Review of The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014) by Richard D — 10 May 2015
An okay documentary that kind of goes off the rails in the last act in trying to make a martyr out of it's subject. The documentary paints a vivid and intriguing portrait of Swartz, a bit of a computer prodigy who helped create RSS and Reddit when he was still a very young man. He turned to internet and data related political activism, and ran afoul of the law when he stole thousands of scientific articles using MIT's access to them. He was charged with 13 felony offences and sadly killed himself while awaiting trial.
Truly a tragic story, but I have two main issues with this documentary's take on the matter:
1) It attempts to portray the public's ability to access academic journals as if it's a crucial and very important issue. This is extremely hard to swallow.
2) It tries to suggest that Swarz should not have been prosecuted to the full effect of the law because his intentions were honourable. I have nothing but respect for someone who stands up to laws they feel unjust, but one has to know that the potential cost of doing so is going to jail. This documentary portrays Swarz and his friends as people who feel that the law shouldn't apply to them because they know better than everyone else. Not a flattering portrayal.
This review of The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014) was written by Richard D on 10 May 2015.
The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz has generally received very positive reviews.
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