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Want to share THE PICKUP GAME at your library, campus or event?
See below about acquiring a public performance license, DVD, or streaming licensing with PPR.
Want to share THE PICKUP GAME at your library, campus or event?
See below about acquiring a public performance license, DVD, or streaming licensing with PPR.
For anyone not in the know (and the scene remains remarkably unknown for a multimillion-dollar industry), the pickup artist scene consists of charismatic men who will teach you (assuming you're a straight cis man), how to talk to women, get women into bed, and never, ever, strikeout. READ
At a time when sexual harassment is a huge part of the current social conversation, THE PICKUP GAME shines a light on this hidden world and jump-starts a discussion about the dangers of this industry; both to the women they victimize and the lonely students that fall prey to its darker side. READ
Today, I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about game,” a speaker says to a roomful of men in Barnaby and Matthew O’Connor’s riveting film The Pickup Game. Emasculated, sad-sack men are lured by the seductive promise of becoming popular with women into what can only be described as cults. READ
PEOPLE sometimes use the expression "like a trainwreck", then follow that sentence up with "You don't want to watch, but you just can't help it." 'The Pickup Game' is exactly like that. You strap in, it makes you angry and you know exactly where it's heading, but your eyes are glued to the screen nevertheless. Its completely fascinating, eye-opening, and surprisingly educational. READ
The documentary EVERY WOMAN needs to see.
Audience member gets it right: it’s FIGHT CLUB meets SCIENTOLOGY
Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask
Crying, Damning, & too brutal. But it uncovers the reality we live in.
One of the top 10 most anticipated films from DOC NYC 2019
Shocking, disturbing, frightening and utterly compelling
Winners of Best Director in the category of International Feature, and nominated for the festival Supreme Award and Best Director at the MDFF in 2020.
Official selection 2020
Official Selection 2019
Official selection 2019
RUN TIME: 96 Minutes
The Pickup Game is a controversial in-depth exposé of the PUA industry, a billion-dollar underground subculture where self-appointed “gurus” teach other men strategies they claim to guarantee success with women.
From its glossy exterior, where courses are packaged as self-improvement, to the dark underbelly of sexual assault, pyramid scheme marketing, and secret collusion, “The Pickup Game” pulls back the curtain to reveal a world that is not only fascinating but horrific in equal measure.
With hereto unprecedented access to the biggest and most controversial names in the industry and those trying to make them accountable, the documentary goes behind the scenes to explore the motivations of people that get involved in this pervasive subculture, the techniques they employ, and the near-fanatical following this industry demands.
The “pickup industry” is a trade that teaches tactics and lessons to men on how to talk to, date, charm, and effectively manipulate women to reach their ultimate goal: taking them to bed.
The O’Connor Brothers documentary examines how shy, unconfident men become seduced, and morally corrupted by what appears to be an alluring ideology that speaks to their frustrations, and guarantees a dating life beyond their wildest dreams.
The result is a cult-like environment, with its own warped perspective on the world that leads to serious consequences outside the subculture. “The Pickup Game” examines the humanitarian cost of those consumed by this industry. Not just to the women who become objectified and mistreated but also to the students who lose their entire sense of self inside the pickup echo-chamber.
At a time when sexual harassment is a huge part of the current social conversation, this documentary shines a light on this hidden world and jump-starts a discussion regarding the dangers of this mentality; both to the women that become victims of it and the students that fall prey to its darker side.
It lays bare the techniques and strategies employed by the pickup industry on women, as well as its dehumanizing mantra and the horrific consequences of those attitudes. Simultaneously, it exposes how the instructors, self-proclaimed internet gurus, intoxicated by the adulation and financial gain of building an army of followers, ruthlessly exploit their student’s need for love and belonging.
Ultimately, however, out of all this darkness, there is a message of hope. Specifically that, in reality, even the most socially awkward and clumsy are much more attractive than they realize, and as difficult as it can sometimes be, being honest and authentic is in and of itself very attractive. It is this that people should aim for.
In order to license the necessary rights needed for public screenings and to sustain both the filmmakers and the companies that created the documentary we need to charge screening fees.
If you are not part of an educational facility then find out how to watch the movie now.
If you are not part of an educational facility then find out how to watch the movie now.
Copyright 2020 – Ivy Film / Two Man Crew Ltd