LIS 2004: Strategies for Online Research: Movie Recommendations

This critically acclaimed thriller is based on the true story of Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose investigative reporting of the Watergate scandal eventually led to the resignation of President Nixon. Watch this film if you're interested in journalism, or if you've ever wondered how reporters in decades past were able to gather information and do their jobs without the internet.

Each episode of this mind-bending anthology series explores the darker side of technology in the not-too-distant future.

Two scientists develop a device that can record and play back a person's thoughts and experiences. Although the 1980s computer technology might look a little primitive, this movie imagines many of the applications (and ethical issues) of the virtual reality devices we're seeing today.

Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Julian Assange in this dramatized version of the story of Wikileaks and the power of information.

Harrison Ford portrays a doctor who escapes from the authorities and becomes a fugitive after being falsely convicted of murdering his wife. See if you can spot the Boolean logic as Tommy Lee Jones and his crack team of Federal Marshals search for the fugitive, while the fugitive searches for the real killer.

A comedy/drama about a tabloid newspaper editor who faces an ethical dilemma when he's pressured to publish a sensational story that might not be true.

The true story of Stephen Glass, a young journalist who conned a highly respected magazine called The New Republic into publishing his completely fake stories. Although this film is a little slow in parts, it's interesting to see how Glass managed to get his stories past the magazine's otherwise diligent fact-checkers.

Jesse Eisenberg portrays Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg in this critically acclaimed drama about the origins of Facebook.

A harrowing dramatization of the 1971 study that revealed the darker side of human behavior and called attention to the ethical aspects of scholarly research.

Can a human being be illegal? A group of Dartmouth University students said "no" to that idea, and challenged the use of the term "illegal aliens" as an official Library of Congress subject heading. The librarians agreed with the students, but some members of Congress didn't, sparking a debate on anti-immigrant sentiment and the power of words. (Update, November 12, 2021: Library of Congress changes Ilegal Aliens Subject Heading)

Who gets to decide what we see online? Who decides if a violent or otherwise disturbing image or video is allowed to stay on the internet, or if it should be taken down? This award-winning documentary explores the psychological and social impact of the secretive and controversial practice of online content moderation.

The tragic story of Reddit co-founder and political activist Aaron Swarz, who believed in free and open access to publicly funded research.

Former employees of Facebook, Google, and other tech giants explain how social media platforms are specifically designed to persuade and manipulate users, and how this practice may be threatening the future of democracy in the world.

While The Fifth Estate centers on Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, this documentary focuses more on Chelsea Manning, the troubled young soldier who leaked thousands of classified military documents.