You are here:

The University

Name: The University
Director: Matt Rutherford
Released: 2016
Duration: 82 min

Representation Score

4.6/10

Fair

2016

TV-PG

Director

Matt Rutherford

Runtime

82 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The documentary highlights the intersection of academia and venture capitalism, emphasizing technocratic optimism. It underscores meritocratic achievement and the transformative power of exponential technologies. While the film successfully showcases a globalized, multi-ethnic student body, it remains firmly anchored in Western institutional authority. The narrative upholds existing power structures without questioning them. Ultimately, the film prioritizes professional competence and institutional success. It documents the advancement of global technological systems through a lens of capitalist progress.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The University have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film does not include any visible LGBTQ+ characters or stories. It focuses on scientific and business goals without addressing non-straight identities.

How does The University portray gender?

Fair

The story centers on high-achieving professionals and traditional leadership roles. It emphasizes competence within established frameworks without challenging gender hierarchies.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The University?

Fair

A diverse group of international students provides meaningful multi-ethnic representation. These perspectives are woven into the narrative through the lens of a high-stakes, globalized technological environment.

How does The University represent religion and culture?

Limited

The documentary is deeply rooted in Western capitalist and techno-optimist ideals. It celebrates institutions like NASA and Google as key drivers of human progress.

Does The University include disability representation?

Limited

There are no characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities. The film focuses on high-performance environments without making disability a central theme.

Present on Screen

The film features a diverse, international group of students.
It offers a globalized perspective on high-stakes technological entrepreneurship.

Limited or Absent

The narrative lacks representation of LGBTQ+ identities and non-straight experiences.
There is a notable absence of characters with physical or neurodivergent disabilities.
The film reinforces traditional Western capitalist structures without exploring diverse social hierarchies.

Official Synopsis

On a NASA research base in Silicon Valley, there's an organization that's changing the world ... Singularity University (SU). Created by renowned futurist Ray Kurzweil and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, with support from NASA, Google, and others, the university brings in some of the smartest students from around the world, and gives them a crash course in the most powerful exponential technologies on the planet. The students are then given a challenge: create companies that will impact a billion people within ten years. The film follows the students and their companies over five years, as they use the support of scientists, astronauts and billionaires in their attempt to make a dent in the universe.

How are these scores produced? →