Favorite Sci-fi or Privacy movies/tv?

Off Topic
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List your favorite sci-fi or privacy focused movies or tv shows. I think we can get Ex Machina and Black Mirror out of the way (diehards are going to add them anyway).

In no particular order:

  1. Gattaca
  2. Her
  3. The Lives of Others (*edit: Das Leben der Anderen)
  4. Red Dwarf
  5. WALL•E
  6. Ex Machina

Has this been asked? I can’t find anything.

Compiled list of responses. We seem to have added documentaries as a category.

Movies

  1. The Matrix Series (1999, 2003)
  2. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
  3. Metal Gear Solid 2
  4. Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
  5. Enemy of the State (1998)
  6. Sneakers (1992)
  7. Snowden (2016)
  8. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006)
  9. A Good American (2015)
  10. Citizenfour (2014) [moved to documentaries]
  11. They Live (1988)
  12. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
  13. The Conversation (1974)
  14. The Zero Theorem (2013)
  15. eXistenZ (199)
  16. V for Vendetta (2006)
  17. One Battle After Another (2025)
  18. Children of Men (2006)
  19. Solaris (2002)
  20. The City of Lost Children (1995)
  21. The Fifth Estate (2013)
  22. Brave New World (1998)
  23. Kimi (2022)
  24. Pandorum (2009)
  25. Tenet (2020)
  26. Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
  27. Predestination (2014)
  28. Primer (2014)
  29. Total Recall (1990)
  30. Starship Troopers (1997)
  31. The Island (2005)
  32. District 9 (2009)
  33. TRON: Legacy (2010)
  34. Source Code (2011)
  35. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
  36. Idiocracy (2006)
  37. Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
  38. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (2026)
  39. Atlas (2024)
  40. Dune Series (2021-2026)

Documentaries

  1. Citizenfour (2014) [moved from movies]
  2. RISK (2016)
  3. Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus (2023)
  4. AI and the Death of the Internet (2025)
  5. Hacking Hate (2024)
  6. Can’t Feel Nothing (2024)
  7. Mr. Nobody Against Putin (2025)
  8. We Live in Public (2009)
  9. The Real Malcolm X (1992)
  10. MLK/FBI (2020)
  11. 1971 (2014)
  12. Zero Days (2016)
  13. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013)
  14. Total Trust (2023)
  15. Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections (2020)
  16. Coded Bias (2020)
  17. Nothing to Hide (2017)
  18. Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013)
  19. The Perfect Weapon (2020)

Television Series

  1. Mr. Robot (2015-2019)
  2. Person of Interest (2011-2016)
  3. Westworld (2016-2022)
  4. The Plot Against America (2020)
  5. Andor (2022-2025)
  6. The Handmaid’s Tale (2017-2025)
  7. Inside Job (2021)
  8. Severance (2022-2025)
  9. The X-Files (1993-2018)
  10. 3 Body Problem (2024)
  11. The Three-Body Problem (2022)
  12. Silo (2023-)
  13. Pluribus (2025-)
  14. Dark (2017-2020)
  15. The Expanse (2015-2021)
  16. Travelers (2016-2018)
  17. Red Rooms (2023)

Books

Looks like we added in some books. This could and should be it’s own post. [It is a post: Books that every person concerned about privacy should read (List of recommendations) ]

  1. The Three-Body Problem - Liu Cixin (2006)
  2. Little Brother Series - Cory Doctorow
  3. Julia - Sandra Newman (2023)
  4. The Circle - Dave Eggers (2013)
  5. The Every - Dave Eggers (2021)
  6. We - Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924)
  7. Dune - Frank Herbert (1965)
  8. Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert (1969)
  9. Children of Dune - Frank Herbert (1976)
  10. God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert (1981)
  11. Heretics of Dune - Frank Herbert (1984)
  12. Chapterhouse: Dune - Frank Herbert (1985)
  13. The Final Architecture-Adrian Tchaikovsky (2021-2023)

Other Lists to Check Out

  1. Recommended Documentaries to Watch - The OPSEC Bible
  2. Recommended Movies and Series to Watch - The OPSEC Bible
  3. Activist Checklist Movies, Books, & Podcasts About Surveillance
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I'm curious about online privacy in Japan because I wanna live there
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The Matrix series.

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Personally I think the more clever critiques of surveillance were less 1984 style of an omnipotent police state and more in the style of A Scanner Darkly where mass surveillance becomes a means of self oppression as it slowly rots away our sanity. Great sci-fi follows the Alex Gibson approach of being less concerned about technology and more about how we are shaped by that technology, which is something Philip K Dick was incredibly proficient at. It also had this very bizarre Alex Jones cameo which makes it a great time capsule for the often ideologically muddled 00s era libertarianism.

Also an honourable mention to Metal Gear Solid 2 for exploring how mass information instead of mass censorship being a mode of control, with a deep state that has totally become fully automated and untethered from its original purpose.

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Josie and the Pussycats (2001) - Subliminal messaging to sell you crap? It’s literally Google’s advertising model at this point.

Enemy of the State (1998) was peak paranoia at the time. At this point it almost seems quaint.

Sneakers (1992) more about cryptography, but it’s a great movie all the same about data layers.

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Snowden (2016) and Das Leben der Anderen (2006).

From non-scifi side, a Good American (2015) and Citizenfour (2014).

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They live (1988)

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If you want to see the relation between how a hive mind brainwashed propagandized society and the dangers of turning a blind eye to McCarthyism like subject matters - all of which can be seen even today with how apathetic people are to important topics like privacy, surveillance, cybersecurity, and our digital rights online (for one reason or another), the best movie to watch is Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

Another great one is The Conversation (1974) that focuses on surveillance.

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I really enjoyed the movie The Zero Theorem and the tv show Mr Robot

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Fiction:

David Cronenberg: “Existenz” 1999

Documentary:

Laura Poitras: “Risk” 2016

Anne Poiret: “Global Spyware Scandal: Exposing Pegasus” 2023

Mario Sixtus: “AI and the Death of the Internet” 2025

Simon Klose: “Hacking Hate” 2024

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I forgot:

David Borenstein: “Can’t Feel Nothing” 2024

David Borenstein: “Mr Nobody Against Putin” 2025

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I also can’t believe no one mentioned this but Person of Interest (2011-2016) is another excellent show to watch. Privacy, surveillance, big brother, intrigue - it has it all.

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Now the real question is where privacy people watch/source their media?

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:pirate_flag:

Speaking for myself atleast.

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Agree

I think it is the only option once you find out about it.

Convenience

Getting all your media in one place, at better quality, without friction, makes it irrational to punish yourself by using worse services.

Economically

Why should we pay to have our data stolen because some powerful lobbyists want to protect an outdated business model. If there is infinite supply of something, it is anticompetitive to create laws that restrict the production of that thing.

Morally

It preserves human culture. This is a noble goal age and should be celebrated. The danger for most creatives is obscurity. If they become popular through sharing, they can make money through real business models like concerts or physical media, contrary to getting pennies on the penny from streaming, and small creators being abused by platforms.

Privacy

Netflix and third parties monetizes every second and every interaction when you use their services. All the way from your bank, to your credit card, to your ISP, to Netflix, to data brokers, to advertisers—all of it is logged and sold.

Offline media or alternative providers cut through all of that.

Conclusion

I will share. I will gain privacy, freedom, protect culture, and help smaller artists. I recommend the book Against Intellectual Monopoly (shared by the author) to learn more.

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V for Vendetta (2005) is also related to privacy, surveillance and whatnot. Should add this to the list.

In some ways, One Battle After Another (2025) is another one worth looking at for the real life and subtle ways related to surveillance and privacy.

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One relevant movie that has been flying under the radar for many years is Enemy Of The State (although the director’s cut is not as good as the original, IMO). If I may suggest a documentary: We Live In Public (about a group of people that deliberately chooses to film themselves publicly).

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Is Enemy of the State different from what we have listed: Enemy of the State (1998) — The Movie Database (TMDB)?

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Regarding “We Live in Public”: Lots of interesting extra features on DVD (I don’t know if its still possible to buy). Especially the commentary with director Ondi Timoner.

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Oops, did I miss it had already been added? Yes, that is the one.

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