What is The Act of Killing's IQ Score?

The Act of Killing has an IQ Score of 199/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Masterclass tier. The score breaks down to 50/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 49/50 Educational Value, and 50/50 Craft & Quality.

Is The Act of Killing educational?

The Act of Killing is strong on educational value, 49/50 on TVI's rubric, which covers academic content, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, life skills, and knowledge transfer.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's IQ Score is calculated as round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers: Masterclass (≥160), Stimulating (≥130), Competent (≥100), Passive (≥70), and Numbing (<70). The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

The Act of Killing , IQ Score 199/200

Name: The Act of Killing
Genre: documentary
Rating: 9.9

The Act of Killing has an IQ Score of 199/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MPH·Updated 2026-05-15·Methodology

documentary

199/ 200

Masterclass TVI Essential

Measurably increases domain knowledge or cognitive capacity

The Act of Killing poster, IQ Score 199/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

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Why you should trust this score

Methodology reviewed by Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician scientist. Master of Public Health, with substantial coursework in research methodology. Reviews the rubric and its application across the adult catalog.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.2

Formula

round(C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4

Database scale

2,276 titles, version-controlled

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TVI Essential · Consensus

The Act of Killing scores 199/200 on the TVI IQ Score, placing it in the Masterclass tier. Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary, where Indonesian death-squad leaders reenact their killings in the genre conventions of the films they admired, earned Cultural Impact and Intellectual Substance for reinventing the documentary form. TVI Essential is an editorial designation; IQ Score is a content rating, not an intelligence measurement.

The TVI Take

Documentary where Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their mass killings with the camera present. Exceptional cognitive and educational value from confronting how perpetrators of atrocities construct narratives of justification.

The film's approach to documenting genocide is philosophically sophisticated about how filmmaking itself shapes memory. Deeply unsettling and challenging.

Where to Watch

Rent