When Hackers was released in theaters in 1995 most people didn’t have Internet in their homes. Now they have Internet in their pockets, cars, on refrigerator doors, in every conceivable space in their house (ah, the joys Wi-Fi) and, yes, even in the movie theater just in case there’s a need for quick browsing before the popcorn and previews.
The world has changed a lot since 1995, although not the world within Hackers, a film about teens in cyberspace that was quickly forgotten when it was released only to re-emerge now as a prescient piece of ’90s pop culture — or maybe it never left. As it turns out Hackers wasn’t just a hokey and ridiculous computer adventure, but a cultural milestone so far ahead of it’s time — 15 years, which in computer years is more like 50 — that it still holds up in this age of wireless Internet, smart phones and 3G. Or is it 4G now?
Of course, some of the details are little screwy today — the “28.8 BPS modem,” laptops as big Oxford dictionaries and pay phones — which is expected from a movie that predates the iPhone, iPad and anything else even remotely iSimilar. Still, though, the basic premise of the film is rock solid in today’s computer-driven society. Its themes are computer hacking, Internet freedom, digital anonymity and corporate takedown. Need proof these are still relevant? Just pick up a newspaper: “Phone hacking at News of the World,” “Playstation Network hacked, data stolen,” “Citigroup customer data hacked,” “24,000 files stolen from Pentagon contractor,” “Hacker group defaces CIA home page” … the headlines could form a line around the block.
The film takes place in 1994, which inspires one of the better lines: "[George Orwell’s] 1984 was a typo, man.” It’s set in New York City
The hero here is Dade (Johnny Lee Miller), which sounds strange without “county” and “Florida” being said after it. His hacker handle is Crash Override. After a very public hacking conviction — in which he’s ordered to not use a computer or touch-tone telephone until his 18th birthday— Dade moves to Manhattan, where we see him turn 18 and once again plug into the net where his skills are unmatched as a hacker.
Later he meets other colorful hacking characters including Cereal Killer, Phantom Phreak and a spritely Acid Burn, played by a young Angelina Jolie in a pixie haircut. If nothing else, Hackers does introduce us to Angelina, which is its own kind of milestone. All of them together are framed by a more devious computer hacker, The Plague (Fisher Stevens, Oscar winning producer of The Cove), who worries they may have stumbled onto his plans for a digital theft. The Plague gets the Secret Service involved (yep, that’s Marc Anthony and The Bunk, aka Wendell Pierce) to hunt down Dade and his crew, who descend into an underground of neon-glam and wacky outfits to attack the system and clear their names.
Besides being a crisp, well-made film with strong characters and perceptive dialogue, Hackers brought a distinctive computer literacy to the screen. Much of it is oversimplified — with swirling hallucinations representing computer code and Tron-like superhighways that standing in for mainframes — yet it works because it helps tell the story visually. It’s unlikely that anyone could hack a television network and manually change the show, but it’s the idea that big things can be done via computer that Hackers should be recognized for. That and the mainstreaming of the many house, trance and electronic artists who appear on the soundtrack.
Regarding the film’s ethical authenticity, it’s notable to illuminate that Dade’s quasi-criminal actions are viewed sympathetically within the film. In some sequences, hacking is staged as downright noble, akin to delivering babies or volunteering at a soup kitchen. The film uses some misplaced justifications that many hackers probably still use today: that system vulnerabilities are there to be exploited, authority must be decentralized and the classic excuse that data should be free and accessible as opposed to locked behind firewalls. Nevermind that what they are doing amounts to theft, espionage or just regular ol' vandalism.
It’s easy to buy into the sub-sonic pop entertainment of Hackers, and even its ethical ideology, but then you read in any national newspaper how hackers are routinely using their tricks to steal bank account information or defraud a system, neither of which are noble endeavors. The film posits that hackers have principles, when in reality modern hacking seems to be as greedy as the companies they so often infiltrate. It’s not Hackers’ fault, it’s just that Hackers considers an ideal world that is simply not possible or plausible. Computer hackers are not investigative journalists, and probably never will be. (Though, I would like to admit, all ethical dilemmas aside, I'd love for a hacking group to infiltrate Rupert Murdoch's email to poke around.)
So the film was wrong about the "hackers are the voice of the voiceless" part, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t noteworthy hacker groups. Anonymous seemingly invented the word “hacktivism,” and their choice of targets and reasons for targeting them would illicit cheers from most web surfers. For instance, when WikiLeaks took flak for some of its blockbuster record releases, Anonymous made it a priority to retaliate against those who opposed the open range of information that WikiLeaks was permitting. They’ve also fought YouTube for content restrictions and Australia
Hackers is by no means an endearing classic in the vein of Casablanca
