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Granberry 1 Ben Granberry Dr.

Erin Dietel-McLaughlin 13300-09 11 October 2013 Friendship as the measure of True Success The movie, The Social Network, follows the founder of the social media website Facebook on our journey through ingenuity, struggle, and finally success. It can be seen as a rhetorical work using James Herricks definition of rhetoric as the systematic study and intentional practice of effective symbolic expression(7). This is because of the many rhetorical strategies present in the film that point the viewer to a certain conclusion. The rhetorical strategies will be examined in this paper in context of important scenes to allow for more clarity. On the surface, the movie seems to show how an inventive idea, if pursued ruthlessly, can result in a huge financial success and profitable business. However, this movie could also be seen to have deeper meanings that completely contradict what may originally have been perceived. This is because The Social Network uses a variety of rhetorical features to show that friendship is more important than financial success in determining success in life. Mark has a best friend named Eduardo Soverin and their relationship plays an important part in the story. Before Eduardo enters the picture, the film uses a concept called hypermediacy, created by scholars Bolter and Grusin, when the camera switches between Mark working on his computer and the members of a final club throwing a party. Hypermediacy makes us aware of the medium or media and (in sometimes subtle and sometimes obvious ways) reminds us of our desire for immediacy(Bolter & Grusin 34). The viewer knows that Mark is not part of a final club as we see the two clearly separated, but we

Granberry 2 want to be part of it. Once Eduardo arrives, Mark immediately asks Eduardo for an algorithm so he can complete his Face Match website. It seems like Mark doesnt know how to connect to Eduardo as a friend and isnt emotionally invested in the relationship. Eduardo on the other hand is very emotionally invested Probably the most important, and most apparent example of how important friendship is can be seen in the opening and closing scenes of The Social Network. In the opening scene an important rhetorical discourse occurs. Mark Zuckerberg and his girlfriend are talking at a table in a pub. The camera immediately brings you right up to the table where it switches between Mark and his girlfriend, Erica, as they converse. This strategy of rhetoric, called immediacy, involves a necessary contact point between the medium and what it represents(Bolter & Grusin 30). This contact point tries to pull the viewer into the scene making them feel like they are part of the conversation at the table with Mark and Erica. The dialogue itself is very quick and Mark is portrayed as a very intelligent individual, but the conversation begins to go downhill when Mark fails to connect to Erica and instead mistakenly attacks her for implying he wasnt good enough to get into a final club. The dialogue makes it apparent how smart Mark is, but also shows how hard it is or him to connect to people. The conversation builds up until Erica decides to break off their relationship altogether. The camera centers on Ericas face for the first time as she delivers a powerful line, telling Mark, You are probably going to be a very successful computer person. But you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole(The Social Network). Ambience takes into effect here as it changes from light to dark as Mark leaves the pub and heads home along the wet, empty streets.

Granberry 3 The music is slow and brooding and it gives time to viewer to reflect on what just happened and feel that Mark is in a bad place right now. Reflecting the opening scene, the final scene of the movie wraps up the conflict established in the beginning. At this point Mark has founded Facebook and is set to make millions of dollars. However, he does not seem happy upon finally settling the cases with the Winklevosses and Eduardo. Seeking companionship, he asks the lawyer Marylin Delpy will go get a drink with him but she politely declines. Countering Ericas statement in the opening scene, again the camera focuses, and Marylin tells Mark, You're not an asshole, Mark. You're just trying so hard to be.(The Social Network) After Marylin departs, Mark opens his laptop and sends a friend request to Erica Albright. The movie ends with Mark refreshing his page hoping he will see her accept his request so that he can try to get even one friend back. The ambience in this scene can be contrasted to the beginning scene where now it is bright and dry now, as well as the music becomes up beat and happy in the credits, giving us hope that Mark is going to reconnect with people and repair broken friendships. The movie doesnt end with Mark triumphing over others in court or in his fabulous workplace for Facebook, but ends with him alone in a room trying to connect to another individual. The use of dramatic irony is another rhetorical strategy used to convince the reader of the message of the film. Repeatedly throughout the story, Mark states how the money doesnt matter to him. While other characters struggle to take part in the wealth that Facebook provides, Mark only cares for reaching the maximum potential of the idea of Facebook, which is to be able to connect with friends across any distance. Characters such as Eduardo, Sean, and the Winklevoss twins all look to Facebook as a means to make money and in their minds be successful. Ironically, they each end up with only small shares of the large wealth Facebook accumulates,

Granberry 4 while Mark, the only one not caring about wealth, maintains much of the profit. This dramatic irony persuades the reader to second guess what is really important. Four of the men strove so hard to get rich, while Mark deems it as a background pleasure. What Mark really wants is friendship. Some may argue that The Social Network is simply a story about the struggles of Mark Zuckerberg to found Facebook. According to Lloyd F. Bitzer, however, a work is rhetorical because it is a response to a situation of a certain kind(3). This situation is the rise and huge success of multimedia sites like Facebook and Twitter, and discovering how these things were founded. The message of the story then may seem very obvious, how to get rich through coming up with a brilliant idea like a website where you can exchange information and pictures instantly with friends. The message could be that coming up with a grand idea, creating a successful business, and getting rich would make a great happy ending and would be an ideal, successful life. However, through rhetorical strategies employed by the film, the movie not only displays that seeking and obtaining wealth is not what makes you successful in life. Through the use of immediacy and hypermediacy, rhetorical discourse, dramatic irony, and ambience the Social Network cannot be seen as a film simply endorsing large businesses and ruthless business practices to get ahead. If anything the film is criticizing this theme because Mark regrets doing this because he lost all of his friends. To him, and as the protagonist of the story the message for all of us, friendship and love far outweighs any monetary amount or successful business. No one can be truly successful unless they are happy with where they are. And no one can be truly happy without love and friendship.

Granberry 5 Works Cited Bitzer, Lloyd F. The rhetorical situation. Pennsylvania: PSU Free Press, 1966. N. pag. Print. Bolter, J. David, and Richard A. Grusin. Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. N. pag. Print. Herrick, James A. An Overview of Rhetoric. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. N. pag. Print. The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg. Sony, 2010. DVD.

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