Ask HN: What are some technically inspiring movies, TV shows or documentaries?
It's often hard to summon the constant motivation needed to single-handedly build a web app or bootstrap a startup. When I've run out of my personal reserves, what are some movies and TV shows that will recharge them? I'm not talking about media that's just about tech. I'm thinking of movies like The Social Network and (the first) Iron Man, and TV shows like Silicon Valley and Halt & Catch Fire - media that captures the spirit of coding, building or engineering something. Alternatively, sales films that aren't technical but capture the "soft skills" needed to build something to profitability, like persistence and hard work, eg. The Pursuit of Happyness.
114 comments
One that immediately comes to mind is "The Imitation Game", on the life of Alan Turing during WWII.
For something less tech-oriented, "Molly's Game" is inspiring for me. The characterization of Molly as being both smart and relentlessly hard working is motivating to me, while also showing the dangers of taking it to the nth degree.
In a similar vein to "Molly's Game", "The Queen's Gambit" series on Netflix is not about tech, but very much on being the best you can be at something, along with the dangers of taking it too far.
"The Hundred Foot Journey" has nothing to do with technology at all, but rather cooking (which I usually hate). But, it captures the feeling of iteration, hard work, and self-improvement, and the notion of dealing with adversarial people and eventually becoming allies.
While definitely silly and kid-friendly, "Real Steel" gives me similar "iteration and self-improvement" vibes that give me a mental boost.
Finally, on the anime side, I have one hugely overlooked recommendation that I LOVED and yet got very little recognition: Knights and Magic. It's standard "isekai" setup has a software developer transported to another world, but he very much captures the excitement of taking an engineering mindset to problem solving when coming up with new mechanical solutions to each new fight. It's not as technical as I wish it were, but in terms of capturing the spirit of tech and engineering in a stylized way, this show was a ton of fun for me!
For something less tech-oriented, "Molly's Game" is inspiring for me. The characterization of Molly as being both smart and relentlessly hard working is motivating to me, while also showing the dangers of taking it to the nth degree.
In a similar vein to "Molly's Game", "The Queen's Gambit" series on Netflix is not about tech, but very much on being the best you can be at something, along with the dangers of taking it too far.
"The Hundred Foot Journey" has nothing to do with technology at all, but rather cooking (which I usually hate). But, it captures the feeling of iteration, hard work, and self-improvement, and the notion of dealing with adversarial people and eventually becoming allies.
While definitely silly and kid-friendly, "Real Steel" gives me similar "iteration and self-improvement" vibes that give me a mental boost.
Finally, on the anime side, I have one hugely overlooked recommendation that I LOVED and yet got very little recognition: Knights and Magic. It's standard "isekai" setup has a software developer transported to another world, but he very much captures the excitement of taking an engineering mindset to problem solving when coming up with new mechanical solutions to each new fight. It's not as technical as I wish it were, but in terms of capturing the spirit of tech and engineering in a stylized way, this show was a ton of fun for me!
I also found Imitation Game, Molly’s Game and Queens Gambit galvanizing. It’s interesting that those movies elicit that kind of response despite their ostensible message being the human cost of pursuing goals at the expense of everything else. In a similar vein a Beautiful Mind and The Social network also were motivating for me.
I’m not sure if I’m just taking away the wrong message (like the people who read Liar’s Dice and wanted to go into banking) or if the writer’s own subconscious admiration of these people permeated into the medium (or maybe they made it intentionally ambiguous). There is probably some deeper insight into how we all struggle with reconciling society’s veneration of individual success (monetary and/or reputational) with the social expectation that we conform to the norms of society (being social, not abusing drugs, placing social cohesion above everything else)
I’m not sure if I’m just taking away the wrong message (like the people who read Liar’s Dice and wanted to go into banking) or if the writer’s own subconscious admiration of these people permeated into the medium (or maybe they made it intentionally ambiguous). There is probably some deeper insight into how we all struggle with reconciling society’s veneration of individual success (monetary and/or reputational) with the social expectation that we conform to the norms of society (being social, not abusing drugs, placing social cohesion above everything else)
Even as I wrote my recommendations, I questioned whether other viewers take the same inspiration I take from them, given the negative consequences explored in each, so I'm glad to see I'm not the only one.
In addition to your points, I do think there is an aspect of human nature that is most strongly fascinated by people who achieve extraordinary things, but simultaneously have some major flaw or deficiency (especially a deficiency in something ordinary that we, ourselves, do not have).
It's as though, while we crave role models and achievements to aspire to, we are also comforted to think that our relative shortcomings with regards to our aspirations are made up for in other areas that our role models may lack.
In addition to your points, I do think there is an aspect of human nature that is most strongly fascinated by people who achieve extraordinary things, but simultaneously have some major flaw or deficiency (especially a deficiency in something ordinary that we, ourselves, do not have).
It's as though, while we crave role models and achievements to aspire to, we are also comforted to think that our relative shortcomings with regards to our aspirations are made up for in other areas that our role models may lack.
The good stories always hit you in the subconscious bits. I don't think you can really write good stories from some kind of formula. It has to cut really deeply somehow.
In the same vein in anime: Dr. Stone is really damn good as well! Goes deep into inventing chemistry and tech from scratch. My wife is a chemist and couldn't find anything inaccurate about it!
Breaking the Code with Derek Jacobi is a much better portrayal of Turing
Hackers (1995)
Not joking, it's a silly and campy movie but it captures the enthusiasm I had as a kid for making computers do things.
Not about coding, but about achieving something through persistence and hard work: Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Not joking, it's a silly and campy movie but it captures the enthusiasm I had as a kid for making computers do things.
Not about coding, but about achieving something through persistence and hard work: Fitzcarraldo (1982)
> Fitzcarraldo (Herzog, 1982)
In-drama and out-drama?
> When shooting was nearly complete, the chief of the Machiguenga tribe, who were used extensively as extras, asked Herzog if they should kill Kinski for him
In-drama and out-drama?
> When shooting was nearly complete, the chief of the Machiguenga tribe, who were used extensively as extras, asked Herzog if they should kill Kinski for him
If you liked Fitzcarraldo, you should absolutely watch "Burden of Dreams" which is basically the making of Fitzcarraldo. It's fascinating.
General Magic (2018) absolutely captures the essence of running & working at a startup doing innovative work on products that were well ahead of their time. Marc Porat is an incredible speaker, and he sheds a ton of light on what struggles they went through (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RaTIF6st4c), and the thought process behind bringing Magic Cap to market. The soundtrack alone (done by Benji Merrison) makes the film worth watching, and it's my go-to album for when I need to get focused. Highly recommend. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6849786/
Do you know if it's possible to buy a DRM-free version of it?
I don't think it's possible, although it is available on DVD/Blu-Ray, for what that's worth.
I found the original “Indie Game: The Movie” very personally inspiring, the sequel less so. It’s a documentary about a number of indie game developers working really hard and risking it all to make it. The passion these people are pouring into their games is palpable.
“Mr. Robot” is great if you don’t mind it’s overdramatized dystopian atmosphere. Probably one of the most realistic use of computers in a TV show. It has ups and downs, some of its best and worst episodes are in its final season, it’s a pretty interesting roller coaster.
“Computer Chess” is a weird black and white fictional movie about people trying to build the best Chess AI in the 80s. I really enjoyed it. Does a great job capturing the vibe of the era.
“Mr. Robot” is great if you don’t mind it’s overdramatized dystopian atmosphere. Probably one of the most realistic use of computers in a TV show. It has ups and downs, some of its best and worst episodes are in its final season, it’s a pretty interesting roller coaster.
“Computer Chess” is a weird black and white fictional movie about people trying to build the best Chess AI in the 80s. I really enjoyed it. Does a great job capturing the vibe of the era.
The Martian. I don’t know of any other movie that better celebrates the uniquely human ability to overcome challenges through innovation and persistence. That movie gets me charged up.
For what it’s worth I would say the book is even stronger at it.
The movie watered down Watney’s technical know how quite a bit. That is to say if you liked the movie, you’ll love the book.
The movie watered down Watney’s technical know how quite a bit. That is to say if you liked the movie, you’ll love the book.
Reminded me a lot of Apollo 13, which I feel similarly captures that, and really happened!
Yes, I love this one. Great movie.
Documentaries
- Citizenfour 2014: Actual interview between Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden
- Voyage of Time: Life's Journey 2016: Voyager probes development and deployment
- Zero Days 2016: The background story and effects from Stuxnet
Films
- The Challenger Disaster 2013: Dramatization of Richard Feynman and his investigative work of this event
- Batteries Not Included 1987: When mechanical-based lifeforms descend into NYC to help an elderly couple
- Pi 1998: Fun film with lots of computers and wiring
- I Am Mother 2019: Post-apocalyptic robotic "rejuvenation" of the human race
- Gravity 2013: Fairly accurate dramatization of what space is really like
- Real Genius 1985: Silly film of college hackers before the 1995 film Hackers
- The Abyss 1989: Aliens under the sea, somewhat related to the 1998 film Sphere
- Innerspace 1987: Fun scifi version of Honey I Shrunk the Kids!
- Citizenfour 2014: Actual interview between Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden
- Voyage of Time: Life's Journey 2016: Voyager probes development and deployment
- Zero Days 2016: The background story and effects from Stuxnet
Films
- The Challenger Disaster 2013: Dramatization of Richard Feynman and his investigative work of this event
- Batteries Not Included 1987: When mechanical-based lifeforms descend into NYC to help an elderly couple
- Pi 1998: Fun film with lots of computers and wiring
- I Am Mother 2019: Post-apocalyptic robotic "rejuvenation" of the human race
- Gravity 2013: Fairly accurate dramatization of what space is really like
- Real Genius 1985: Silly film of college hackers before the 1995 film Hackers
- The Abyss 1989: Aliens under the sea, somewhat related to the 1998 film Sphere
- Innerspace 1987: Fun scifi version of Honey I Shrunk the Kids!
I got you
Documentaries
- The Airbnb Story[1] <-- Start here
- High Score (A netflix series on the history of games, the first episode has a part where some college guys had to change hardware to make games harder)
- The Pirate Bay, Away from Keyboard
- Silicon Cowboys; highly recommend this one, I believe we wouldn't have the industry as it is today, if it weren't for Compaq.
Movies
- Who Am I, No System is safe (Look for one with English Subtitles)
- Echelon Conspiracy
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XicLf8cyh5E
Documentaries
- The Airbnb Story[1] <-- Start here
- High Score (A netflix series on the history of games, the first episode has a part where some college guys had to change hardware to make games harder)
- The Pirate Bay, Away from Keyboard
- Silicon Cowboys; highly recommend this one, I believe we wouldn't have the industry as it is today, if it weren't for Compaq.
Movies
- Who Am I, No System is safe (Look for one with English Subtitles)
- Echelon Conspiracy
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XicLf8cyh5E
I second Silicon Cowboys. It sounds exactly what OP is looking for. 1980s David vs. Goliath. I was cheering from my sofa.
The beginning part of the Founder (i.e. the story about how Ray Kroc turned McDonalds into a huge empire) is sort of inspirational in that the man has gumption and he recognizes the potential for Micky D's to become huge even though the original McDonald brothers never wanted to take it as big.
In fact, there's a portion of the movie where's psyching himself up to go and hustle by listening to a recording of Calvin Coolidge's speech on Persistence.
Like all that was really cool. My fave moment, though was when the McDonald brothers describe how they optimized the layout of their McDonald's location in San Bernardino.
In the last 3rd of the movie you see the bad part of Ray Kroc and how he ripped off the brothers but aside from that the first half is pretty inspirational to me.
Overall, a great movie.
In fact, there's a portion of the movie where's psyching himself up to go and hustle by listening to a recording of Calvin Coolidge's speech on Persistence.
Like all that was really cool. My fave moment, though was when the McDonald brothers describe how they optimized the layout of their McDonald's location in San Bernardino.
In the last 3rd of the movie you see the bad part of Ray Kroc and how he ripped off the brothers but aside from that the first half is pretty inspirational to me.
Overall, a great movie.
How I Built This with Guy Raz is the closest thing to canned inspiration. It's just intimate conversations with very successful entrepreneurs. Recent episodes with the founders of Moderna and Mailchimp were amazing. The one that turned me on was the interview with Nolan Bushnell of Atari and Chuck E Cheese.
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this
Apollo 13 (1995) - there are various scenes showing the engineers working through various technical problems (much like gravity and the martian)
Antitrust (2001) - The technical portion is goofy, but discusses the open source software movement, VCs, working for a major tech company (an evil bill gates character played by tim robbins)
Sneakers (1992) - Personally, one of my favorite movies of all-time. Code breaking, old school hacking (think wargames). I think the best description i've heard of it is an 1970s caper movie. You will never see a better cast in a movie. Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Ben Kingsley, James Earl Jones, Dan Ackroyd, River Phoenix, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell all play major roles
Mythic Quest (2020) - Apple tv show about creating video games and running a tech company
Antitrust (2001) - The technical portion is goofy, but discusses the open source software movement, VCs, working for a major tech company (an evil bill gates character played by tim robbins)
Sneakers (1992) - Personally, one of my favorite movies of all-time. Code breaking, old school hacking (think wargames). I think the best description i've heard of it is an 1970s caper movie. You will never see a better cast in a movie. Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Ben Kingsley, James Earl Jones, Dan Ackroyd, River Phoenix, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell all play major roles
Mythic Quest (2020) - Apple tv show about creating video games and running a tech company
seatec astronomy
Pirates of Silicon Valley. One of my favorite movies of all time.
That movie is better than all the movies about Steve Jobs that came out since. It shows the good and the bad.
Since my divorce, I've found that I get a lot of help out of media like this for recharging my spirit to work on things. Sometimes kids' movies are the best, because they aren't at all about the 'how', but they are about the 'why'. Here's a list of a few that I find helpful:
Tomorrowland
Big Hero 6
Robots (2005)
The Martian
Sneakers
Real Genius
Wargames
Macguyver (80s show)
Cosmos
October Sky
Iron Man
The Astronaut Farmer
Flight of the Phoenix
Something Ventured
Now if I can only figure out how to get a team behind me like in those movies... :)
Tomorrowland
Big Hero 6
Robots (2005)
The Martian
Sneakers
Real Genius
Wargames
Macguyver (80s show)
Cosmos
October Sky
Iron Man
The Astronaut Farmer
Flight of the Phoenix
Something Ventured
Now if I can only figure out how to get a team behind me like in those movies... :)
Also, thank you for the great list and don't pay attention to people who would berate you for daring to be human and need external motivation.
I had completely forgotten about Big Hero 6, some kids' movies really are great.
Great suggestions here, many that I've either never heard of or never considered - I look forward to checking them out and please keep them coming, I'm hopeful this can turn into a masterthread to keep coming back and discovering motivational media.
Should maybe have done this earlier but adding a few of the ones I've already watched.
Technical Motivation:
- Mr Robot (2015-2019): probably the most thrilling and technically accurate depiction of technology and hacking ever put to a screen, but as someone else said it's also very dystopian and depressing, and not too motivational except in the brief bursts that they show Elliot setting up a hack. Either way no VisualBasic GUIs here.
- Flash of Genius (2008): about the inventor of the modern windshield wiper who had it stolen from Ford and sued them. The premise is motivational, but I personally found it more of a cautionary tale on what you can lose for your principles when you go up against the giants.
Should maybe have done this earlier but adding a few of the ones I've already watched.
Technical Motivation:
- Silicon Valley (TV show, 2014-2019)
- The Social Network (2010)
- The Imitation Game (2014)
- Halt & Catch Fire (TV show, 2014-2017)
- Iron Man (2008)
- Primer (2004)
- The Martian (2015)
- Hidden Figures (2016)
- Flight of the Phoenix (1965 original or 2004 remake)
- The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
- Door to Door (2002) - Underrated straight-to-TV film about a man with cerebral palsy who wants to become a door-to-door salesman
- Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) - Pure sales, persistence and Pacino
- Salesman (1969 documentary) (As above, but instead of Pacino it's real door-to-door bible salesmen and what they go through)
- Mr Robot (2015-2019): probably the most thrilling and technically accurate depiction of technology and hacking ever put to a screen, but as someone else said it's also very dystopian and depressing, and not too motivational except in the brief bursts that they show Elliot setting up a hack. Either way no VisualBasic GUIs here.
- Flash of Genius (2008): about the inventor of the modern windshield wiper who had it stolen from Ford and sued them. The premise is motivational, but I personally found it more of a cautionary tale on what you can lose for your principles when you go up against the giants.
A similar one to Flash of Genius, which I didn't include on my motivational list because it is also a cautionary tale, but which also deserves mention is Tucker: the man and his dream (1988).
Code Rush is one of my go-to's when I need inspiration. I was in tech when it came out and it really inspired me how much a group of dedicated programmers could do. https://archive.org/details/CodeRush_616
Same for Triumph Of The Nerds and its follow-up, Nerds 2.0.1 - A Brief History Of The Internet. Fascinating to hear what went on in the back rooms and halls of the people creating the Internet and Web. https://archive.org/details/nerds-2.0.1-a-brief-history-of-t...
Hackers Definitely some unrealistic Hollywood effects but, it's fun and is a good representation of how tech in the 90's felt.
Antitrust It's fun to see the obvious digs at Bill Gates. John "Maddog" Hall consulted on this film which is why you see things like Gnome on all the screens. I got to talk to him in the hall at a conference once right after Antitrust came out. Really interesting guy.
Sneakers: One of my all-time favorites. The premise wasn't super-realistic (guy figures out a back door to all encryption and murder ensues) but the technology of the time was otherwise pretty accurately represented, and the acting is superb.
You'll notice that all of these came out over 20 years ago. I haven't seen much since that captures the feeling of what being in technology felt like to me. People still had that sense from the 60's and 70's that technology could be used to make the world better. People really did want to use technology for more than making money off of ads and personal data.
Same for Triumph Of The Nerds and its follow-up, Nerds 2.0.1 - A Brief History Of The Internet. Fascinating to hear what went on in the back rooms and halls of the people creating the Internet and Web. https://archive.org/details/nerds-2.0.1-a-brief-history-of-t...
Hackers Definitely some unrealistic Hollywood effects but, it's fun and is a good representation of how tech in the 90's felt.
Antitrust It's fun to see the obvious digs at Bill Gates. John "Maddog" Hall consulted on this film which is why you see things like Gnome on all the screens. I got to talk to him in the hall at a conference once right after Antitrust came out. Really interesting guy.
Sneakers: One of my all-time favorites. The premise wasn't super-realistic (guy figures out a back door to all encryption and murder ensues) but the technology of the time was otherwise pretty accurately represented, and the acting is superb.
You'll notice that all of these came out over 20 years ago. I haven't seen much since that captures the feeling of what being in technology felt like to me. People still had that sense from the 60's and 70's that technology could be used to make the world better. People really did want to use technology for more than making money off of ads and personal data.
Primer, both for the discovery within the film and the fact they were able to make an aware winning, cult movie for like $70,000.
It was $7,500. $5,000 of that was the camera hire, $1,400 was the single paid actor (the rest were friends and family). The used expired film stock that a film company donated to the production. It was all edited in Premier Pro on a home PC. Shane Carruth wrote, directed, edited, composed, acted, produced, everything.
My favourite fact is that they only had ~80 mins of film donated to them. This meant they couldn't afford retakes. Normally there's a ~10:1 ratio of shot film to final run length. With Primer and their constraints, they storyboarded everything in such detail and rehearsed so much that they managed to shoot just 74 minutes for a 72 minute run length.
My favourite fact is that they only had ~80 mins of film donated to them. This meant they couldn't afford retakes. Normally there's a ~10:1 ratio of shot film to final run length. With Primer and their constraints, they storyboarded everything in such detail and rehearsed so much that they managed to shoot just 74 minutes for a 72 minute run length.
Is that 10:1 ratio post or pre-digital films? Because in my experience as a young PA film cameras didn't have live viewfinders. Film was maybe 2:1 or 3:1 because you didn't have unlimited film and unlimited film processing budget. Digital and reality TV has made it normal to film everything in multiple takes and clean it in post. But old school DPs, who were used to film, would get the whole thing done in one take without a lot of waste.
I heard the 10:1 ratio a while ago, and for "Hollywood films". So I'm guessing on-film, but where film/processing budget isn't much of a limiting factor. Primer was released in 2004 so at that time most things would have been on film.
That said, I'm not in the industry, this is just what I've read about the production of Primer, so if your experience was of 2-3:1 that may be more accurate!
That said, I'm not in the industry, this is just what I've read about the production of Primer, so if your experience was of 2-3:1 that may be more accurate!
Sorry for the 70k I might have been thinking of Pi, which was another favourite film of mine!
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Maybe try the opposite. You can have too much of a good thing. Cover the screens, spend time outside, read a good book unrelated to tech, diversify your time.
If motivation were a battery you wouldn't try to recharge it and use it at the same time. It might get you a little more uptime but the stress leads to early failure.
If motivation were a battery you wouldn't try to recharge it and use it at the same time. It might get you a little more uptime but the stress leads to early failure.
This is great advice that before today I wouldn't have thought needed to be said, but if comments elsewhere in the thread are an indication, it seems wise to include them. Taking a break is definitely as necessary as motivation, in the end it comes down to the individual to take stock of themselves and understand when they need more motivation or when it's time to go out with a friend and unwind. For me personally I like to use movies and TV to start my morning with, while having breakfast, so I start out motivated to get a lot done.
> If motivation were a battery you wouldn't try to recharge it and use it at the same time. It might get you a little more uptime but the stress leads to early failure.
Thank you for this. I've not thought of it in that way, but it is very accurate.
Thank you for this. I've not thought of it in that way, but it is very accurate.
Some years ago I stumbled upon an "old" documentary on the Voyager missions, from the 80s or 90s I think. It covered the work done on orbit mechanics in the early 70s, the realisation that in a couple of years time there'd be a once in a generation window to send a probe to visit all the planets in the outer solar system, and the political and engineering challenges that had to be overcome to make it happen. It really clarified what an incredible achievement the whole project was, and is by far the most thrilling and inspirational documentary I've ever watched. Sadly can't remember what it was called. I've looked on youtube, there are other voyager documentaries on there, but not this one.
> once in a generation window
That's putting it mildly—the alignment Voyager used occurs once every 176 years! That we went from mucking around with sounding rockets in the New Mexico desert to venturing out of the solar system in a couple decades remains, in my opinion, the crowning technical achievement of humankind.
That's putting it mildly—the alignment Voyager used occurs once every 176 years! That we went from mucking around with sounding rockets in the New Mexico desert to venturing out of the solar system in a couple decades remains, in my opinion, the crowning technical achievement of humankind.
I think The Movies That Made Us on Netflix is great. The general premise is exploring a classic film and the arduous journey to make it happen. The films and their directors are household names now but at the time they really had to push to make it happen with some directors being complete unknowns. Sometimes they were basically establishing their genres as with Toy Story and Halloween. With others, like Elf, they were using techniques like forced perspective and stop motion animation when they were under tremendous pressure to use CGI. I think it's a really great illustration of how the obvious classics were, at one stage, a long shot like everything else.
If you're open to including Twitch channels, Stephen Wolfram's is amazing. He discusses (and makes) software, talks physics, math, biology... And he also runs his company while live streaming.
October Sky - story of a coal miner’s son becoming a Nasa engineer. It was a big inspiration in my high school.
A lot of documentaries produced and published by ARTE are very interresting and are on various topics
- Physics/Astonomy
- Nature
- Social
- Economy
- Informatics
- etc
https://www.arte.tv
They have awesome youtube channels, but I know only about the frenchs one (they probably have french, german and english)
https://www.youtube.com/user/ARTE
https://www.youtube.com/c/arteplus7fr
- Physics/Astonomy
- Nature
- Social
- Economy
- Informatics
- etc
https://www.arte.tv
They have awesome youtube channels, but I know only about the frenchs one (they probably have french, german and english)
https://www.youtube.com/user/ARTE
https://www.youtube.com/c/arteplus7fr
To Mars by A-Bomb: The Secret History of Project Orion. Inspiring by the sheer grandiosity of the task, the will, and the ingenuity to tackle it. Back in the 1950s, while a trip to the Earth Moon was still just science fiction stuff, those guys were planning to go as far as Saturn in a couple of decades, riding nukes. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1039992/
Apollo: Missions to the Moon[0]
There is no narrator for this documentary. All of the "narration" is from recorded tv, radio, and home movies from the time. It is really inspiring to watch humans overcome Earth's gravity to get to the Moon as it happened over 50 years ago.
[0] https://www.natgeotv.com/int/apollo-missions-to-the-moon
There is no narrator for this documentary. All of the "narration" is from recorded tv, radio, and home movies from the time. It is really inspiring to watch humans overcome Earth's gravity to get to the Moon as it happened over 50 years ago.
[0] https://www.natgeotv.com/int/apollo-missions-to-the-moon
Pentagon Wars, which is about the nature of how products become ludicrously elaborate when political pressure is wielded… and about how testing is affected.
Moneyball - Taking a data driven approach to a problem and trusting in the process.
Pretty much any space-related documentaries. Rosetta probe's trajectory alone is one heck of a motivation.
However it's also beneficial to have a dollop of reality on top of Iron Man fantasies. I think that docs like Indie Game and Startup.com must be on the first year CS cirriculum and a required viewing after Social Network. For many, it would help setting expectations a bit more straight.
However it's also beneficial to have a dollop of reality on top of Iron Man fantasies. I think that docs like Indie Game and Startup.com must be on the first year CS cirriculum and a required viewing after Social Network. For many, it would help setting expectations a bit more straight.
I see what you're saying, and will check them out, but I would argue setting expectations straight would be demotivational. As long as you know a given idea is not delusional, I think there might be a benefit in keeping your expectations unmanaged, something psychological that says the more you entertain the idea of things going wrong, the more likely they are to. I may be wrong but I intuitively feel like success for a given goal is to a large extent about being stubborn and headstrong in the pursuit of it.
"The Secret Of My Success" with Michael J. Fox: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093936/
It's funny, silly, totally 80s, but one of the best inspirational business movies out there. It is my go-to when in the same demotivated funk.
It's funny, silly, totally 80s, but one of the best inspirational business movies out there. It is my go-to when in the same demotivated funk.
Certainly Primer and Halt and Catch Fire. At times, Interstellar.
The Wind Rises: A romantic story of a technologically backwards Japan creating the first Zero plane. It's extra inspirational for those of us in developing countries.
Spider-Man Homecoming: Probably low on the list, but I actually liked Vulture reverse engineering tech, cuts close to home.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi: More about the concept of shokunin and how deep it runs. Sushi is one of the simplest things out there, and Jiro makes it even simpler. And yet every piece is built to perfection - the rice, fish, and all the components down this supply chain from the fishermen to fish cleaner and rice merchant.
Spider-Man Homecoming: Probably low on the list, but I actually liked Vulture reverse engineering tech, cuts close to home.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi: More about the concept of shokunin and how deep it runs. Sushi is one of the simplest things out there, and Jiro makes it even simpler. And yet every piece is built to perfection - the rice, fish, and all the components down this supply chain from the fishermen to fish cleaner and rice merchant.
These may be a bit far afield, but they are fun to watch anyway:
The movies Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Artist (2011) are both about response to technological change: the introduction of sound into the movies. The classic noir Sunset Boulevard (1950) touches on a dark side of that.
The musical My Fair Lady (1956) is about education, science, and technology for personal and social transformation. The movie version (1964) shows some early sound recording technology to comic effect.
The movies Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The Artist (2011) are both about response to technological change: the introduction of sound into the movies. The classic noir Sunset Boulevard (1950) touches on a dark side of that.
The musical My Fair Lady (1956) is about education, science, and technology for personal and social transformation. The movie version (1964) shows some early sound recording technology to comic effect.
Triumph of the Nerds
War Games
Real Genius
Any of the 'How it's made' series.
War Games
Real Genius
Any of the 'How it's made' series.
Some movies about the Apollo missions are incredible:
- the recent Apollo 11 movie with restored footage
- in the shadow of the moon documentary (and the related Moon machines series), awesome music as well
- Moonwalk one
- the recent Apollo 11 movie with restored footage
- in the shadow of the moon documentary (and the related Moon machines series), awesome music as well
- Moonwalk one
I just watched "Generation Startup" it's a really cool story around the struggles of young tech entrepreneurs.
It's a documentary. Worth the time.
It's a documentary. Worth the time.
There is one nobody mentioned: Space Hackers (2007)
In the space race era, two Italian brothers mount a big antenna in their house with a RF transceiver to communicate with those in the outer space.
They not only talked with some astronauts, but also keep a really good register of what they done, even some controversial things like a Russian person who died in a mission that no newspaper informed about in that time.
In the space race era, two Italian brothers mount a big antenna in their house with a RF transceiver to communicate with those in the outer space.
They not only talked with some astronauts, but also keep a really good register of what they done, even some controversial things like a Russian person who died in a mission that no newspaper informed about in that time.
"The Americans" is not only a great classic TV series but has lots of examples of cold-war era tech and planning complex missions.
Flash of Genius[0], "The story focuses on Robert Kearns and his legal battle against the Ford Motor Company after they developed an intermittent windshield wiper based on ideas the inventor had patented."
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_of_Genius_(film)
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_of_Genius_(film)
Just posted my own answer with this before seeing this comment, I watched just a few days ago. Decent movie but as I said above it felt like more of a cautionary tale rather than motivational.
I've enjoyed Suits. It's about lawyers, but with an intertwined hacker ethic (one of the lead characters is a college dropout practicing law without a license). There's a bit of cheese that spoils it for me sometimes, but for the most part the emotional drama is pretty engaging, and it definitely inspires a determined, gritty attitude.
+1 for Suits. I didn't do all the seasons, but I was pretty solid for the first five. Also, every guy could use a "Donna" in his life.
The Secret Life of Machines - Tim Hunkin - TV Series, now on the web
Connections - James Burke
The Origins of Precision - Machine Thought - Youtube
MacGyver - 1980s TV show
Connections - James Burke
The Origins of Precision - Machine Thought - Youtube
MacGyver - 1980s TV show
Triumph at Saturn from NASA: https://youtu.be/SY-hQJ5pMd4
Discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28942285
Discussed here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28942285
The Farthest (2017)
A documentary about the Voyager space probes, and the people who built them, launched them, and who continue to keep them operating.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farthest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farthest
Sales: Boiler Room, Glengary Glen Ross
Inspiration: Free Solo (watching someone with singular focus that achieves excellence, it's absolutely incredible)
Tech: meh, not sure much does it here. Tons of entertaining stuff, but not sure what else. Sorkin is good I guess: Steve Jobs and The Social Network.
Inspiration: Free Solo (watching someone with singular focus that achieves excellence, it's absolutely incredible)
Tech: meh, not sure much does it here. Tons of entertaining stuff, but not sure what else. Sorkin is good I guess: Steve Jobs and The Social Network.
Glengarry Glen Ross was excellent and I added it to my own answer above, but I would argue Boiler Room is as motivational as Wolf of Wall Street - some good sales advice scattered amongst (what should be) cautionary tales.
If you like Free Solo, I recommend The Alpinist, another documentary about solo climbing in unreal peaks.
I highly recommend Pulling Power from the Sky: The Story of Makani [Feature Film] available on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qd_hEja6bzE .
The episode about the Halloween movie from the Netflix series movies that made us. Those guys were all unknowns working in a network of established players that wouldn't take to them. Not tech but those guys embody the entrepreneurial spirit.
I know what you mean about The Social Network and Silicon Valley. Not tech specifically, but definitely motivating and inspiring for me are:
Moneyball Margin Call Limitless The Big Short Wolf of Wall Street That Fyre documentary and at Christmas - Trading Places
Moneyball Margin Call Limitless The Big Short Wolf of Wall Street That Fyre documentary and at Christmas - Trading Places
I enjoyed 'The Bit Player' about Claude Shannon.
Also the mini series Devs.
I keep seeing recommendations for devs, but the more I read about it the more it comes across as one of those shows set in tech rather than actually about it. Is there a decent amount of building/tinkering in it?
In no particular order, and covering a variety of genres:
- Sneakers (1993)
- Antitrust (2001)
- The Godfather (1972)
- Mindwalk (1990)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Finding Forrester (2000)
- Startup.com (2001)
- Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
- A Knight's Tale (2001)
- Tron (1982)
- Wargames (1983)
- Quigley Down Under (1990)
- True Grit (2010 (or 1969, but the 2010 is better (imho))
- Ender's Game (2013)
- The Space Between Us (2017)
- Hackers (1995)
- Apollo 13 (1995)
- Twister (1996)
- The Matrix (1999)
- Sharknado (2013)
- Dark Passage (1947)
- Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
- The Dreamer of Oz (1990)
There're a few to get you going :)
- Sneakers (1993)
- Antitrust (2001)
- The Godfather (1972)
- Mindwalk (1990)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Finding Forrester (2000)
- Startup.com (2001)
- Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
- A Knight's Tale (2001)
- Tron (1982)
- Wargames (1983)
- Quigley Down Under (1990)
- True Grit (2010 (or 1969, but the 2010 is better (imho))
- Ender's Game (2013)
- The Space Between Us (2017)
- Hackers (1995)
- Apollo 13 (1995)
- Twister (1996)
- The Matrix (1999)
- Sharknado (2013)
- Dark Passage (1947)
- Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
- The Dreamer of Oz (1990)
There're a few to get you going :)
I haven't seen many of these so I can't confirm, but from the look of the list there's a lot of generic movies that don't fit the bill here. I know for a fact that The Godfather, being probably my favourite movie of all time, has nothing to do with tech, sales or tbh anything that should be inspiring.
If the persistence of of Don Corleone and Michael's willingness to do whatever it takes isn't inspiring...not sure what would be
Movies and Hollywood in general are a pretty bad source for that kind of material.
Also open to recommendations from any other world industry, including Japanese anime.
If you need external inspiration to do something that's usually a bad sign. If you need it to start a business that's a recipe for disaster.
I tend to agree with Elon Musk, he said: "If you need inspiring words, don't do it." [0]
[0] https://www.facebook.com/drivelinebaseball/videos/if-you-nee...
I tend to agree with Elon Musk, he said: "If you need inspiring words, don't do it." [0]
[0] https://www.facebook.com/drivelinebaseball/videos/if-you-nee...
Couldn't disagree more and this is exactly why I worded the text very carefully in the way that I did. It's true that you need to be a certain level of self-driven to achieve a goal or project, and that a good portion of the motivation for it should come internally, but human beings are not the machines that we program and it doesn't benefit us to pretend that we are. Long hours of working on the same overwhelming things has the very natural effect of burning us out, so external motivators are necessary from time to time, and I would argue much more beneficial than running on fumes just because you have some irrational belief that you're too much of a Terminator to need external motivation.
Of course we're influenced by the world around us, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you can't look for inspiration. It kind of has to come to you. This is why movies are probably a bad source. As a commenter below mentioned Apollo 11 was a very inspirational achievement to lots of people, it was an incredible event that changed people's lives specially impressionable children.
You need to be shaped by those events like a statue.
That's why those events need to be powerful, significant and life changing not mere theatrical plays.
You need to be shaped by those events like a statue.
That's why those events need to be powerful, significant and life changing not mere theatrical plays.
you can't look for inspiration. It kind of has to come to you
You need to be shaped by those events like a statue.
those events need to be powerful, significant and life changing
Sounds like you're making a lot of speculation on what you/Elon Musk think humans should be instead of what they actually are.
It's shifting the goalposts compared to your points earlier, which was that human beings could not rely on external motivation.
More importantly, without being accompanied by citations of some sort, your claims about what should be are basically religious/superstitious, and therefore meaningless to anyone else but you.
You need to be shaped by those events like a statue.
those events need to be powerful, significant and life changing
Sounds like you're making a lot of speculation on what you/Elon Musk think humans should be instead of what they actually are.
It's shifting the goalposts compared to your points earlier, which was that human beings could not rely on external motivation.
More importantly, without being accompanied by citations of some sort, your claims about what should be are basically religious/superstitious, and therefore meaningless to anyone else but you.
this sure sounds like external inspiration:
“I think Apollo 11 was one of the most inspiring things in all of human history. Arguably the most inspiring thing. And one of the most universally good things in history. The level of inspiration that provided to the people of Earth was incredible. And it certainly inspired me. I’m not sure SpaceX would exist if not for Apollo 11.”
- Elon Musk
“I think Apollo 11 was one of the most inspiring things in all of human history. Arguably the most inspiring thing. And one of the most universally good things in history. The level of inspiration that provided to the people of Earth was incredible. And it certainly inspired me. I’m not sure SpaceX would exist if not for Apollo 11.”
- Elon Musk
[deleted]
The Andromeda Strain. The film and the book are both excellent. It's a sci-fi when all is said and done, but it sticks in the mind, and is a good symbol for/of modern scientific practice.
I'll go technical here:
Mr. Robot Who am I (a movie, which is released a bit earlier than Mr. Robot but eerily similar)
Leaving aside all the technical correctness especially on Mr. Robot, they both inspired me a lot.
Mr. Robot Who am I (a movie, which is released a bit earlier than Mr. Robot but eerily similar)
Leaving aside all the technical correctness especially on Mr. Robot, they both inspired me a lot.
The Dish (2000) https://archive.org/details/TheDish2000
An older pick that came to mind is McLuhan: The Media is the Massage. It has that sense of "possibility" to it, even being a half-century old.
A few random options:
- Hamilton
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi
- Senna
- Band of Brothers
- A Beautiful Mind
- The Theory of Everything
- Hamilton
- Jiro Dreams of Sushi
- Senna
- Band of Brothers
- A Beautiful Mind
- The Theory of Everything
I found October sky movie to be pretty motivating.
Man on Wire (2008)
I enjoyed "Rise of the Centaur", a documentary about a company that develops an intel compatible microprocessor.
Sneakers and Pirates of Silicon Valley
You might like "Bogowie". On the documentary side: "Something Ventured"
Cosmos, the old one and the 2014 reboot and the 2020 sequel. They're all fantastic
The Computer Chronicles - old but captures that early spirit of anything is possible!
For sales, The Premise, episode 5. One of the best pitches I’ve ever heard.
I’d like to suggest the delightfully intricate worlds of one, Wes Anderson.
Whiplash, even though it’s about music and arguably a cautionary tale
Primer. Inspires me every time I watch it!
If you need external inspiration to do something that's usually a bad sign. If you need it to start a business that's a recipe for disaster.
I tend to agree with Elon Musk, he said: "If you need inspiring words, don't do it." [0]
[0] https://www.facebook.com/drivelinebaseball/videos/if-you-nee...
I tend to agree with Elon Musk, he said: "If you need inspiring words, don't do it." [0]
[0] https://www.facebook.com/drivelinebaseball/videos/if-you-nee...
Sure, but keep in mind Musk and Gates read a lot of sci fi in their youth. I think if you consume enough fiction, it eventually inspires you.
Hidden Figures
Mythic Quest was a lot of fun.
The Matrix
Halt and Catch Fire