This Black Mirror episode deals with the ethics of talent shows, consumerism, surveillance, and sensationalism.It features a system making people ride stationary bikes in order to earn “Merits”, a digital currency. Living in a room plastered with monitors they are forced to watch commercials or pay Merits if they want to skip them. When main […]

Based on the novel by John Grisham, this legal drama film deals with racism, rape, and the American legal jury system. A ten-year-old Afro-American girl is raped and beaten up by two white men who are arrested but will probably walk free. Upon hearing that, Carl Lee, the girl’s father in a mood of rage […]

A crime story dealing with powerlessness, alienation, and insanity. A young woman returns to her hometown to look for her father, who has disappeared. She, her lover, and her best friend go to her father’s island, where she follows some clues and concludes that her father has gone mad but must still be alive. Over […]

Stacey and Laney are twins, but couldn’t be any more different. While Stacey hates breaking rules, Laney regularly skips schools to hang out with her boyfriend. So noone is immediately concerned when Laney goes missing,except for her twin. Stacey is convinced something is seriously wrong and is plagued by terrifying dreams of Laney. Can she […]

This documentary addresses an important and often overlooked effect of global warming. In the past 30 years, half of our coral reefs have died due to coral bleaching from rising water temperatures. To visualize this problem and raise awareness, scientists and photographers use time-lapse cameras to capture this devastating process. Watching this documentary could be […]

This short story with its dystopian notion deals with blatant racism and the resulting splitting of society. The society described from the view of Emmanuel, a young black man, is a highly racist one leading to constant monitoring of behaviour. Emmanuel talks about how he changes according to how black he wants to seem depicting […]

This dystopian short story deals with the definition of justice, justification of killing, killing as entertainment, racial profiling, and also hints at the effect watching acts of violence might have on children. Isaiah works as an actor in an entertainment park where people can buy experiences of committing acts of violence firsthand including gunshots. All […]

This short story describes the destructive effect of consumerism on a human level. To this end, the shopping frenzy is brought to absurd perversion. The story is written from the perspective of a salesman working his shift on Black Friday. Especially on this occasion, shopping has become an endeavour of life and death. People turn […]

What If? answers hilariously abstract and specific questions using a strictly scientific approach. Have you ever wondered what would really happen if our planet stopped spinning? Or how many Lego pieces it would take to build a Lego bridge between London and New York? Now you’ll get your answers! The chapters are short and sweet, […]

This coming-of-age adventure novel from the Victorian era follows young Jim Hawkins on his seafaring treasure-hunting endeavours. By chance, Jim Hawkins acquires a map of an island leading to a hidden treasure. It belonged to the infamous pirate Captain Flint, who stored his valuables on the island. Jim and a few others subsequently undertake the […]

In his autobiography, Edward Snowden describes his life: his first encounters with technology and the following enthusiasm he developed for coding and the internet. He talks about his career and the process up to his groundbreaking revelations in 2013 about the spying activities and large-scale data collection, especially of the NSA. The book gives valuable […]

Nora Seed has been unhappy in life for a long time. When the last sources of happiness fall away, she attempts to take her life; only to end up in a magical library. The librarian explains that this library will let her undo all her regrets in life and “try out” other versions of her […]

Set in the 19th century, this novel tells the story of two slaves, Cora and Caesar, forced into labour on a plantation in Georgia. Desperate to escape their inhumane living conditions, they follow the Underground Railroad, a railroad transport system complete with secret routes and safe houses. They are hunted by a slave catcher, Ridgeway, […]

The musical drama West Side Story is the recent film adaptation of the stage musical by the same name. Set in 1957, the film tells the story of territorial and personal conflict between two gangs in Manhattan’s West Side. Prior to a planned ‘rumble’ between the Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks, Tony and Maria meet […]

The Maze Runner is a science-fiction film based on the novel by the same name, the first of a trilogy. The story follows 16-year-old Thomas, who wakes up in a moving elevator with no memory of who he is. The mysterious elevator delivers him to a patch of land in the middle of a maze. […]

Cadence Sinclair lives a life of luxury. Every summer is spent on a private island, called Beechwood Island, with her family and best friends. Her family comes from old money, Cadence being the eldest grandchild. Everything in their life is cushy and perfect, or so they pretend. The reality is that Cadence has had debilitating […]

This film is a classic in the dystopian science fiction genre. Gattaca presents a world driven by eugenics, in which children are genetically selected and modified during pregnancy. This leads to a society full of genetic discrimination where individuals are hired or disqualified for certain jobs solely due to their genetic makeup. The main character […]

Jurassic Park is the first installment of the science-fiction franchise of the same name. On the fictional island Isla Nublar, wealthy businessman John Hammond has created a wildlife-park like none other. His team of geneticists manages to bring formerly extinct dinosaurs back to life through the help of prehistoric mosquitos and cloning. When an employee […]