Were you one of many people who were looking forward to the documentary about Bill Gates on Netflix? I didn’t know much about it before I heard of it in a trailer, but once I understood that it is coming to Netflix, I became really enthusiastic. And guess what, I am still enthusiastic about it after watching the three episodes. It both surprised me and encouraged me while challenging me and informing me.
Bill Gates: Inside Bill’s Brain is a Netflix documentary that was recorded during a period of two years. A reporter is allowed to follow and see Bill Gates during much of his work, and also to get insight in how he works, and to ask him questions about the past that few people have asked him earlier. In other words, this is loaded with information for those who want to get to know Bill Gates a bit better.
Some of the surprising elements
The first episode surprised me in many ways. How come? To many computer nerds, Bill Gates is all about Microsoft, programming, and about being rich. But, the first episode turns the focus in a totally different direction – it focuses on fighting polio all across the world. Why is such a fight included in a documentary about Bill Gates? Probably because it is just as important to Bill Gates as Microsoft or any other company is right now.
And that really makes it interesting. We are all fighting to make money, but in this documentary, we see that Bill Gates’ focus currently is much more about helping the planet. He uses lots of time and of his talent in finding out how it can be done in the best possible way, and the first episode deals a lot with this.
The second episode is more like what I had expected from the documentary before I started. Here we get to know more about how his career started, how the “Windows” project started, and we get to see and discover that Bill Gates really had a talent for programming. We also hear about his colleagues, and what happened in his relationship with those, and also his future wife, Melinda.
The third episode managed to surprise me once again. We get to know about his battle for clean water, but also to create energy that is environment-friendly. This is a part I knew nothing about at all, and to discover that he actually works with nuclear energy was mindblowing. And I guess that is interesting, especially because I am very negative to nuclear power myself. After Chernobyl, it all feels so dangerous, and I guess the majority of people alive today are skeptical of the concept. But, if Bill Gates is working on it, then it for sure has potential.
I would have been very curious to see an upcoming documentary about Bill Gates, created by people who worked with him and around him, but without any “intention” to glorify him. This is a Netflix documentary that clearly glorifies him, and it makes me curious about dealing with what former colleagues and partners think of him.
Of course, we see his challenges in this documentary, and he is clear about his own weaknesses, but still – it would be very different if this was supposed to be a two-sided documentary. But, I guess I will have to go to Amazon.com to find a book or some other documentary dealing with Bill Gates if that would be the goal.
Inside Bill’s Brain: Conclusion
I enjoyed it from the start till the end. This was worth the money (that I pay for my Netflix subscription), and I am looking forward to more similar content in the future!
If you want to watch it online, visit Netflix.com and stream it immediately. You don’t need access to American Netflix or any other Netflix region to watch it, because this is original content that can be streamed on Netflix worldwide.
Have you seen the documentary? I would love to hear your thoughts about it!
Bill Gates and cryptocurrencies
The topic of cryptocurrencies isn’t touched at all in the documentary. But, I do know that Bill Gates’ isn’t a big fan of the cryptocurrencies, even though he sees some potential in blockchain technology. After watching the documentary, I feel tempted to think that “Since Bill doesn’t like cryptocurrencies, neither should I.” But, then again – he cannot be correct about all things, and I guess there are lots of things that can be said about places and situations in which Bill was wrong. However, to learn more about that, I guess I would need to watch a different documentary, or read some other book!