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Erin Dietel-McLaughlin WR13300 Section 09 11 October 2013 The Role of Framing and Social Interactions In The Social Network, writer Ben Mizrich and director David Fincher reveal the story of billionaire Mark Zuckerburg and his creation of the world renowned website, Facebook. This film begins at the acclaimed Harvard University, where Mark and his best friend, Eduardo Saverin begin to develop the social networking site out of their dorm room. Through Marks programming genius and Eduardos business design, the two are able to launch the billion-dollar company, however, the film clearly demonstrates the permanent damage that is created in the process. Amidst a series of rhetorical devices, the complex personalities of each character are developed, as well as the degradation of long lasting relationships such as Mark and Eduardos. This essay will serve to focus on the specific aspects of filmography that enhance these progressions and help the audience to better analyze the emotion felt throughout the story. Through the rhetoric of framing and unique choice of advanced technology along with the significance of social interactions, The Social Network is able to successfully illustrate the strains on personal relationships that were experienced by the founders of Facebook: a website developed to establish friendships. At the beginning of the movie, Zuckerburg is shown in a dimly lit bar having a fast-paced conversation with his girlfriend, Erica Albright. Depicted as an intelligent individual with his scholarly dialogue, the film clearly conveys his struggles in social conversations as his condescending comments and demeanor result in him being dumped moments into the movie.

!"#$%&' )' For the duration of the scene, the camerawork plays an important role in the development of Marks character. In Judith Lancionis Rhetoric of the Frame this kind of visual process is explained: Through their content selection, shot composition, camera work, and editing, filmmakers guide what is seen, for how long, and in what order Viewers construct meaning from shot content and context, from the relationship of shot to shot, and from the rhythm of the cutting, all of which contribute to a films visual rhythms and constitute an important aspect of its rhetoric. (109) As the camera quickly pans back and forth between the two individuals, this kind of visual rhythm is created, adding an insight into the sheer genius that is Mark Zuckerburg and to the complexity of the conversation. However, this initial dialogue is just a precursor to the weakness of his social ability that is seen in the movies entirety, which goes on to play a more underlying role in the creation of the company. Another particular scene with intriguing camera framing takes place shorty after the first, where Mark races back to his dorm after Erica breaks up with him and promptly logs onto his computer. While simultaneously blogging about his recent exgirlfriend, Zuckerburg formulates a concept of taking pictures from Harvards dorms face books and putting girls next to each other in order for guys to rate two against each other. As the camera zooms in on the computer images from different angles, a partially intoxicated Mark creates the code for this highly intricate program, which goes on to crash Harvards network. Not only does this camerawork showcase his mastery in programming, but it also unveils part of Zuckerburgs motivation for his creations. Due to his inability to form lasting social relationships, especially with women, Mark attempts to make up for it with his acumen of technology, leading him to create sites such as Face Match in this instance and eventually,

!"#$%&' *' Facebook. Just from the start of the film, through intuitive framing and visual rhetoric, audiences are able to swiftly capture this social constriction of Zuckerburgs identity. While Marks hacking scene not only adds to his portrayal as a character, the audience is also introduced to his best friend, Eduardo Saverin. As soon as Eduardo enters the room, analytical viewers are able to recognize his compassionate nature when the camera zooms into his emotional face while he asks Mark how hes doing after his recent breakup. Zuckerburg hastily disregards this question, but rather asks Eduardo for an algorithm to help him finish his coding sequence. This transfer of questions, which some viewers not find important this early in the story, is actually of great significance in unraveling the social capabilities of each character. As Eduardo is compassionate and there for Mark after hed been dumped, Zuckerburg only cares about the program he is working on and appears emotionless. This hurried exchange of words and alternating camera angle from each face represents the difference in social connectivity between both characters. From James Herricks An Overview of Rhetoric the message being sent in this scene can be described: Creating a message involves thinking critically about the facts available to you. This compositional process- what rhetorical theorists call inventionoften suggests new ways of understanding facts and new relationships among facts (20). The opposite emotional responses from the two are presented as facts: Mark being emotionless and Eduardo being compassionate. These details gives rise to the distinction, or message from this situation, between the two. While Eduardo is able to function in deeper social interactions, Mark has difficulty in doing so. This can relate to both characters love lives as well, where Mark is stuck on Erica and Eduardo goes on to date an attractive girl during the course of the movie. In a way, this difference in social competency, contributed by Eduardos acceptance to the Phoenix club and Marks denial, leads to the climax of the film, where Eduardo essentially signs his death

!"#$%&' +' certificate for his company share without knowing it. This event, planned out by Mark, was the tipping point of their friendship, and can relate back to Marks envy for Eduardos social successes and his own failures. Relating back to the emotional camera angles of their faces at the beginning of the story, this subtle visual rhetoric of social understanding goes on to influence the conflict between the Mark and Eduardo that eventually leads to the destruction of their friendship. Although creating a website designed to enhance social interaction and relationships between members, founder Mark Zuckerburg experiences the loss of a best friend, with his frailty in social capability being a main cause. In the closing scene of the film, Zuckerburg is found alone in a room, sitting on Facebook. As the camera focuses in on the screen, Mark clicks on Erica Albrights profile, and the camera flips around to show his face. This crucial moment in the film is a monumental situation, where it seems as if Marks motivation for this entire company had been from a conversation between him and this one girl. A sorrowful and lonely Zuckerburg stares at the screen, while the camera over his shoulder captures him clicking on the friend request button to his ex-girlfriend. While Mark sits behind the computer a billionaire, it seems as if even though he created this historical social networking site, it still holds a power over him and his emotions. When creating this site, he had hoped it would help him branch out socially and meet girls, but in this final scene the audience still senses this loneliness that he holds. The visual framing of the ending of the film shows the real emotion felt by Zuckerburg and best represents the importance that visual rhetoric has played throughout the movie. Even though some members of the audience could claim that mundane switching of views through camerawork doesnt hold significance in this film, they should realize that without these rhetorical agents, the emotion and character development conveyed through social interactions

!"#$%&' ,' throughout the film would not exist. Therefore, it is evident to state that this kind of visual rhetoric is essential in developing these kinds of relationships throughout the film.

!"#$%&' -' Works Cited Herrick, James. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction, 3rd ed. Pearson Education 2005 Boston. Lancioni, Judith. "Rhetoric of the Frame." Visual Rhetoric: A Reader in Communication and American Culture. Los Angeles: Sage, 2008. 105-17. Print. The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. By Ben Mizrich. Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Film.