I watch Werner Herzog documentaries for Herzog, not the subject matter, which is why I watched Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World. Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World is Herzog’s cinematic reflections on the Internet.
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World begins with a brief history of the Internet before delving into its effects on humanity. Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World is initially optimistic and lauds how the Internet enables brilliant people who are not enrolled in an Ivy League university to still attend classes and self-driving cars, which I have a personal stake in as a New Yorker who now has to drive.
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World then shows the anarchy of the Internet, which is when Herzog begins to touch on the psychological and spiritual effects of the Internet. Interviewees see the Internet as an Anti-Christ figure that empowers people with anonymity to abandon ordinary codes of conduct and decency. Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World even gave me an apocalyptic scenario: the destruction of civilization through solar fare. There are more conventional, but no less terrifying prospects such as criminal hacking that leads to war—someone make a documentary on Titan Rain, STAT!
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World also shows viewers what life is like without the Internet in a world with the Internet. This section of Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World is as close as Werner’s films get to exploring socioeconomic, racial dynamics in society albeit not consciously. This section of Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World profiles people who claim that they are allergic to the Internet or are Internet addicts so they moved to an unconnected community in the country.
Let me be clear. They could be right that the Internet can cause allergic symptoms in people, and I am positive that people are addicted to the Internet (ME!), but it is not an accident that this community appears to consist primarily of a certain segment of American society. Instead of blaming alcohol or drug use, one interviewee blamed the Internet for alcohol or drug use. Could a person of color say that and believed or accorded respect and legitimacy? See Let The Fire Burn before answering my question.
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World is an entertaining meditation on the Internet’s effect of human life, but if you are not into Werner Herzog, skip it for something more substantial and conventional like a PBS documentary.