5. Fail Safe
The anxiety caused by the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s is perfectly represented here in the classic Sidney Lumet drama Fail Safe, which begins as an electrical glitch causes the Americans to launch an unintentional nuclear strike against the Soviet Union, specifically Moscow. Naturally, the Russians interpret this as very intentional and a declaration of war, but to prevent a total all-out nuclear holocaust, the President of the United States (Henry Fonda) is forced to make the toughest of decisions, to order a strike against New York City before the Russians can launch a more catastrophic one. It's a haunting, terrifying film about the potential for technology and a communication breakdown to kill us all.
What it tells us: technology sucks, and surprise surprise, politicians are a**holes.