Code for the People | A Film by Bao Nguyen | Full Documentary

Overview: From Open Web to “Enshittification”

The documentary argues that the internet is shifting from a more open, community-driven space toward “enshittification,” where platforms lock users in, reduce value and control, and prioritize business interests. In this model, both creators and sellers lose agency over their data and outcomes, leaving participants with diminished control and ultimately a degraded experience.

Open Source as a Path to Freedom

Against this trend, the film presents open source as a practical route to restoring freedom, autonomy, and transparency on the web. It frames open source as “free as in freedom” rather than “free as in beer,” emphasizing that users can:

• use the code
• read it
• modify it
• share it

A core theme is that open source allows anyone to scrutinize decisions and code, enabling user control over data and making software development more like a “technological democracy.”

Personal Stories and Identity

The documentary connects open source ideals to personal stories of learning, creativity, and identity. The narrator describes early internet access as a “wild west,” experimenting with blogging and learning web technologies, and finding queer visibility through early blogs. This personal empowerment supports the film’s larger claim: open source enables collaboration instead of a one-way relationship where a company builds and users merely consume.

WordPress as Open Source at Scale

A major portion centers on WordPress as an example of successful open source at scale. The coverage highlights how WordPress evolved from a small tool for a few users into a large ecosystem—including WordPress.com and products such as:

• WooCommerce
• Jetpack

Now, it powers a large share of websites worldwide. While the film praises open source as the “optimal” way to build software—thanks to transparency, diverse feedback, and community scrutiny—it also acknowledges tradeoffs, such as:

• coordinating communities
• ensuring buy-in
• dealing with inefficiencies that come with open development

Owning the Web: Avoiding “Walled Gardens”

The documentary argues that the internet’s open nature lowers barriers to entry for creators and entrepreneurs. It warns that closed platforms (“walled gardens,” such as major social networks) carry risks: creators can become tenants whose audiences and content may be disrupted by algorithm changes or shutdowns.

In contrast, the film presents owning a domain and running one’s own site as “being a landowner” on the web.

Open Source and the Future of AI

The film links open source to the future of AI and warns about increasing commercialization of technologies that should remain open. It contrasts open source with closed AI systems (including OpenAI as an example of a highly closed approach), emphasizing risks such as:

• creators not controlling what their work produces
• models being trained using copyrighted data without opt-in

The documentary claims open source could enable more collaborative, inspectable AI outputs and reduce the power imbalance found in closed systems. It also describes WordPress’s efforts to use AI to make the platform more accessible to non-technical people and to support customization.

Conclusion: “Watering the Garden” and Open Values

Overall, the film concludes that open source requires ongoing community maintenance and contribution—“watering the garden.” It presents open source as embodying values such as:

• humility
• trust
• collaboration
• security
• community

These are positioned as qualities the internet needs to avoid becoming permanently closed and controlled.

Presenters/Contributors

• Bao Nguyen — director; narrator referenced via “Code for the People | A Film by Bao Nguyen”
• Scott — interview subject; mentions an Apple computer and early internet experiences
• Mike Little — referenced as a collaborator who commented and offered to work together on a blogging software initiative
• WordPress/Automattic contributor (unnamed in subtitles) — discusses joining Automattic in 2009, WordPress scale, open source design, and AI accessibility efforts