Silicon Valley is a mainstream term now. Everyone knows that Silicon Valley is home to some of the most successful and innovative companies out there—the birthplace of companies that form the backbone of the world as we know it. A new series from National Geographic, Valley of the Boom, examines the tech boom of the 1990s and the burst of the dotcom bubble through a very creative and engaging format.
The Silicon Valley Origin Story
The Silicon Valley of today is sort of version 3.0 of the internet and technology. Valley of the Boom explores the origin story of version 1.0, where equal parts genius and hubris combined to create some of the biggest companies ever known—as well as some monumental mistakes and flops.
I had a chance to speak with Arianna Huffington, one of the producers of the series. She shared her praise for Executive Producer Matthew Carnahan, and her appreciation for the way the series captures the drama of the period in a way that the viewing audience will relate to.
“Why it is so interesting—and why I decided to get involved—is we are now grappling with the consequences of the internet: addicted to technology, loss of privacy, drowning in data,” explained Huffington. “Now, we are in the ‘grown up’ phase where we realize we have to set boundaries.”
Unique and Engaging Format
The series follows the format of the successful Mars series from National Geographic—combining documentary coverage with a unique fictional narrative into a docudrama. The 6-epsiode series will premiere on National Geographic on January 13, 2019.
If you didn’t live through and experience it yourself, imagine a mashup of the insanity of the HBO series Silicon Valley, the drama of The Social Network, the genius and drive of Jobs, and the debauchery and decadence of The Wolf of Wall Street or Brotopia.
The thing that makes Valley of the Boom awesome, though, is the creative way the stories are told. For example, most people who lived through the 90s are aware of the browser wars. Netscape essentially created and dominated the market until Microsoft jumped into the fray and turned Internet Explorer into essentially a browser monopoly until Firefox and Chrome came along. Even if you know that, though, you’ve probably never seen it shared in the form of a rap battle.
Valley of the Boom doesn’t just combine documentary and scripted drama, it also shares stories through a variety of creative means from rap battles and puppets, to flash mobs. The end result is a series that examines the culture of the Silicon Valley during the 90s in a way that is simultaneously entertaining, engaging, and educational.
