“BlackBerry,” a King Kong vs. Godzilla first smartphone saga, premiered to cheers at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday, exploring geek culture, toxic masculinity and the birth of gadget addiction.
Canadian actor and filmmaker Matt Johnson’s two-hour film tells the true story of the rise and catastrophic fall of one of the great inventions at the turn of the new millennium.
Developed by Research in Motion (RIM) based in Waterloo, Ontario. blackberryfirst successful Mobile Phone With built-in Internet Access and thumb operated keyboard.
It soon left millions of users, including Barack Obama, hopelessly hooked, and was nicknamed Crackberry.
The revolutionary handset would pave the way for Apple’s iPhone, which ultimately discredited it and forced RIM out of the market amid an insider trading investigation against Canadian executives.
– ‘Sci-Fi Culture’ –
The film portrays RIM as a band of nerdy brothers — brilliantly gifted misfits WHO Find yourself becoming the titans of a new era.
“The early Internet was pretty much all forums talking about ‘Star Trek,'” Johnson told reporters in Berlin.
He said he wanted to know how this world of fandom led to some of the greatest scientific leaps of our lifetime.
“The people who are going to be the real drivers of technology are also going to be people who are very interested in nerdy sci-fi culture and I saw that as really fertile ground,” he said.
“They watch ‘Star Trek’ and go, ‘Oh man, it would be cool if we had that.’ was built on the basis of watching.”
Johnson and Jay Baruchel (“How to Train Your Dragon”) play company bosses Doug and Mike, who create a harmonious hive of creativity with movie nights and video game battles.
But when it’s time to take their new invention to the next level, they invite (Glenn Howerton of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) to the gym.
A Harvard graduate, Jim becomes the company’s new co-CEO who uses bullying and shady business tactics to get ahead.
While Mike starts out as an idealist who wants his brain to nurture a new global era of communication, Jim forces him to cut corners and abuse staff to meet the constant demands of the market. does.
Johnson, 37, whose previous projects have mainly consisted of satirical documentaries, said the clash of different forms of masculinity was familiar to most men of his generation.
“There’s a culture of men’s locker rooms, men’s sports, men’s competition that I grew up with in the ’90s,” he said.
“I knew what it felt like when I was with all my friends — you played ‘Warhammer’ and someone high-ranking from a sports team or something would come into the room. I knew That I can taste that feeling very well.”
Johnson said he established a “toxic masculine energy throughout the film” where “a fight could break out at any moment” — a corporate environment that he believed led to BlackBerry’s downfall.
Howerton, 46, said his high-flying executive role is the embodiment of widespread fake-it-til-you-make-it bravado.
“If I feel like an alpha male is in the room with me trying to do alpha male things, it becomes very unsafe,” she said. “It was a lot of fun to work as an actor.”
“Blackberry” is one of 19 films vying for the festival’s Golden Bear top prize, which will be awarded Feb. 25 by jury president Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”).
tech.hindustantimes.com
