What Is ‘Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World’?

Andrew Hawkins
Movies
Movies

Werner Herzog has explored many aspects of life and culture in his career, and now he is focusing on the realm of cyberspace. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World is a new documentary from the acclaimed filmmaker that looks at the history and reality of the internet and what global mass communication means to the world. Fascinating, terrifying and hilarious at times, Lo and Behold is a documentary everyone should watch.

This movie is enthralling. The way we as humans communicate with each other has evolved to the point that without the internet and computers we would all be stuck. Herzog dives deep into the world that we live in now where network connectivity runs our lives and manages our resources. It’s a scary thought that if your local grocer can’t email his distributor, you might go hungry in a matter of days. No one is unaffected by this reality, and it’s a terrifying thought.

Lo and Behold begins with the genesis of the internet. After about a half-hour of exploring the way cyber networking was created through interviews and personal accounts, Herzog starts looking at how this form of communication affects humankind. We see people who have been the victims of cyberbullying and malicious attacks tell their story and others who have sought rehabilitation for their gaming addictions. One of the most interesting parts of the film is a segment where a small community lives in seclusion away from antenna towers that broadcast physically harmful frequencies.

How does it end?

The documentary goes on to look at how threats to cyber security could destroy our livelihood, and then how we could eventually use this technology to plan for off-world colonization. Many of the interviews in the film are incredible to watch and listen to. Entrepreneurial giant Elon Musk discusses what the future may bring in terms of human sustainment, and legendary hacker Kevin Mitnick delivers accounts of his greatest achievements in cyber crime. This is a movie that directly connects to everybody on the planet. Werner Herzog’s Lo and Behold is a must see.

Werner-Herzog-Lo_Behold
Andrew Hawkins
Andrew Hawkins is a producer and publicist known for Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, Jan Svankmajer’s INSECT, and Athanor: The Alchemical Furnace. Follow him on Twitter @mrandrewhawkins