[linsomniac]

Very much agree, many people I've talked to about Hackers don't seem to get this "it shows what it feels like", and get hung up on interpreting details literally, like the favorite complaint "screens don't project a sharp image onto the wall behind you".

I also like Swordfish for this. Him dancing at the keyboard while programming is very much what it feels like when you have a good hack going.

[ryandrake]

I suppose it all depends on when you grew up and got into computers. I always thought Hackers feeling/vibe was kind of clowny and not representative of computer enthusiasts and hackers. The hackers I grew up exposed to (mid-80s, early-90s) were not cool kids riding rollerblades with wacky hairstyles saying "duuuuuude" and listening to techno. Wargames and Sneakers were a lot closer to the actual vibe. Normal clothes, quiet, careful and a little paranoid, typing into monochrome terminals, and so on. Maybe the scene changed later, but it just seemed like Hackers was too focused on coolifying and popularizing an activity that wasn't really cool or popular.

[alisonatwork]

I do suspect that the scene changed by the mid-90s. Although, it might also be that the American scene was a bit different from the European scene? It's worth mentioning that the movie Hackers was made by a Brit, and perhaps his vision was more influenced by the European scene at the time, despite the movie being based in NYC?

I came of age during the height of the demo scene in Europe, and enjoyed the pre-warez offshoot where pirated games always included exciting intros/cracktros. So hackers making electronic music and cool visuals was the baseline that every noob had to meet to be "elite". Of course in real life we still all wore "normal clothes" and lived careful, quiet lives - but the dream was to be these rockstars that the movie Hackers turned to 11.

[linsomniac]

For reference, I grew up and got into computers in the mid-80s. Yes, Sneakers and War Games was much more like what my reality was, though even more boring and low key. But, I'm still going to go with Hackers being much more like what I felt like inside. :-)

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

[sophacles]

I literally dance at my stand-up desk when I'm deep in some gnarly code. My co-workers make fun of me for it, but also, when I stop dancing they ask me what I figured out.