Bob Collins Dr.

Erin Dietel McLaughlin Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric October 7 2013 The Social/ Not Social Network The Social Network is a movie based on the founding of Facebook. The movie is not only a commentary on the website but is also as a depiction of the relationships between Mark Zuckerberg and those who played a role in the founding of Facebook. The movie follows Marks struggles and sacrifices to become the youngest billionaire in the world. Throughout the movie there is an underlying message that money and wealth do not always lead to happiness; it is the people you surround yourself with. The director uses effective techniques of camera angle, background effects, and lighting to rhetorically instill a feeling of isolation in the viewer, especially with Mark Zuckerburg. As Herrick discusses, The art of rhetoric is the systematic study and intentional practice of effective symbolic expression (Herrick). Through the intentional use of symbolic expression in film techniques, the movie begins depicting a young and optimistic college student with the world ahead of him and ends with an aged man looking back at his life choices with regret. The movie begins with a powerful scene of Mark and his girlfriend in a local bar having a discussion. It begins as a normal conversation but quickly takes a turn into a heated argument. Instead of the camera being in between them during this discussion, the camera is actually behind the head of the speaker and faces the one who is being talked at. This is definitely a

rhetorical effect, as one would expect the camera to be in the middle so you can see the faces of both. This way, it would seem as if they are actually talking to each other and taking in what the other is saying. With the camera behind their heads, the viewer feels as If the speaker is talking at the other person. The rhetoric in this scene is responsive as, the audience made up of individuals can address the problem and constraints (Herrick). The audience questions why the camera is behind the head of the speaker, and the conclusion drawn is that the speaker is talking at the other person, not with them. This is especially important for Mark, who does not seem to pay attention to what his girlfriend is saying; the camera even focuses in on him talking to himself at one point. The viewer senses a lack of comfort with the camera angle and reacts. The director also effectively uses lighting throughout the movie to have an added effect. Whenever Mark is in his element on a computer or hacking the room is brightly lit. Whenever he is not, including at parties or being outside in general, it is typically dark. This is an appeal to the audience. An appeal is a, symbolic strategy that aims to elicit an emotion (Herrick). The darkness when he is outside brings about an emotion of sadness and despair. Meanwhile when he is hacking, it is very well lit and the scene is much more comfortable to the viewer. There are many examples of this throughout the film, such as California always seeming to be bright because he is hacking away and doing work with his computer. Meanwhile, whenever Mark goes out to a frat party or bar, it is dimly lit, which brings about depressing emotions in the audience. Some may say that this is just the natural lighting for those places, but with so many examples throughout the movie, it must have been planned to have an effect on the audience and thus be rhetorical. A prominent background effect occurs throughout the scene in which Mark hacks Harvards hall websites to create Face Mash. This scene essentially stays locked onto Marks

face throughout the whole process. The process takes hours, as a lot of action goes on throughout his hacking. The viewers find themselves focusing in on what is going on in the background of the scene. As Lanconi says from Berger, Long takes, slow pans, and tight close ups invite viewers to explore images, reflect on their possible meaning (Lanconi). The viewer cannot help but focus on what is going on around Mark. His roommates are all drinking, smoking, relaxing, and interacting with each other. An interpretation to the viewer is that this is what his peers are doing; meanwhile, Mark sits on his computer hacking away. Some may say that there is no impact on the audience from the background movements and actions of his viewers or that it is very minimal. Though they are in the background, the viewer cannot help but focus on what his friends are doing around him. The director clearly thought there would be an impact on the audience, or Mark would have stayed on his computer throughout the scene. The effect the viewer experiences is that it provides contrast which draws attention away from Mark. It seems that he is a loner amidst all of his friends. It seems that the relationship is that they are friends, but have different ideals and do not connect on all levels. By simply having his friends interacting in the background, the director can display their relationship on a deeper level. The most rhetorically functioning scene in the movie occurs at the very end. Combining camera angle, background effect, and lighting, the last scene has a distinct effect on the impact of the whole movie. The movie ends with Mark having a conversation with one of the lawyers, followed by a shot of Mark in a room alone with his computer. Here, the director effectively used the idea by Cicero of Inventio, which describes the process of discovering the arguments and evidence for a persuasive case (Herrick). The order of events occurring in this last scene evokes a lot of emotion, including sadness and remorse for Mark. The first thing the viewer picks up is the dimly lit room, bringing about gloomy and lonely emotion. Next, the camera focuses in

on Mark in the darkness and his computer, seeming to be his only companion. Finally, Mark is left alone using his own Facebook searching for the girl he starred in the movie with, Erica. Music begins with an odd tone to it. The music itself almost brings about a feeling of sentimentality. The background behind Mark blurs, and the camera zooms in on his face. Looking completely alone and depressed, Mark stares blankly as the successes of all those he took advantage of pop up next to his face. Through the order of the wide zoom dark shot, followed by him and his computer looking up his ex-girlfriend, and finally a close-up of his drained face, the viewer really is persuaded and convinced of the loneliness Mark is experiencing. The viewer feels worse for him than they previously wouldve if it just ended with a close up of his drained face. The final message comes occurs on the closing shot of the film. The camera zooms in as close as possible to Marks face, and a final message comes up. With Marks facial expression at an all-time low, with an expression of complete depression, a message comes up saying, Mark Zuckerburg is the youngest billionaire in the world (Social Network). This plays a very important part in the rhetorical impact of the message of the movie. Although it is not true, and most people try not to believe it, many believe all their troubles would go away with money, especially a billion dollars. This is what Aristotle defined as an enthymeme, which is an argument built from values, belief, or knowledge held in common by a speaker and an audience (Herrick). The message in the movie responds to this belief that a billion dollars can buy happiness in the general public. Here Mark is as the youngest billionaire in the world, yet he is completely alone sitting in a dark room with his computer looking completely depressed. These effects jointly have a significant impact on the viewer. They essentially shape how the viewer feels about Mark. Although Mark does screw over his best friend, the viewer

sympathizes with what Mark is going through. Mark had put his heart and soul into Facebook and became very wealthy on the way. But even with all this money, he has no one who truly cares about him. No best friend, no girlfriend, no friends at all really. Closing with an image of Mark looking depressed in a dark room alone staring at a computer leaves the viewer bewildered and yet sympathetic for Mark. He has all the money in the world, but is still not happy.

Works Cited Bolter, J. David, and Richard A. Grusin. "Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation." Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. 21-50. Print.

Herrick, James A. "An Overview of Rhetoric." The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. 1-30. Print.

Lancioni, Judith A. "Revisioning Archival Photographs in the Civil War." Rhetorical Analysis and Historical Documentary: A Case Study of The Civil War. Philadelphia, PA: S.n., 1996. 397-414. Print.

The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. Columbia Pictures, 2010. DVD.