dfloro Review of 15 Minutes of Shame

15 Minutes of Shame (2021)

Not as good nor as bad as many reviewers claim

[6/10 · 23 October 2023]

First of all, Monica Lewinsky is hardly in this, other than some beginning & ending narration. Some reviewers need to get over that obsession. I've never seen "Catfish," so know nothing of the filmmaker's other work. All of that said, this documentary definitely expresses a particular point of view, both by way of the experts that it interviews and the examples it highlights. (Its makers, for example, are sure no fans of Section 230 of the Communications Act.) That's not a bad thing, of course, as any work of creation reflects the creator(s), and seeking "objectivity" in almost any form of human endeavor is a fool's quest. But be forewarned: this film wears its biases on its sleeve and clearly favors some forms of Internet regulation, in general, and social media rules and guidelines, in particular. I think we need more and better explorations of "cancel culture," "cyber bullying" and the like, so at least this is a sort of a start down that road.