The movie, Hackers, came out in 1995, so since then a lot of technology has changed, been improved, and new technologies have come out. For example, many of the characters used Walkman’s instead of iPods. The monitors where old and boxy and out of style with today’s times. The graphics on the computers themselves were not as advanced as they are today. A major difference in the phones. In the movie everyone used payphones, landlines, and even beepers to communicate with one another. Now, everyone has a cell phone to communicate. The laptops in the movie where also bulky with a tiny screen that does not have the graphic that we do today. Also, everything now has better security so that hacking becomes a lot harder than it was back in 1995. Lastly, most computers now are touchscreen, or do not use keyboards, but every computer and laptop had keys and a mouse with a wire on it.
If I were to stereotype hackers today I would think of a male, in his twenties, with brown hair and thick black glasses. He probably is tall and lanky and lives by himself in a high-rise tower in New York City. He would wear tight jeans, and probably have many computers that he uses to hack. He wouldn’t get out much and this would be his job. If you saw this guy walking down the street he would look like a computer nerd and you would probably think to yourself that he doesn’t get out much.
The thing I liked most about this movie is that Dade and his crew of hackers were able to stop the ships from being capsized and catch all of the bad guys with their hacking skills. This shows that not all hackers are bad people, and that having this knowledge of source codes is something that may one day be useful.
My thoughts on the anti-authoritarian culture of computer hacking is that some people have different morals than others. Dade and his friends used it for harmless pranks and friendly competitions amongst one another. I personally do not see an entertainment in computer hacking. I personally do not want to be hacked. I think that there should be more precautions taken so that hacking does not because a social norm, and that offenders should get in more trouble with the police if caught.
Micro Workers
Hackers (1995)