it.

I probably sound a bit too harsh, but I'm explaining why I don't think this is a great documentary. The truth is that The Social Dilemma is a good movie yes, but it's an important one. It might be not be a great piece of filmmaking, but it raises big questions that humanity will need to answer. It didn't quite inspire the kind of change I was hoping for, but it did make me reflect on how much time I spend staring into my phone. It also reminded me that I don't want that future for my children and it better prepared me to deal with those issues when they're older. For that reason, I did enjoy and appreciate The Social Dilemma. While I wish the movie itself was a bit more compelling, I love the message it was sending.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Social Network, The Circle