Where are the Good Tech Stories?
Not everything has to be bad…
Tech stories are back in full gear this 2022. The Dropout, centered on Elizabeth Holmes, will stream on Hulu. Super Pumped, which follows the rise and fall of Uber and Travis Kalanick, will drop on Showtime. WeCrashed, the story of WeWork… crashing, will debut on Apple. And if you can’t get enough of the infamous Theranos story on either TV or your podcast app or the literal news, you can also watch the movie, Bad Blood, likely coming out later this year. Now, these are all great, fascinating stories that will expose the psyche behind the CEOs of these “failing” companies (obviously, Uber and WeWork are functioning businesses, but their brands are tarnished). They’ll explore topics like being a visionary and a fraud simultaneously, toxic tech bro company cultures, and leaders with a god complex. It’ll make for great TV.
And believe me — I’ll be there watching everything when it premieres and I’ll love it. But, there’s an inherent problem with the way Hollywood approaches tech.
Protocol wrote a nice piece on this topic earlier, saying that how Amanda Seyfriend, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Jared Leto play their characters will cement how we view these actual CEOs. One line boils it all down:
…the thing about tech-inspired movies and shows is that they tend to be hugely influential in how the world sees tech — and how tech sees itself.
It’s a powerful medium to tell these stories because as news headlines fade away, we hold on to these cinematic pieces that function as cultural snapshots of the person and company. And, since it’s Hollywood, everything about these protagonists is amped up for entertainment value; no one doubts that. But, sometimes this irks people, like Jony Ives when the industry botched the Steve Jobs movies.
My problem lies in the stories we choose to tell — and those we don’t. All of these TV shows will be dramatic, cinematic, and amazing to watch. But, they certainly won’t be uplifting. If you know the scandals of Theranos, Uber, and WeWork, you know that these shows will feature classic tropes of a grand demise fueled by anti-heroes who get wound up in arrogance and a lack of morals. So, we don’t have any feel-good, motivational stories that excite people about the tech industry. We only show viewers how tech can go so wrong.
Since 2016, big tech has been in the spotlight for obvious reasons. People are inundated with stories of why tech is bad, from mass surveillance advertising to anti-trust regulations to mental health issues to misinformation tactics to election mishandling to boys’ clubs. It has become what many people naturally associate with tech, big and small. We’ve lost the excitement for new tech and rooting for startup founders to build something awesome (I mean… when even was the last time anyone lined up for an Apple product?). Generally, we’ve lost the spark that makes us super pumped (pun not intended) for tech, and Hollywood isn’t helping with these shows coming out.
It’s time for maybe… one… just one “good” story. Something that would actually motivate people to make great devices or software and ignite some interest in tech (especially in a world where we struggle to make STEM more inclusive). There are stories out there that would have an uplifting tone. Here’s a list of some starters off the top of my head:
- Tuxedo Park (the MIT team that created radar during WWII)
- Atari (the origin story of gaming from Stanford to the masses)
- Jony Ive biography (designing modern devices for the people)
Even the General Magic documentary interviewed people excited to work for that company (spun out of Apple), and though it ultimately failed, you love the passion you see in some of these employees. If you can make an uplifting story from a failing company, you can certainly make a nice one out of the suggestions above (all major successes at the time). Plus, it’s not like it has to be non-fiction. I’m sure someone could whip up an original screenplay that’s a good tech story.
Here’s a good way to think about it. We should make tech stories the way we make space stories. You always root for the rocket to take off and reach its destination and for NASA to succeed. There’s a lot of romanticization of space, and though we don’t need to go as far as the same with tech, it could use a little love.
The biggest issue producers will have here is money. Is there an audience for the “good” tech story? Do people care outside of Silicon Valley? Well, it all comes down to the writing, and though you can’t always get an Aaron Sorkin to make literally any story interesting, you can still work with some decent stories here to make something worth the watch for a Netflix audience.
Anyways, I’m off to understand why Euphoria is still all the rage…
