Bahr Joe Bahr Dr.

Dietel-McLaughlin Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric 27 February 2014 Mark Zuckerbergs Desire for Humanity Mark Zuckerberg is the least interested man in the world. While this is not a valid

statement, it is most certainly true when looking solely at the film, The Social Network. As Mark insinuates to the majority of characters and verbally spells out to an attorney in the film, You have part of my attention you have the minimum amount. Over the duration of time that Mark works with others to develop and enhance Facebook, more often than not he only gives the minimum amount of attention. A contrast in character arises when Mark engages in conversation with Erica Albright, Sean Parker, and Marilyn Delpy. Erica Albright is presented in the films opening scene with Mark at a bar near Harvard. She proceeds to break up with Mark at the bar, thus constructing the viewers first impression of both her and Mark. Furthermore, Sean Parker is a flashy entrepreneur in his early twenties who catches wind of Facebook in its infant stages and eventually joins Marks inner circle. Lastly, Marilyn Delpy is an associate on Marks legal team. She plays a very minor role throughout the film, however she converses with Mark in the final scene of the film, and it is here that she makes a profound contribution to the character development of Mark. This lack of interest towards seemingly everything besides these three individuals leads the viewer to question what Mark truly desires as he constructs Facebook. Perhaps Mark desires status more than anything, and hopes that Facebook will allow him to join one of Harvards highly exclusive final clubs. However, the rhetoric of the film illuminates that this is not the case. It is through the rhetorical devices of

Bahr strategic camera angles and hypermediacy incorporated in the scenes featuring Erica, Sean, and Marilyn that the director of The Social Network, David Fincher, constructs Marks thoughts about Erica. This is built upon through the rhetorical device of contrasting backgrounds in the scenes featuring Erica, revealing Marks true desire: the approval of Erica Albright. This specific desire ultimately leads the viewer to understand that in actuality, Mark is a compassionate human being.

Fincher constructs Mark Zuckerbergs relationships with Sean, Marilyn, and Erica largely through the rhetorical device of distinct camera angles. This is especially apparent when Mark first meets Sean Parker at a restaurant. Throughout the course of the meal, Mark appears to be locked into the conversation, quite contrary to his customary disposition. This is furthered when the music begins to play in place of the dialogue and the camera bounces back and forth between Sean, Mark, and Marks friends, Eduardo and Christy. The lack of dialogue is compensated by the illusion of a vibrant conversation that results from the cinematic techniques in the scene. Mark is fully engaged as apparent by his penetrating eyes and active demeanor, and the use of the camera simply reinforces this strong attention. This scene demonstrates to the viewer that Seans words will continue to carry a great deal of significance in the eyes of Mark for the duration of the film. Furthermore, in the final scene involving Marilyn and Mark, Fincher takes the shot from behind Mark, while facing Marilyn across the table. Fincher applies the technique of mobile framing in this scene, providing the scene with an illusion of three dimensionality (Lancioni 107). This creates an effect where Marilyn appears much larger than Mark, enforcing the idea that she has power over Mark. This contrasts nearly every other character, hence giving Marilyns words added worth. In regards to Erica Albright, Fincher makes use of camera angles when Mark runs into her at a restaurant, where she is sitting with a group of friends. For the

Bahr majority of the scene, the camera is placed at Ericas eye level, while Mark is standing above. Despite Marks dominating position, both the camera angle and the words exchanged make it apparent that Erica is the one who dominates. Mark lacks any sort of leverage in the relationship, and the camera simply reinforces the words that illustrate this. Erica refuses to speak with Mark privately, let alone face him, instead sitting with her back towards Mark. The development of these relationships by use of camera angles lays the groundwork for additional rhetorical devices to capture Marks true desire. The understanding of Marks desires and relationship with Erica is furthered through

Finchers use of hypermediacy. The goal in accomplishing hypermediacy is to [make] us aware of the medium (Bolter and Grusin 34). Essentially, it is the idea that the creator makes the medium apparent to the viewer, and in doing so achieves an intended effect. Fincher effectively does this in the opening scene of the movie with Erica. Directly before she leaves Mark at the bar, Erica is featured in a close up shot in which all background noise and images have been drowned out. In this instance, Fincher purposely makes the viewer aware of the special effects in the scene, hence utilizing the effects of hypermediacy. She proceeds to tell Mark that girls are not going to like him, not because he is a nerd, but because [hes] an asshole. The use of hypermediacy in this line creates a lasting impression on the mind of the viewer, and these words will continue to resonate for the remainder of the film. Mark responds to Erica with an expression of uncertainty and disbelief, and is unable to articulate a response in the time before she leaves the bar. This is incredibly out of character for Mark, for throughout the entirety of the film he is depicted as sharp, witty, and never at a loss for words. Thus, the combination of Finchers use of hypermediacy and Marks response indicates that Ericas words will remain

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engrained as a fundamental root of Marks future actions, for her words will continue to loom in the back of his mind. For the remainder of the film, Fincher continues to make connections back to this scene through similar uses of hypermediacy, but carried out by other individuals. The first connection arises at a nightclub, where Mark and Sean are discussing various aspects regarding Facebook and Napster. Sean proceeds to tell Mark that he founded Napster because the girl [he] loved in high school was with the co-captain of the varsity lacrosse team and [he] wanted to take her from him. A few exchanges later, the camera zooms in on Seans face, in an eerily similar fashion as it depicted Erica, drawing a parallel to the opening scene of Erica. Prior to this, Sean explains to Mark how he wants him to build and run Facebook on his own, and eventually hold control of a billion dollar company. During this close-up, Sean tells Mark, Thats what I want for you . Sean could be hinting that he wanted Mark to run his own company without the help of adults, however Mark responds soon after by asking Sean if he ever thought of the girl from high school. This makes it evident that the idea of founding Napster to win a girl resonated with Mark, and the viewer is now led to believe that perhaps he hopes to gain the attention of Erica with Facebook. A second connection to the opening scenes use of hypermediacy can be found in the closing scene with Marilyn Delpy. As she is leaving the conference room, Marilyn states, Youre not an asshole, Mark. Youre just trying so hard to be. Although the rhetorical device of hypermediacy is not applied in this scene, the content of this quote connects back to the use of hypermediacy in the opening scene, hence transferring a tremendous amount of rhetorical power to Marilyns words. As a minor character and hence an outsider, Marilyn can be observed as the voice of reason, giving her words the greatest amount of credibility. It is not a coincidence that the same message is conveyed to Mark in both the last words of the opening scene and the

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closing scene. The cyclical nature of this critique of Mark brings the plot full circle, begging the question of whether Erica has remained rooted in the back of Marks mind the entire time. Coupled with an understanding of the progression of Mark and Ericas relationship, Marilyns message confirms that Mark has in fact never let go of the thought of Erica. Erica Albright appears throughout the film in only three scenes, each set in varying backgrounds, illustrating the progression of Mark and Ericas relationship. Throughout the film Fincher exhibits the power to shape the thinking of other people, (Herrick 19) namely the audience in reference to how they view Mark and Ericas relationship, through the rhetorical device of varying backgrounds. This device captures the two individuals declining relationship, and culminates by illuminating Marks true desire. Mark and Erica trace their beginnings to the very first scene of the film. The two are seated together without any others, and the surrounding background is a bit hazy. This scene portrays Erica as standing alone from all others besides Mark, including the other individuals in attendance at the bar. This is contrasted in the following scene featuring Erica, where Mark runs into her at a restaurant. In this instance, Erica is surrounded by a group of friends, and their faces can be clearly discerned. This difference in background can account for several ideas. For one, the progression of hazy to clear illustrates the fact that Mark and Ericas relationship becomes more sharply defined as the movie progresses. Furthermore, the number of people she is accompanied by provides physical evidence of the distancing of Mark and Erica. This progression culminates in Ericas final appearance, when Mark pulls up her Facebook profile on his computer in the final scene of the movie. In this context, Erica is connected to her hundreds of Facebook friends, and the computer screen is very clear. Their relationship is as distant as ever, yet Mark hopes to change that. By sending her a friend request, he seeks to gain the sliver of approval that comes with being

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Facebook friends. At this point, Mark has accomplished nearly everything one could think of in terms of fame and money, yet he lacks the approval of Erica. Marilyns comment spurns Mark to take action, leading him to send Erica the friend request. It is evident through the rhetoric of the film that The Social Network is not simply a Hollywood classic, but rather a message for humanity. At times, the viewer could be led to believe that Marks main motive in creating Facebook is to acquire fame or fortune, however Fincher captures the power of rhetoric to illustrate that this is not the case. In the final scene, Mark is not staring at a list of the Porcellians alumni, the most famous final club at Harvard, but rather at the Facebook page of Erica. The hurt in his eyes is evident, and the lasting image of a broken man, constantly refreshing the page, anxiously awaiting her acceptance is momentous. This goes to show that despite being interpreted as an introverted genius with little to show for his feelings, Mark nonetheless has genuine emotions. There are few instances in the film that are more fundamentally human than the final scene, where Mark is portrayed as wearied and vulnerable. Hence, through the use of rhetoric, Fincher not only depicts the desires of Mark, but also the fact that a piece of humanity rests in even the least compassionate individuals. Marilyn sums it up the best. Mark is not an asshole, but rather a human being. He has the same goals, hopes, and desires as the average individual, and it is the very essence of this message that Fincher attempts to convey. This message serves as a note to all. At the end of the day, the importance of wealth, fame, and extravagance is secondary to personal relationships. Through the use of rhetorical devices, the film unearths this fundamental idea, unveils it to the audience, and conveys a profound call to action.

Bahr Works Cited Bolter, J. David, and Richard A. Grusin. "Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation." Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. N. pag. Web. Herrick, James A. "An Overview of Rhetoric." The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Beacon, 2005. N. pag. Web. Lancioni, Judith. "The Rhetoric of the Frame Revisioning Archival Photographs in." Western Journal of Communication 60.4 (1996): 397-414. Web. The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. Sony, 2010. DVD.