Documentary backdrop image for Pure Difference (2018)

Documentary backdrop image for Pure Difference (2018)

201822 minPGdocumentary

Pure Difference

201822 minPGdocumentary

A tech conference presentation reveals how numbers and data can reinforce existing power structures and authority in society.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

A tech conference presentation reveals how numbers and data can reinforce existing power structures and authority in society.

People

Byron Petersdirector

Byron Peterswriter

Synopsis

A tech conference presentation sets the stage for Pure Difference, a 22-minute documentary by Peters. The film questions the nature of numbers and the tendency to view data as objective truth. Through a blend of visual styles, including elements of a YouTube video and a film essay, Peters analyzes the languages of science and mathematics. The documentary reveals how these disciplines can reinforce power structures and support authority.

Awards & Festivals

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation (2020)

Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation

2020•56m•★6.0TMDB

The 2020 documentary from Connecticut Public addresses the spread of misinformation and offers strategies for becoming a more informed consumer of information.

Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation

The Power of Privacy - documentary film (2016)

The Power of Privacy - documentary film

In Los Angeles, a digital detective gathers extensive personal information about the host using only publicly shared online data.

The Power of Privacy - documentary film

The Price of Fairness (Social Experiment Documentary) (2019)

The Price of Fairness (Social Experiment Documentary)

Children in Washington state have successfully used the public trust doctrine to challenge their government over environmental issues, setting a legal precedent.

The Price of Fairness (Social Experiment Documentary)

Data Center (2025)

Data Center

10 billion emails are sent every hour, consuming energy equivalent to the output of 50 nuclear power plants for one hour.

Conspiracy, Mainstream Media Or Madness (2023)

Conspiracy, Mainstream Media Or Madness

Thirty saucers have been sighted and remain unexplained, reflecting the growing divide over what constitutes reality in contemporary society.

Conspiracy, Mainstream Media Or Madness

How Your Personal Data is Powering Trump's Global Takeover (2025)

How Your Personal Data is Powering Trump's Global Takeover

Cambridge Analytica's role in the manipulation of personal data highlights the ethical implications of data-driven decision-making in politics and society.

How Your Personal Data is Powering Trump's Global Takeover

Riot in the Matrix - What Google, Amazon, Facebook & Co do with our data? (Full Documentary, 2020) (2023)

Riot in the Matrix - What Google, Amazon, Facebook & Co do with our data? (Full Documentary, 2020)

Data protection activists challenge tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon over privacy issues, highlighting the implications of US surveillance programs like PRISM.

Riot in the Matrix - What Google, Amazon, Facebook & Co do with our data? (Full Documentary, 2020)

Big Data: Are We In a 'Technocracy'? What Do They Know About You? (2023)

Big Data: Are We In a 'Technocracy'? What Do They Know About You?

Every minute, millions of emails and purchases on Amazon create extensive digital footprints.

Big Data: Are We In a 'Technocracy'? What Do They Know About You?

Polarization in the US: Exploring the growing political and cultural divide (2025)

Polarization in the US: Exploring the growing political and cultural divide

The growing political and cultural divide in the United States is examined through interviews with figures like Noam Chomsky and Tucker Carlson, highlighting key issues and potential solutions.

Polarization in the US: Exploring the growing political and cultural divide

Explore Pure Difference

Browse more like this

Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation (2020)

Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation

2020•56m•★6.0TMDB

The 2020 documentary from Connecticut Public addresses the spread of misinformation and offers strategies for becoming a more informed consumer of information.

Fake: Searching for Truth in the Age of Misinformation

No digital watch option in your country

The Price of Fairness (Social Experiment Documentary) (2019)

The Price of Fairness (Social Experiment Documentary)

Children in Washington state have successfully used the public trust doctrine to challenge their government over environmental issues, setting a legal precedent.

The Price of Fairness (Social Experiment Documentary)

No digital watch option in your country

Riot in the Matrix - What Google, Amazon, Facebook & Co do with our data? (Full Documentary, 2020) (2023)

Riot in the Matrix - What Google, Amazon, Facebook & Co do with our data? (Full Documentary, 2020)

Data protection activists challenge tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon over privacy issues, highlighting the implications of US surveillance programs like PRISM.

Riot in the Matrix - What Google, Amazon, Facebook & Co do with our data? (Full Documentary, 2020)

No digital watch option in your country

HyperNormalisation (2016)

HyperNormalisation

2016•2h47m•★7.5TMDB

In a post-truth era, leaders and institutions manipulate information, connecting the Syrian conflict, Russian politics, and U.S. power dynamics.

HyperNormalisation

The Divide (2015)

The Divide

2015•1h18m•★6.7TMDB

The top 0.1% of earners in the US control as much wealth as the bottom 90%, illustrating the stark economic divide in society.

Total Trust (2023)

Total Trust

2023•1h37m•★8.0TMDB

Citizens in China share personal testimonies about the trauma of living under constant surveillance and state control while expressing defiance against oppressive tactics.

Secrets of Big Data (2022)

Secrets of Big Data

2022•1h50m•★7.3TMDB

Big data's influence on personal privacy, artificial intelligence, and societal change is critically examined through various narratives and expert insights.

Secrets of Big Data

Digital Nation (2010)

Digital Nation

2010•1h25m•★10.0TMDB

Rough cuts and raw footage from a PBS project invite audience feedback and personal stories, redefining human experience in a digital world.

State of Mind: The Psychology of Control (2013)

State of Mind: The Psychology of Control

2013•1h50m•★7.3TMDB

Through interviews with experts, the film reveals how societal forces manipulate individual beliefs and perceptions of truth in contemporary society.

State of Mind: The Psychology of Control

Digital Tsunami: Big Tech, Big AI, Big Brother (2025)

Digital Tsunami: Big Tech, Big AI, Big Brother

2025•1h24m•★8.1TMDB

Sixty years after Marshall McLuhan's predictions, a digital tsunami of artificial intelligence and surveillance reshapes human behavior and interaction.

Digital Tsunami: Big Tech, Big AI, Big Brother

Post Truth (2025)

Post Truth

2025•1h42m•★10.0TMDB

Artificial intelligence generates a feature-length documentary that examines society's challenges in discerning truth amid rampant misinformation and cultural dissonance.

Phantom Signals (2020)

Phantom Signals

2020•1h•★7.2TMDB

An endless stream of data surrounds daily life, with glitches like faulty frequencies prompting questions about their origins and meanings.

Phantom Signals

Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses) (1987)

Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses)

1987•1h50m•★6.4TMDB

Jon Jost travels across the United States to explore diverse perspectives on American identity in a cultural commentary produced for Channel Four.

Plain Talk and Common Sense (uncommon senses)

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →