JIMENEZ, JUSTINE A

BSN II-01

“Pirates of the Silicon Valley”

From the beginning of the movie you are given the core of Steve Jobs' (played by
Noah Wyle) personality. The open lines are him speaking to the camera and saying, "I
don't want you to think of this as just a film - some process of converting electrons and
magnetic impulses into shapes and figures and sounds - no. Listen to me. We're here to
make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here? We're creating a completely
new consciousness, like an artist or a poet. We're rewriting the history of human thought
with what we're doing. That's how you have to think of this." His best friend, Steve "the
Woz" Wozniak (played by Joey Slotnick), follows this with a narrative describing how
everything Steve Jobs ever did be something "between a religious experience and
some sort of crusade." Both the opening lines and the narration are spoken over the
back drop of the filming of Apples 1984 Super Bowl commercial. A commercial that was
legendary even before it was aired, and set the standard for all other Super Bowl
commercials. Directed by Ridley Scott, newly famous for directing Blade Runner, this
commercial introduced Apple's Macintosh computer and, though it has never run again
since that Super Bowl spot, few commercials have ever been more influential. It was
even named the 1980s' Commercial of the Decade by Advertising Age magazine. The
filming of the commercial fades to the actual ad as it opens on a gray network of
futuristic tubes connecting non-descript oppressive buildings. Inside the tubes, we see
the greyed-out downtrodden masses marching into an auditorium, where they bow
before a Big Brother figure preaching from a giant TV screen. Then, from the back of
the auditorium, one lone woman, the only object with any color, races down a hallway
chased by storm troopers. She runs up to the screen, hurls a hammer and shatters the
TV image. The screen explodes and everything flashes to white. The movie then
transitions to a stage thirteen years later, where Steve Jobs is just announcing "the
business deal that will turn Apple around," to a gathered audience, and introduces the
other protagonist in the movie, Bill Gates who is currently being projected, via live feed,
to a screen looming over the audience, in a very Big Brother manner, a not-so-subtle
portent for events in the movie. The scene cuts to the University of Berkley campus,
1971, amidst a tear gas and students rioting, a young Jobs and Wozniak dash to safety.
Once away from the crowd Jobs scornfully says, "Those guys think they're
revolutionaries. They're not revolutionaries, we are." Wozniak resumes his narration,
relaying that Jobs was never like, "you or me, he always saw things differently, he saw
the meaning of the universe." Jobs and Woz's first entrepreneurial scheme was the
development and selling of "Blue Boxes", one of the earliest phone line crackers that
allowed anybody to call anywhere for free. After almost getting busted Woz decided to
try building something that wouldn't land them in jail, a "computer". They have their first
Pirates of Silicon Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/plotsummary.
taste of fame as a reporter takes a picture of them when it catches on fire. Bill Gates'
(played by Anthony Michael Hall) beginnings are just as unassuming. His story starts
when he is a Harvard student more interested in poker than classes. However, for Bill
and his friend Paul Allen (played by Josh Hopkins), there is one thing more important
than poker or even Playboys, and that is, of course, computers. In following an ad in a
trade magazine with some fast talking by Bill, and their collective genius, Bill and Paul
are hired to start writing a program language for the new ALTAIR computer. At the 1976
Berkley campus, Homebrew Computer Club, Jobs and Woz unveil their latest computer.
It is obvious that while it is Wozniak's genius that built the computer, it was Jobs' genius
that sells it. During these scenes they reveal Steve Jobs' near obsessive desire to wipe
out "the enemy", IBM. However, his dreams of guerrilla warfare victory over IBM,
followed by world domination, is all but dashed by Wozniak as he divulges that because
of a contract he signed with Hewlett-Packard, anything he invents, they can take.
Fortunately, the executives at the company do not have the vision of Steve, Woz, or
even Bill as they pass on the "home computer" because, "This gadget is for ordinary
people, what on earth would ordinary people want with computers?" While that was an
initial victory for them, it seemed that bankers and business men had the same opinion
and months went by as they were repeatedly turned down for a loan. However, Jobs
was undaunted and persevered when venture capitalist Mike Markkula (played by
Jeffery Nordling) offered the fledgling Apple Computers a quarter of a million dollars to
do something (in Steve Jobs' words) "practically spiritual, about overthrowing a dead
culture and dead gods." In Albuquerque, 1976, Bill and Paul had quit Harvard and Bill's
fast talking at the computer company MITS (maker of the ALTAIR) earned them a
signing bonus and a double in royalties for their BASIC programming language, with
that, Microsoft is born. It is during these years in Albuquerque, fueled by his own manic
personality that Bill does everything from having a midnight race with bulldozers, to
racking up so many speeding tickets that he is arrested and jailed. Stepping away from
his revolutionary counterculture style, Steve Jobs shocks his friends by changing into a
business suit and shaving the last of his facial hair for the 1977 Computer Fair in San
Francisco. Even more shocking to all of them was that Apple Computers Inc. was the
star of the Fair. Drawn by belief that "there might be something going on in California,"
Bill Gates and Paul Allen attended the Fair, where Apple and Microsoft first meet, and,
anti-climactically, Steve Jobs completely ignores Bill Gates. Jobs is too enamored with
his sudden fame, and describes the experience as "insanely great", words that are used
to describe him and his life repeatedly. Following the Computer Fair, sales of the Apple
II brought Apple Computers to levels of attention, money, expansion and success that
only Jobs could have predicted. However, while Woz seemed overwhelmed by the
sudden success, Jobs took to it like a shark to water. Feeling justified in his obsession,
there were few lines he wouldn't cross, from verbally abuse enthusiastic employees until
they are mute with humiliation, to grilling a potential employee (with his bare feet
casually resting on the conference table) about when the potential employee may or
Pirates of Silicon Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/plotsummary.
may not have lost his virginity, all in service of his grand vision and ego. Steve Jobs'
level of self-obsession was put on display by his abject denial that girlfriend was
pregnant by him, despite a positive paternity test, and dismissed her so she could go
"play mommy". That callous vitriol made even more striking because he himself was
orphaned and spent much of his adult life in finding his real mother. Later on he tracked
down his estranged-girlfriend demanding that she not name "their" daughter some weird
name and they settled on Lisa. Not coincidently, he later named a series of computers
Lisa, but it wasn't until over a decade later that he actually accepted Lisa has his flesh
and blood. Bill Gates' own logic defying obsessive needs he revealed after he brought
Steve Ballmer (played by John DiMaggio), an old Harvard friend, out to California. He
lectured them, "You know how you survive? You make people need you. You survive
because you make them need what you have. And then they have nowhere else to go."
Declaring to (in mafia style) "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer," he
takes Microsoft to go into business with IBM. He convinced the IBM executives that they
needed what he had, an operating system, furthermore he told the execs that Microsoft
would only license IBM the software, allowing Microsoft to retain ownership of it and
could license it to other outfits. Astonishingly, Microsoft didn't even have an operating
system at that time, and even more amazing, a deal the execs agreed to because "the
profits are in the computers themselves, not this software stuff." And while the others
marveled at Bill's brazen declaration, Gates said he knew it would work because, "IBM
was successful, and success is a menace. It fools smart people into thinking they can't
lose." Another omen for the future of Microsoft and Apple. Steve Jobs heralds in the
next series of events by quoting Picasso, "Good artists copy, great artists steal." Xerox
research engineers had developed the next evolution in computers, not only had they
designed software that could display graphics on the computer screen, they had also
invented the mouse. Unfortunately, these innovations were so completely distained by
short-sighted Xerox executives that they invited Steve Jobs and his research engineers
to the Xerox research center and all but handed Apple the next step in computers.
Incorporated in the new Apple Lisa, this earned Apple an estimated $100 billion. Now it
is time for the two to meet again, Bill Gates, repeating Picasso's quote (incorrectly
attributing it to Van Gogh), took his team to the Apple Headquarters, and it is here that
the rival obsessions clashed. Steve Jobs maintains the superiority of Apple because
Microsoft lacked originality and culture, and his people echoing his line, "It is better to be
a pirate, than be in the navy" (better to be a rebel than to be a part of the
establishment). Bill then tries to convince Steve that Apple is economically vulnerable
and that "Apple needed them, because Apple couldn't match Microsoft's diversity." Only
for Steve to stay true to his cause saying, "You can't just have employees anymore.
They got to be into a crusade. It's like art, science, religion, all rolled into one." It was
only by feeding into Steve's obsessive hatred of IBM that Bill was able to get the "in" he
needed. Microsoft walked out with Apple's Macintosh system just as Apple had walked
out with Xerox's system. Further cracks in Steve Jobs' management strategy caused
Pirates of Silicon Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/plotsummary.
greater rifts. To fuel his internal competitiveness, he manipulated Apple employees into
vicious "Mac vs All other Apple platforms, who's was better" rivalry. The strain of 90+
hour work weeks, and days of sleepless programing led to many employees rebelling
against Jobs' verbal abuse, even to the point of assaulting him in one scene. By then
Woz had had enough. Disturbed by Jobs' manipulations, he left the company he co-
founded, and went on to teach computers to school children. Nevertheless, Jobs felt he
was righteous and unstoppable, regardless of the pressure he put on everybody, his
employees loved him for it, and he rewarded them for their loyalty. At this point
Microsoft is desperately trying to cobble together the Windows operating system from
pirated Macintosh software. Word of this eventually reached Jobs more than once, but
no matter how angry or accusatory Steve became, Bill could always calmly explain
away any such fears, weathering any of Steve's tirades meekly, placating Steve into,
once again, believing that Microsoft was no threat, a level of manipulation that Steve
Ballmer felt was where Bill Gates' true genius lay. Then again, Ballmer felt that Jobs'
genius lay in making computers not a business, but a religion, and nothing scared him
more. During the penultimate scene of the movie, Steve Jobs introduces an Apple T-
shirt wearing Bill Gates as a part of the Apple family to an audience of Apple employees
before giving them a sneak preview of the Apple 1984 commercial that was being filmed
in the open scene. After the sneak preview, Steve was given concrete proof that
Microsoft did replicated software from the Macintosh and when he confronted Bill with it,
Gates famously replies with, "You and I are both like guys who had this rich neighbor -
Xerox - who left the door open all the time. And you go sneakin' in to steal a TV set.
Only when you get there, you realize that I got there first. I got the loot, Steve! And
you're yellin'? "That's not fair. I wanted to try to steal it first." You're too late." The end of
the movie relates the sad facts that Steve Jobs had disaffected so many of his former
best friends that none of them wanted to toast him for his 30th birthday, in fact, three
months later Steve Jobs was fired from the company he helped found. He was later re-
hired in 1997 and became the architect of the second Apple Microsoft co-endeavor
bringing the companies and the movie full circle. The film “The Pirates of Silicon Valley”
is a great movie. It is not just about how Apple and Microsoft was created but it was also
about the life of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates before that. But these two great people
created the thing that most of us people are using right now, and without them will there
be a computer and operating system? They both made a great impact in our world
especially in the world of technology. The advancement of their mindsets created the
famous Apple by Steve Jobs and the Microsoft by Bill Gates. But how did they come up
with this idea? For Jobs, the idea for the Apple computer came from seeing a computer
Steve Wozniak built. It was Wozniak who "had long wanted a personal computer," and
ultimately built one himself that impressed Jobs. For Gates, the idea for the software
that would later become Microsoft came after co-founder Paul Allen read an article in
Popular Electronics magazine about the Altair 8800 microcomputer and showed it to
Gates. None of these iconic founders had the original inspiration for their companies,
Pirates of Silicon Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/plotsummary.
but when exposed to the founding idea, they recognized the potential in it, and put their
energy, effort, and creativity behind it. Evaluating ideas is a hallmark of great thinking.
With the title, “Pirates of Silicon Valley” just like pirates in the midst of the sea full of
different views, they saw that one thing that inspired them to make what is Apple and
Microsoft right now. They used the idea of others and improved it on how they see it
and implemented their so-called new discovery which attracted many people and made
them instantly famous and rich. The film is about how two famous people compete with
each other in order to be successful or celebrated. It shows how to be a good leader
and co-worker but Jobs was too abusive that there are people who attacks him
physically and verbally to the point that he was fired by his own company. But some
admired and looked up to him, the contributions that he made even when he is too
harsh, the eagerness of those people who wants to learn and work for him was
amazing. He gave those people who was faithful to him tokens of appreciation. Jobs
only listens to himself and does not give a damn on what you have to say. But still is a
good individual, he was just indulged with his fame and wealth. Gates on the other hand
was the opposite of Jobs but the only problem was he was too greedy. His mindset is
only on how to be more successful than Apple. I believe that in doing a business it really
is like the saying goes, “parang Quiapo maraming mang-aagaw kaya lumaban ka”.
Those products that we see are only mimics or improvements on what others initially
started. When in a business, we are all pirates and there’s this one line that marked in
my mind that came from the movie saying, “Good artists copy, great artists steal." This
is how the world of business works. There is really no original idea, we just enhance
what we see and create it to a new discovery. It may look new to the eyes of the
consumers but it was already there, we just saw the new features and thought it was a
new one. And this movie taught me the meaning of success, wherein competing is not
the answer. Making others suffer just to make yourself successful is not what success
means. Success is when all of your hard work was paid off with your co-workers, the
happiness of your loved ones towards you and reaching your goal without stepping on
anyone on the way. But really these two legends of our technology made a great impact
they are not the original one but they implemented and improved it for the use of all
people up until the future. And if ever Jobs was still alive I think he can create a
hologram instead of video calls you can call and actually see the person virtually
standing in front of you. He can also create a new feature of Iphone where you do not
need to touch the screen, it is already air stimulated. And by buying Iphones some of
the profits that he will make will be contributed to plant more trees for our environment.
The future of our technology does not end on the hands of our legends, we can also
create our own by emerging ideas into new one. The silly thought of making a drone
carry a patient to get away with the traffic can be a reality. Believe in yourself and have
faith on what you can do to improve not just you but also for the others. Being a genius
is one thing but creating your own strategy in order to gain success is another. As the
two gentlemen act after they become the man of their own company, issues came up
Pirates of Silicon Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/plotsummary.
and a lot of things happened between them. But the principal of all they have right now
is their diligence in their work. They will not achieve what they have right now without
working it hard.

Pirates of Silicon Valley. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/plotsummary.