Aaron Swartz was the co-founder of Reddit, a social networking and media-sharing website, and a left-wing online activist or "hacktivist." After prosecution from the US government and federal agencies, along with increasing mental health problems, Swartz committed suicide in 2013, aged just 26. The sympathetic, well-structured 2014 documentary The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, tries to explain why.
Writer-director Brian Knappenberger covers Swartz' life chronologically, using home movies of Aaron and his younger brothers Noah and Ben, and parents Susan and Robert, who are all interviewed, for a clear look at a rabble-rouser's formative environment. Later we hear from Reddit colleagues, author friend Cory Doctorow, World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee and Swartz' girlfriend Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, whose angry testimony of his treatment is particularly moving. These lucid, sincere reflections ultimately let the film help Aaron to speak from beyond the grave.
Knappenberger clearly admires his subjects, but for objectivity he focuses on the facts and never resorts to manipulative touches. Plus, he handles each interview with composure and discretion, and the interviewees were all very brave to participate. The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz is an authoritative and accurate portrait of a young man who helped to pioneer a new way of making a difference, for our digital age. RIP Aaron Swartz.
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