Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism

A four-part essay-series by the director of I Am Not Your Negro, following the sentence that Conrad's Kurtz wrote on his report in Heart of Darkness. Peck narrates a history of colonialism, genocide and white supremacy from Columbus to the American West to the Congo, mixing archive footage, animation and staged scenes. It is the story the textbooks soften.

Why it’s here: The series connects things the curriculum keeps apart: colonial violence, slavery, the Holocaust, and the ideas that justified each. What's punk is the refusal of the neutral tone, and the fact that it names the thread. What's pedagogical is that it can be paused, discussed and argued with. Pairs with Discourse on Colonialism, Orientalism and King Leopold's Ghost. Note: it is long, essayistic and dense, and some critics call its sweep too broad.

Narrated by Matt Damon, Ferguson's Oscar-winning documentary takes apart the 2008 financial crisis: the deregulation, the ratings agencies, the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington and the economists who were paid to say it was fine. He interviews the people responsible, and watches some of them squirm.

Why it’s here: The film shows the crisis as a decision, not a natural disaster. What's punk is the interview chair: the people who profited are asked to explain themselves on camera, and several do not. What's pedagogical is the way it follows the money and the incentives, including the academic ones. It is the film companion to Too Big to Fail and The Big Short, and a fitting pair for the Capitalism bundle. Note: Ferguson was criticized for the access some interviewees were given and for the narrow focus on the US; the film is a one-sided prosecution by design.