How they got people to watch The Social Network.

As mentioned by Grigorly Malyutin in a previous blog post, the Social Network is not a true documentary[1]. “Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, stated that ‘They [the film's creators] just can't wrap their head around the idea that someone might build something because they like building things.’”[1] [2]. The film was inspired by a fictional novel entitled The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal[3]. The title of the novel certainly shows the books intentions. The Books first line says “The Accidental Billionaires is a dramatic, narrative account based on dozens of interviews, hundreds of sources, and thousands of pages of documents, including records from several court proceedings.”[3]. However, it is not a true story, it is loosely based on events that have been documented. They dramatize the aspects of the story that will seem sexy to the mainstream. The girl that supposedly inspired it all, does not exist, but sex sells, and everyone can related to being dumped. This generation especially understands the mistakes we make on the Internet when we are angry and heartbroken. The things we angrily post on the Internet about our ex can come back to haunt us. How the relationship status came about was dramatized in the movie, because this is something else that intrigues everyone about Facebook. If there is a relationship status change in my newsfeed, it is always a big deal. Who got together, what couple broke up, and who is available all feeds into our fascination with relationships. I actually picked up the book The Accidental Billionares at the airport, which says something about its content. It is meant to be a quick read that keeps you riveted all the way through, and it forgoes the truth to do so. The film follows a similar vein adding a lot of material that didn’t really happen just to get viewers to buy tickets. This is less a film about the development of a phenomena that has taken over our generation, than a tale of sex and money, which are usually indicators of a box office hit.

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[1] Malyutin, Grigorly. "The Biggest Mistake." Globalmedianarratives. Blogspot, 5/15/2011. Web. 15 May 2011. .

[2] Child, Ben. Mark Zuckerberg rejects his portrayal in The Social Network. Guardian.co.uk. Published October 20, 2010.

[3] Allen, Nick. "'The Accidental BIllionares' vs "The Social Network." TSR BLog. The Score Card Review, 10/1/2010. Web. 15 May 2011. .

The Social Network

College is supposed to be a void of social discrimination. We're all on even ground after high school, right? Wrong. From childhood we realize, the point of the "popular" table is that only so many people can sit at it. The appeal of invite-only parties is that only so many people can go. As we get older the appeal of fraternities, sororities, and member-only clubs are the mysteries and privileges allowed only to those few selected to view the inside. Finally, the way to let the maximum amount of people know you're having fun without them is by putting it on the internet.

E.J. Westlake states about Facebook's newsfeed, "I [also] remember feeling a little strange knowing that my every move (well, almost every move) would be seen by all of my Facebook friends." What Westlake clearly does not understand is that is exactly the point. Facebook was made to broadcast one's thoughts, experiences, and photos on a continuously updating "blog," if you will, about their lives. Mark Zuckerberg's character in the documentary-style release of "The Social Network" stated about adding photos to facebook, "You don't just go to a party anymore, you go to a party with a digital camera so you and your friends can relive the party the next day."

College students have a good understanding of the features and obsession surrounding the site, but that is not the full story. The Social Network explains the difficulties connected with creating such a coveted idea so well, and on a completely different plane how obsessed people are with sharing information. Who knew 10 years ago that by creating a site where people simply share information about themselves and their lives with their friends, that the creator had the potential to become the youngest billionaire in the world? Who knew that he could get separately sued by his best friend as well as those wishing they had come up with the idea first?

It's also interesting to note that this generation has become so obsessed with the concept of Facebook that even while it is still a rapidly developing technology, the other media industries are already documenting its beginnings and creating discourse for discussion on its conception and current content. The intended audience for the movie spread further than the generation it is effecting to explain to the parents (and even grandparents) the draw for such a sight. The method of discourse through cinema also captures an interesting fact that this idea is such an integral part of our current culture that people would pay to see the story of its creation.

Finally the cultural relevance of the movie, of the sight, and of our nation's obsession with digital narrations is wild and unnerving. People no longer tell stories for value but often to hear ourselves speak. The current mindset has changed from tell information in short, concise content when necessary to pass it from one person to another, or for the joy of speaking among friends to If you're going to get the pot dirty, you might as well cook a feast. Likewise, if you're going to tell a story to get attention, you might as well tell the world.
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Westlake, E.J. "Friend Me If You Facebook." Project Muse; Scholarly Journals Online. Winter 2008: 21-38. Web Journal.

The Social Network. Directed by David Fincher. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Film.

Social Network Critique

“Social Network” is a movie based on the real story behind the invention of the world No.1 social website, Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard undergraduate student starts this social network website with his friend Eduardo Saverin, the original CFO of Facebook. However, later on a lawsuit between the two founders evolves because of their disagreement with the company development. Within two hours, this complicated story becomes clear to the audience.

The unique narrative of Social Network, which largely uses the backward-chronological method between the cuttings of lawsuits, successfully explains this rather complicated issue (Ebert 2010). It reminds me of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, which incorporates a similar story-telling method to show the life stories of the protagonist. This movie is unique because it involves several different fields such as law, computer science and operating finance. The two-hour length is used very well thanks to this unique narrative strategy from the director David Fincher. He successfully avoids the possible embarrassing scenes that may be generated by engaging in specific background knowledge.

The next successful part of the movie comes from the sympathy feelings of the audience. People may say that the movie is successful because of its reputation of Facebook, the world-famous website. However, I would argue that this movie would never be such popular without the successful sympathetic feeling it creates. It is irrelevant whether the audience hears of the story behind the movie. Audience for Social Network can easily get first-hand compassionate about most of the characters. For example, the excitement from the scene when Mark comes up with the idea that he wants to expand his website beyond Harvard’s network. Furthermore, this sympathetic feeling comes from both sides. For instance, when the two brothers from the Harvard crew learn about their “Harvard Connection” idea is used by Mark, audience can understand their anger as well.

While the movie in general is very successful, there is one part I do not agree with. Fincher seems to achieve a great success to use as little specific knowledge as possible to general audience this Facebook story. However, he may seem too conclusive sometimes. For example, the movie shows a lot of scenes of the two Asian girls that Zuckerberg and Saverin dates after the success for their Facebook website. Personally I feel the movie puts too much effort on those two characters. They are not as relevant as the other characters in the movie.

Work Cited:

Ebert, Roger. "The Social Network." Rogerebert Movie Reviews. Chicage Sun Times, 20 Sep 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2010.