Genesis Global School, Noida

Worksheet: Features of Documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’

Task 1: Create a mind map of all the global issues you can possibly identify throughout
the film External Influence Dehumanization
Desensitization to mental health Addiction to
tech

Social Dilemma:
Global Issues
Invasion of Propaganda
Privacy and fake news
Manipulation of Power of
societies technology

Task 2: Select an important scene from the documentary. Fill the table below according
to the scene selected

Global Issue (in the scene Dehumanization

selected)

A. Mise en scène: This refers to In the dinner scene, after the mother locks
what goes into the frame, everyone’s phones, the scene at the table includes the
including the subjects, whole family and the table set with the food are at
backdrop and props. It refers the center of the shot and there is one singular light
to the composition of the shot, with no music which emphasizes the awkwardness
including the lighting, and can and how the people are not even able to
involve a director of communicate with their family due to to the phone
photography. How does your
film or video use composition
(or mise en scène) to capture
or frame the director's
message?

B. Camera angle: What is the

angle of the camera in relation
to its subject? Is it a bird’s eye
view, high angle, eye-level
angle, low angle or worm’s
eye view? Camera angle (see
diagram) greatly affects the
viewer's interpretation of the
subject. It provides a

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 perspective or a window into
a world. How does your film
use camera angle to construct
meaning?

C. Camera shot: The distance

between the camera and the
subject is important to
consider. You may see an
extreme-close shot (XCS), a
close shot (CS), medium shot
(MS), long shot (LS) or
extreme long shot (XLS) (see
figure). Does the camera move
or stay still in relation to its
subject? Sometimes the
camera is put on a dolly.
Sometimes it rotates on its
access, creating a pan.
Cameras can also zoom in and
out, often in combination with
camera movement for special
effects. Finally consider the
length or duration of the shot,
which will help determine the
pace of the film.

D. Shot length: Consider the

length or duration of the shot.
Shot length will help
determine the pace of the film
and the viewer’s engagement
with the topic. How do the
lengths of the shots help
construct the director’s
presentation of the topic and
how does shot length affect
the viewer?

E. Diegetic or non-diegetic
sound: Sounds that are
created by the characters,
objects or events on the film
set, (such as dialogue) are
known as diegetic sounds.
Sounds that are added to the
footage after filming, such as
music, voice-overs or sound
effects, are known as non-
diegetic sounds. How do both
non-diegetic and diegetic
sounds help convey the
message of the film that you

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 are analysing?

F. Notable Features
Expert Interviews, CGI, Real
Archival Footage, Parallel
Narrative Structures

Learner Portfolio Task

Task 3: Inquire more into any one of the following four topics related to the social
dilemma and write your reflections on the same.

Topic Possible exploration into the topic...

Polarization and With increasing polarization and the ever-increasing talk of conspiracy
Conspiracies theories, we might think ‘Well, I’d not fall into that … how can people
believe such nonsense?’

This evokes the adage ’Where you stand depends on where you sit.’ Or,
in this instance, what you believe may be a consequence of what you
watch. Are we all susceptible to falling down the rabbit hole? Watch
again the segment (57:00-1:06:40) using the following questions as a
starting point for discussion.

An MIT study found Fake News spreads six times faster than true news.
Not necessarily a surprising figure for false information makes
companies more money. Simple. Explore and research further into what
Tristan Harris calls the ‘disinformation for profit’ model. How does it
inform the current issue of Fake News?

Consider the implications of what you’ve discovered above. Where does

the power reside?

Monetization of The platforms we inhabit –Facebook, Google, TikTok, Snapchat,

Facebook Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and such– are all, as Tristan
Harris asserts, competing for our attention.
But is it more than simply showing us their ads, garnering our
momentary attention, or, as Jaron Lanier argues, is it more insidious. He
insists that it is “the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own
behavior and perception” that is the product.”
–How do they explain this notion of ‘If the platform is free, you are the
product’? (13:28)
–You’ll already familiar with target advertising… you know, you’re
shopping online or ‘liking’ a recent YouTube video or sharing an
Instagram pic … and soon your social media platforms are showing ads
for those same products or similar videos to watch. Calculating what’s
perfect for each of us. But what else is afoot here?
–Consider how the fictional storyline exemplifies this monetization.
–Watch again the segment (15:27-20:59) as a number of ideas build on

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 this premise – the idea of certainty in predictions as gathered in our
data or as Harris terms it, a kind of surveillance capitalism that trades
on what Shoshana Zuboff terms are “human futures.”

A question of power Is this a question of power, a kind of “digital colonialism” with the
public at the mercy of the tech companies? Or what Jeff Seibert refers to
as ‘the asymmetric power’ that the tech companies have over us. What
exactly does he mean?

–What are some of the discoveries emerging from the congressional

hearings? Any action as yet?
–Discuss the topic of regulation or as some suggested, the need for laws
to regulate the industry. What laws do you think would be needed?
–Review the segment 43:15-46:20 that finishes with the query ‘So,
who’s going to win?’
–How do we find a balance in the benefits that social media offers and
the detrimental effects?
–What role does the lack of representation in those who regulate and
design the algorithms contribute to the issue?
–Who decides which stories are told? Are dismissed? The magicians?
“Never before in history have fifty designers —25-35-year-old white
guys in California– made designs that would impact two billion people.
Two billion people will have thoughts that they didn’t intend to have
because a designer at Google says this is how notifications work on that
screen you wake up to in the morning” (Tristan Harris).

An existential threat One of the most arresting analogies is offered by venture capitalist
Roger McNamee (56:11), who suggests that one way to think about this
is to “imagine 2.7 billion ‘Truman Shows’ (referring to the 1998 satirical
comedy-drama starring Jim Carrey) where “each person has their own
reality, their own facts.” And of course, the profound response by the
show’s creator as to why, in essence, we have not come close to
discovering the true nature of our world? “We accept the reality of the
world with which we’re presented. It’s as simple as that.”

–Is the process an existential one, designed to change ‘what we do, how
we think, who we are?’
–Or as Tristan Harris poses: How do you wake up from the Matrix when
you don’t know you’re in the Matrix?