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6) The Internet's Own Boy:If “The Social Network” plays like a typical story of today’s technocracy -- one in which a young upstart uses his brilliance in service of gaining wealth and power -- “The Internet’s Own Boy” is the inversion of that story, an exception that, sadly, proves the rule. Aaron Swartz was an Internet pioneer whose love for computers and genius led him to develop an early version of Wikipedia at age 12; help create RSS at 14; in partnership with Lawrence Lessig, develop Creative Commons at 15; and by 19, co-found and sell Reddit for a small fortune. But instead of continuing to increase his personal wealth, Swartz turned to political activism, pushing for progressive policy change and fighting to keep the Internet an open, free source of information. “The Internet’s Own Boy” traces Swartz’s far-too-short life, from precocious young computer prodigy to government-pursued hacktivist. The film is a startling story of a talented visionary who, facing punishment that suggests the government decided to make a example of him at any cost, killed himself at just 26 years old.
