Peter Porta’s The Click Trap dives headfirst into the muddy waters of online advertising and tracking algorithms, trying to decipher and disseminate them in a way that makes them more accessible to the general public. From explaining how your phone can seemingly know exactly what you want to buy next before you even make a concerted decision, to how hate speech and disinformation have managed to become the prevalent news of the day. The Click Trap lays out compelling information from organisations like the ‘Center for Countering Digital Hate’, ‘Check My Ads’ and ‘Sleeping Giants’ that clearly outline how this has come to be, and more importantly, how the people in power profit off of this.
The thing with documentaries that come in similar style to The Click Trap is that a lot of talking heads disseminate a lot of well researched information all at once. The investment level from the audience usually depends on the interest in the subject matter that they come to the screening with. Fortunately for the filmmakers here, this is a subject matter that should be top of mind for anyone using social media/the internet, which is basically all of the free world at this point. The film has no lack of well educated and read experts in the subject and manages to present many compelling arguments through its 80 minute runtime.
In fact, the biggest issue with The Click Trap might not even be the standard ‘talking heads’ delivery that hampers the film at points. However it may just be that there’s too much information thrust forward that it can make a single theatrical screening feel daunting and overwhelming. The audience can decide if that’s a good or bad thing.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Documentary
- Release Date: 5/1/2024
- Directed by: Peter Porta
- Produced by: Carles Brugueras, Fabrice Esteve, Marieke van den Bersselar
- Studio: Java Films
