THE SOCIAL NETWORK

Elysia Card

Key images

and sounds

• One of the key images, left, from the film is Mark’s walk to his dorm room, which is seen at the opening of the film. It is key as it allows for the opening credits to be played alongside the action. It was also planned to be the most extravagant sequence of the film as they planned to place cameras all along the walk and seamlessly place the shots together. • Another key image, right, are the shots

that are taken inside the dimly lit dorm rooms at the university. Each shot tends to have a low depth of field to highlight the space and in particular emphasise the characters thoughts as it purely focuses on them. This also gives the illusion of working for hours on the computer, as Mark would have done, as the surroundings are fuzzy.• The low key lighting and small depth of focus used

in the dorm shots, are contrasted by the modern day lawsuit shots in the conference room. This is done by using high key brighter lighting in the ‘present day’ shots and keeping the majority of shots more open which highlights the space of the room. (above)

• The soundtrack for The Social Network, written by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, is dark and ambient. This helps to establish the themes of the film as it highlights the crime and conflict that is within the film. Additionally the fact that the soundtrack is ambient is suitable for the film as the focus is purely on the narrative, to tell the biography of Mark Zuckerberg whilst making Facebook.

Narrative – structure and key

moments

• On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea (after being dumped by his girlfriend). In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution of communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications – written by Columbia Pictures

• The film cuts between present day, where Zuckerberg is being sued by his former friend, Eduardo, and flashbacks to the process of making Facebook where all of Zuckerberg’s mistakes were made.

Genre  • The film is a biography drama as it tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg's creation of Facebook and the struggles he faced during the first 6 years of this.

• The structure and soundtrack of the film helps to establish the biography genre as it makes the audience focus on the narrative rather than the characters. This helps to tell the story of the process of making Facebook, and Zuckerberg’s success.

• It is a dramatic film as conflict, rivalry and betrayal is portrayed between the male protagonist and antagonists of the film.  It also explores the themes of entrepreneurship, theft, integrity and greed.

Characters – what

they looked like

and how they

acted?

• Mark Zuckerberg played by Jesse Eisenberg is the male protagonist of the film and is presented as a geeky, student with the ability to program and invent a highly popular platform of modern social media. He can be seen wearing scruffy hoodies and odd clothing for the setting of some scenes, for example Adidas sliders in a professional hearing. This could suggest that he is distracted and has other priorities or that he doesn’t care.

• Eduardo Saverin, played by Andrew Garfield is approached by Mark with his idea for 'thefacebook'. Presented as Mark's right-hand man and good friend he provides the funds for Mark's idea however he is soon seen as the antagonist to Mark when he sues Mark 6 years on. He is presented as wealthy and well put together as he can be seen wearing suits and is well groomed in most scenes of the film. The audience sympathise with him as he is unjustly 'thrown aside' by Mark; this is revealed later in the film.

• Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake, becomes a key character within the film towards the second half. He is the founder of Napster and helps Mark to make Facebook successful. He is first introduced as a seemingly normal young guy, however the dialogue soon reveals to the audience the characters status and success. From this point onwards he is seen as confident and wearing suits and more smart clothing, in comparison to Mark.

Who do you think would be

interested in this

movie?

• The film deals with some mature themes and has swearing which may suggest that the film is more suitable for an audience of 16+.

• It would appeal to Facebook and social media users that have an interest in the backstory as to the creation of the website. The film is about friendship, rivalry, betrayal and greed which may intrigue potential audience members and appeal to those with an interest into these themes.

• While it may appeal to all Facebook users it is most likely to appeal to those between the ages of 16 and 45 as it features young actors that play students. There is not a lot of age diversity which may reduce the film’s appeal to an older audience.