Debapriya Bhattacharya
Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Hulu’s ‘Swiped‘ tells the story of Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd (Lily James) and her struggle to build two of the world’s most popular online dating platforms. As a co-founder and Vice President of Marketing at Tinder, Whitney’s ideas to make the platform more friendly and safe for women are sidelined by her male-founders. However, she refuses to be subdued and decides to break the glass ceiling in the male-dominated tech industry by launching her own platform, Bumble, with its women-first approach.
Becoming a direct competitor of Tinder gets Bumble sued by the company, but Whitney refuses to back down and claws her way up to become the youngest female self-made billionaire. The biographical docudrama tells an inspirational story of the resilience of a woman tech entrepreneur and highlights that the sky is the limit if one is up for the fight. If the story has piqued your interest, here is a list of films similar to ‘Swiped’ that you should add to your list.
10. Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
Based on the book ‘Fire in the Valley: The Making of the Personal Computer’ by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine, ‘Pirates of Silicon Valley’ is a biographical film that chronicles nearly three decades in the lives of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Apple founder Steve Jobs. Between 1971 and 1997, the two tech titans were locked in a fierce competition that ultimately revolutionized the world of personal computing. Directed by Martyn Burke, the film stars Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates, and follows them from the time they are students at U.C. Berkeley and Harvard, respectively, till Microsoft and Apple become household names at the end of the twentieth century. Whitney Wolfe Herd, in ‘Swiped,’ stands on the shoulders of these giants as she makes a new practical application of technology.
9. Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017)
Helmed by Alexandra Dean, ‘Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story’ is a documentary film that revolves around the life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Born in 1914 in an Austrian Jewish family, Hedy lived through both World Wars, traveled from Europe to the US, and found fame as a leading actress in Hollywood in the 1940s. However, she was not limited to a career in the entertainment industry and was a talented inventor despite never having any formal training. She co-created the technology of frequency hopping with George Antheil, which later became the basis of Bluetooth technology. Like ‘Swiped,’ ‘Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story’ champions a woman making a breakthrough in the world of technology.
8. Flash of Genius (2008)
Based on the eponymous book by John Seabrook, ‘Flash of Genius’ is directed by Marc Abraham and centers around the fight of an inventor to get due credit from a giant corporation. The movie stars Greg Kinnear as Robert Kearns, a Detroit college engineering professor who comes up with the design of the intermittent windshield wiper. He gets his invention patented, and it becomes a big hit with car manufacturers in the 1960s. However, the Ford Motor Company utilizes his concept without giving him the credit, which leads to an extended legal battle. Similar to Whitney in ‘Swiped,’ Roberts refuses to back down from a legal standoff to get the recognition he deserves.
7. Made in Dagenham (2010)
The Nigel Cole directorial, ‘Made in Dagenham,’ depicts the true story of the equal pay for women movement in 1968, centering around the fictional character of Rita O’Grady (Sally Hawkins). As a worker at the Ford Motor Co. plant in Dagenham, England, Rita is among the many skilled women who are tasked with sewing upholstery for car seats. However, as women, they are classified as unskilled labor and are paid much less than men. Backed by a sympathetic union representative, Rita highlights the issue to the management, and upon being ignored, leads the women to a major strike in demand of their rights. The fight of women taking it upon themselves to herald change in a male-dominated industry resonates with ‘Swiped.’
6. Hidden Figures (2017)
Loosely adapted from Margot Lee Shetterly’s nonfiction book of the same name, ‘Hidden Figures’ tells the story of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), three Black women working at NASA. They play an instrumental role in launching an American astronaut into space orbit, and take the nation forward in the space race. Like Whitney in ‘Swiped,’ they face a lot of obstacles in their path, but with their merit and determination, they break through all glass ceilings on the path of progress.
5. Steve Jobs (2015)
Directed by Danny Boyle, ‘Steve Jobs’ stars Michael Fassbender in the titular role of the co-founder of Apple Inc. Set over the period of 1984 to 1998, it begins with Steve working alongside his partner Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen) to unveil Macintosh I, while also dealing with personal issues surrounding his former girlfriend, Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterston). Steve and Chrisann share a daughter whom he initially refuses to acknowledge. The film chronicles his time away from Apple, the launch of NeXT Inc., and his ultimate return. Similar to Whitney in ‘Swiped,’ the work that Steve does changes tech forever.
4. She Started It (2016)
‘She Started It’ is a documentary by Nora Poggi and Insiyah Saeed that looks into the lack of female representation in successful entrepreneurship. It follows women who have achieved success as entrepreneurs as they connect with the younger generation. In their interactions, they try to break down the gender barrier in the minds of their audience when it comes to launching a venture. They also present themselves as an example that, with the right support, a lot is possible, and a lot remains to be done. The spirit that Whitney Wolfe Herd embodies in ‘Swiped’ is what these women embody as well.
3. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
‘The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,’ helmed by Alex Gibney, documents the story of Elizabeth Holmes and the health technology company that she founded, Theranos. While the company made her a billionaire, it spectacularly dissolved two years later. The documentary highlights the darker side of start-up culture, where sometimes marketing and self-promotion take center stage over making the technology work. Parallels can be drawn between Elizabeth’s efforts to make her company work and Whitney Wolfe Herd’s grind in ‘Swiped.’
2. The Social Network (2010)
Based on the book ‘The Accidental Billionaires’ by Ben Mezrich, ‘The Social Network’ chronicles the founding of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg). The events of the David Fincher directorial open in 2003, with the computer genius being an undergraduate at Harvard. As he creates the site that would change the internet forever and finds himself a billionaire, he is also at the receiving end of lawsuits from people who believe that he deceived them for his success. Much like ‘Swiped,’ legal drama and tech revolution go hand in hand in the biographical film.
1. Joy (2015)
Written and directed by David O. Russell, ‘Joy’ revolves around Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence), a single mother from New York who invents the Miracle Mop. While the invention is extremely successful, Joy faces challenges such as corporate politics and a dysfunctional family before her product can capture the market. Many parallels can be drawn between her struggles and those of Whitney Wolfe Herd in ‘Swiped.’ Both show strong women who think outside the box, come into a market, and turn it upside down with their fresh ideas. Despite multiple threats, they refuse to back down from the challenges that they come across.
Read More: Swiped: Is Marta Medina Based on a Real Journalist? Where is She Now?
