Writing a Right Movie Script About Hacking Is Impossible

hacking

Epic music, flashy images, intense atmosphere, and fast movements of hands of that guy who is trying to break into an FBI computer.

One more second… He did it!

He`s a computer mafioso with extraordinary knowledge and supernatural skills. Isn`t it the most common image of a hacker in movies?

How wrong they`re depicted all the time! Hackers who are going to read this article (hey, guys, are you there?) are going to relate on the highest level possible.

And if you`re one of those people who love spotting plot holes in movies, then we`re happy to present you all possible flaws that cinematography has.

Movies are meant to entertain us. They make us dive into a plot, make us empathize with characters and with a story in general, so a depiction has to be life-like, it has to be realistic, right? Wrong!

Because if all movies were based on this logic, we would have never watched Marvel. And scriptwriters in most cases omit a documentary-level accuracy for the sake of entertainment and good show.

To discover evidence for that, I decided to consult a friend of mine who is a professional writer. (I kind of feel sorry for exploiting her writing skills to write my essay from time to time, so it just seems like a perfect opportunity to say how much I appreciate that help.)

So, I asked her about a possible limit of fiction in stories like those. It turns out, there is simply no right answer (what did I even expect?). As far as a reader doesn`t show too much suspicion and distrust, scriptwriters are free to do whatever they want.

So what do they often get horribly wrong?

Can You Do It Any Faster?

The most common depiction of a hacker in movies is a scene where a guy or a girl is just typing as fast as possible. It seems that they are trying to ignite the fire in the way cavemen did it.

In this case, I pretty much resemble a hacker while typing my articles.

You`ve probably noticed that hacking scenes are mostly just about typing. The faster the better. And somehow, it works for these guys. And it`s far from reality.

In real life, a hacking process may take hours and days, and it`s really boring. Of course, directors have to add some epic moves to films just to make those hacking scenes bearable.

Oh, Look, an Icon! And Another Icon! There Are Tons of Them!

When a camera leaves hacker`s hands alone while he/she is trying to beat the world record of speed typing, it moves to the computer screen. And what do we see there? So many windows! There are hundreds of them and they`re get opened really fast.

Apparently, there is supposed to be a correlation between the speed of typing and the speed of these windows` popping up.

But it just makes zero sense!

Illuminati, Is That You?

Movies are trying to sell us an idea that hackers have a secret online society and even a code of honor. Yep, just like Italian mafia does!

In order to debunk this myth, let`s think logically. It’s quite good to practice logical thinking from time to time, isn`t it?

Who are hackers? Many of them are computer geniuses who work for secret government organizations. Do you remember news reports about Russian Kremlin hackers who invaded the American Facebook space and influenced an outcome of the 2016 presidential election?

Do you really think that they are connected to any other secret organization around the world? They would stop being secret!

And those who work alone don`t need any kind of community, because the fewer people know about their activities, the better.

Do You Speak Hackers?

You need to learn that language. Otherwise, how will you understand what hackers in movies talk about?

When true computer geniuses watch such scenes, they say that the way screen hackers speak just makes no sense. It`s most likely that Hollywood scriptwriters just keep on hoping that nobody would ever doubt that gibberish.

They seem to be like, “Of course, nobody knows what those words mean anyway, so let`s just throw some terms which sound computer-ish in a completely random order!”

Big Bang Theory Vibe

You`ve watched The Big Bang Theory, right? Because otherwise, my reference would make little sense to you. But you must have heard about the concept of this TV-show, so hopefully, you`ll get the gist.

Hackers are often portrayed as social outcasts who are losers in real adult life. Screen computer guys spend their days with gadgets, and that`s why they have to be socially awkward sociopaths with weird, quirky inclinations.

Oh, come on, how is that stereotype still alive in the modern world where everything depends on IT and where people who are friends with computers get insanely high salaries?

Nerdy and geeky? More like rich and cool!

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