Movies with cerebral vibe

Vibe

Intimate Bleak Contemplative Deliberate Minimalist

Overview

Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.

Themes

Racial inequality, Economic exploitation, White supremacy, National identity and accountability, Civil rights struggle, Media representation

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Vibe

Realistic Tense Steady Atmospheric Clinical

Overview

The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.

Themes

Merit versus bias in evaluation, Racial and gender segregation, Access to education and training, Credit and authorship disputes, Barriers to advancement, Perseverance under systemic pressure

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Vibe

Realistic Procedural Dry Clinical Intense

Overview

As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise.

Themes

Money laundering ethics, Embezzlement awareness, Accountant morality under pressure, Numbers as leverage, Forensic accountant pressure, Brother relationship tension

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Vibe

Immersive Tense Dynamic Claustrophobic Atmospheric

Overview

After waking up in a hospital with amnesia, professor Robert Langdon and a doctor must race against time to foil a deadly global plot.

Themes

Science vs faith conflict, Elite control of power, Memory fragility under trauma, Trust in institutions under pressure, Biothreat ethics and risk, Conspiracies and deceptions

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Vibe

Bleak Clinical Relentless Measured Dense

Overview

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

Themes

Disenfranchisement legacy, Corporate-influence on policy, Civil rights impact, Racialized sentencing, Police brutality patterns, Private-prison incentives

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Vibe

Claustrophobic Restrained Deliberate Clinical Minimalist

Overview

CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.

Themes

Investigative journalism pressure, Mass surveillance ethics, Surveillance state critique, National security agency politics, Whistleblower consequences, Idealism under pressure

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Vibe

Restrained Deliberate Clinical Relentless Measured

Overview

Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.

Themes

Secrecy vs transparency, State sponsored cyber operation, Investigation under uncertainty, Governance of cyber tools, Collateral disruption risk, Lifecycle of malware

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Vibe

Tense Dry Clinical Fast-paced Cynical

Overview

The men who made millions from a global economic meltdown.

Themes

Conflicts of interest, Subprime mortgage crisis, Risk mispricing and bubbles, Profits vs ethics in finance, Regulatory gaps in markets, Rating agency dishonesty

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Vibe

Tense Bleak Procedural Deliberate Clinical

Overview

A dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu's emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful institutions in the world.

Themes

Institutional pressure against findings, Scientific evidence vs sport, Brain trauma awareness, Public health vs entertainment, Legal and political scrutiny, Advocacy under threat

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Vibe

Tense Atmospheric Bleak Procedural Dry

Overview

Yale University, 1961. Stanley Milgram designs a psychology experiment that still resonates to this day, in which people think they’re delivering painful electric shocks to an affable stranger strapped into a chair in another room. Despite his pleads for mercy, the majority of subjects don’t stop the experiment, administering what they think is a near-fatal electric shock, simply because they’ve been told to do so. With Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial airing in living rooms across America, Milgram strikes a nerve in popular culture and the scientific community with his exploration into people’s tendency to comply with authority. Celebrated in some circles, he is also accused of being a deceptive, manipulative monster, but his wife Sasha stands by him through it all.

Themes

Obedience to authority, Public scrutiny of science, Ethics in research, Career implications of controversy, Social pressure dynamics, Balancing curiosity and caution

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