Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine

Showings

Mary D. Fisher Theatre Fri, Sep 4, 2015 7:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Sat, Sep 5, 2015 1:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Sun, Sep 6, 2015 4:00 PM
Mary D. Fisher Theatre Tue, Sep 8, 2015 4:00 PM
Film Info
Event Type:Film
Release Year:2015
Run Time:127 minutes
Production Country:USA
Original Language:English
Trailer:youtu.be/jhWKxtsYrJE
Cast/Crew Info
Director:Alex Gibney

Description

From Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney — the creator of such controversial and thought-provoking films as Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks and The Armstrong Lie — comes another penetrating and contemplative exploration of contemporary society and the men and women who shape it: “Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”.

Perhaps the most publicly revered corporate figure of the technology age, Jobs’ untimely death at the age of 56 in 2011 set off a worldwide outpouring of grief from consumers who worshipped his signature products such as the iPhone and the iMac. As the co-founder and CEO of Apple, his name and image had become synonymous with the sleek, high-tech personal devices that came to define and transform the first two decades of the 21st century. Even after his death, the highly secretive creation and careful launching of each new Apple product continues to be the focus of mass media interest and a rush by consumers to be the first to own it.

As a result, Jobs was able to transform Apple from a small start-up working out of a garage into the world’s most valuable corporation in history, a global economic engine.
 
“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine” is a laser-sharp and balanced assessment of the technology mogul, who was part iconoclast, part savvy corporate chieftain, part genius, part tyrant. Even if Apple’s products carried a small “i”, the ego behind them was writ large. Like many gifted entrepreneurs, it was no accident that his public persona as the face of Apple often eclipsed the valuable contributions of his talented colleagues. 

The innovative structure of the film allows Gibney the freedom to explore the trenchant paradoxes of Jobs’ personal and public life and simultaneously examine the complexities of society’s interaction with personal computer technology. He does so through a fascinating mixture of archival footage and probing interviews with the men and women who were a part of Jobs’ personal and professional life.

First and foremost, “Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine” is an evocative portrait of one man’s legacy. It unravels the larger than life myth Steve Jobs so deliberately crafted, and examines the perpetuation of his values, which continue to shape the culture of Silicon Valley to this day.