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People You May Know

People You May Know

Representation Score

8.9/10

Excellent

2020

Director

Charles Kriel, Katharina Gellein Viken

Runtime

92 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

People You May Know is a sophisticated investigative documentary that prioritizes systemic critique over individual character studies. It excels at deconstructing how religious and political institutions intersect to manipulate vulnerable populations. The film's strength lies in its examination of institutional corruption and the ways political entities leverage socio-economic and religious fractures. It provides a high-level view of how power dynamics shift under the influence of disinformation. However, the documentary lacks explicit representation of specific identities. While it addresses the vulnerabilities of underrepresented groups, it often treats them as subjects of exploitation rather than providing them with central narrative ability to act.

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Category Breakdown

Does People You May Know have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on geopolitical disinformation rather than LGBTQ+ storylines. There are no explicit depictions of LGBTQ+ characters or intimate relationships.

How does People You May Know portray gender?

Good

The narrative challenges patriarchal political structures by positioning an advisor against elite, male-dominated organizations. It highlights how systemic manipulation affects demographics often underrepresented by traditional masculine leadership.

How racially and ethnically diverse is People You May Know?

Good

The documentary examines how microtargeting exploits socio-economic vulnerabilities. It addresses how racial and ethnic disparities are leveraged by far-right radicalization during a journey across the American social fabric.

How does People You May Know represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film provides a deep critique of Western religious-political hegemony. It explores the tension between secular democratic processes and the imposition of religious law through institutional critique.

Does People You May Know include disability representation?

Fair

The film touches on mental health by portraying the exploitation of the grieving and the addicted. These individuals are shown as subjects of systemic manipulation rather than having full ability to act.

Present on Screen

  • Strong institutional critique regarding the intersection of religion and political power.
  • Effective examination of how disinformation exploits socio-economic and racial disparities.
  • Deep engagement with the systemic manipulation of vulnerable populations.

Limited or Absent

  • Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ character representation or storylines.
  • Underrepresented groups are often portrayed as victims rather than having narrative ability to act.
  • Limited focus on specific individual identities in favor of broad systemic analysis.

Official Synopsis

People You May Know follows Charles Kriel, specialist advisor to UK Parliament on disinformation, when he discovers Cambridge Analytica collaborating with a software company creating a microtargeting platform for US churches, targeting vulnerable people - the poor, the grieving, the addicted - to radicalise them for far-right politics. With US 2020 elections coming, Kriel gathers a team of whistleblowers and journalists, and journeys across America with his young family, where he discovers a powerful organisation with ties to the heart of the White House. The man who commissioned CA is a member of the most powerful secret political organisation in the United States, with an agenda to rewrite the Constitution according to Christian law. Going undercover, he risks everything to gain access where no outsider has ever set foot.

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