Independent Lens
Coded Bias
Data scientists, mathematicians, and ethicists fight to expose the threats to civil liberties posed by an increasingly data-driven, automated world.
TikTok, Boom.
The power and complexity of technology is examined through the lens of one of the most influential platforms of the contemporary social media landscape, TikTok.
- Series
- Independent Lens
- Premiere Date
- October 24, 2022
- Length
- 83:41 minutes
Director/Producer
Shalini Kantayya
Shalini Kantayya’s Coded Bias premiered at Sundance, was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary and a Critics’ Choice Award. Her debut feature, Catching the Sun, was released on Netflix and named a NY Times Critic’s Pick. Her recent film TikTok, Boom. was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at 2022 Sundance Film.
- Other ITVS Films
- Coded Bias
Producer
Ross M Dinerstein
Ross Dinerstein is the founder and CEO of Campfire Studios. Over the past 20 years, Dinerstein has produced or executive produced 50+ series and feature films, premiering projects at the most prestigious festivals in the world and airing on almost every major network and streaming platform.
Producer
Danni Mynard
Danni Mynard is a documentary filmmaker, based out of Brooklyn, NY. She produced TikTok, Boom. which premiered at Sundance 2022, along with the critically acclaimed Once Upon a Time in Londongrad and WeWork: or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn. Her recent work can be viewed on HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Nat Geo, and many more.
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The Film
The power and complexity of technology is examined through the lens of one of the most influential platforms of the contemporary social media landscape, TikTok. TikTok, Boom. dissects the platform along myriad cross-sections—algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural—in order to explore the impact of the history-making app. A cast of Gen Z subjects, helmed by influencer Feroza Aziz, is central to the film, balancing a genuine interest in the TikTok community and its innovative mechanics with a healthy skepticism around the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform. Inherent in that balance is an inquiry into what it means to be a digital native.
