A group of high-school kids get themselves into, and out of, various high-tech related predicaments and solve complex mysteries with the aid of their trusty personal computers and the art of hacking, but this isn't the movies Hackers or WarGames though, this is an overlooked early 80s TV gem known as Whiz Kids.
In 1983 it was estimated that there were 10 million computers in use in the US. Whiz Kids was created at a time when people could not help noticing the growing importance of computers and the increasing influence computing was having on all aspects of society. It makes sense, given events in the US around this time, that convergent creative processes took notice of cheaper, more accessible personal computers and the rapidly emerging phenomenon of teen hacker groups. A year before Whiz Kids came out the movie Tron had proven that kids were interested in complex plots that revolved around computing, Whiz Kids would test just how great that interest was. A year after Whiz Kids premiered on television hacking groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Legion of Doom were forming and the entire US hacking scene had grown exponentially after the popularity of the movie WarGames.
At hack.history we look at the real history of hacks, hackers & hacktivism as well as the portrayal of hacking & hackers in popular culture, in particular in movies as well as TV shows.
To bring together these videos we look at news from the time, FOIA documents, first hand accounts & various other primary historical sources.
hack.history is a purely educational channel and does not provide practical instructions on anything relating to computer crime.
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Opening music is 'Under Suspicion' by Danya Vodovoz ►► https://shrtco.de/917mAn
To learn more about the 414s hacker group check out short documentary "The 414s: The Original Teenage Hackers" on Vimeo ►► https://vimeo.com/502242358
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