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Film Friday: We Are Legion, the Story of the Hacktivists

By raincoaster on February 20, 2015 • ( 0 )

We Are Anonymous via Matteo Soriano on Twitter

Let’s go back in time, kittens: back all the way to 2008, before most of the world had ever heard of Anonymous. And then, let’s look at some of the the busiest, messiest years in American history and watch as Anonymous becomes more than a household name: it becomes a movement. That’s the premise of this film.

The documentary covers the most interesting years of Anonymous history (so far) including the rise and fall of LulzSec and other spin-off hacker crews who became Most Wanted, then Most Indicted, then convicted or pled, sentenced, and filed away in boxes like their own rap sheets. Some of those people are out now, and being much more careful about what they put on Twitter.

Here is what the film’s website says:

WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists, takes us inside the complex culture and history of Anonymous. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, and then moves to Anonymous’ own raucous and unruly beginnings on the website 4Chan.

Through interviews with current members – some recently returned from prison, others still awaiting trial – as well as writers, academics and major players in various “raids,” WE ARE LEGION traces the collective’s breathtaking evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown, global movement, one armed with new weapons of civil disobedience for an online world.

And here, then, is the film itself. As always with YouTubes, these things have a half-life and we can’t guarantee you’ll be able to watch this forever, but you can order it on iTunes or buy the DVD or Bluray disk direct from the producers. Note that’s a Shopify link, not an Amazon link.

Because reasons.