The Social Network. Yep, this deserves its own thread.

[Toxic]

Did anyone else see The Social Network this weekend? I hope I don't hype it up to much for those who haven't seen it yet, but my mind was pretty blown. Comparing it with other socially conscious dark comedies I would rank it up with the likes of Network and Fight Club. Prior to seeing this movie I don't think I've ever seen a movie that was almost entirely dialogue but never boring for a second. Anyone have other thoughts?

[Killbert-Robby]

I refuse to watch it out of principle. When Facebook not working is front page news, and a movie based on it tops the box office, something is very very wrong in my book. I mean yeah I hear the writing and cinematography are excellent, but just.... no....

[Yeahduff]

...he typed on an internet messageboard.

This is the internet age. May as well boycott a movie about television in the 50's.

Saw Howl and The Town this weekend instead. Foolishly, but that John Hamm is just devastatingly handsome.

But want to see this, yeah. Aaron Sorkin is pretty great, and I look forward to watching Timberlake snort cocaine off of Victoria's Secret models. Hopefullly it's a lot, lot better than Fight Club.

[McDuffies]

Comparing it with other socially conscious dark comedies I would rank it up with the likes of Network and Fight Club.

Oh, it sucks that much?

[Toxic]

Comparing it with other socially conscious dark comedies I would rank it up with the likes of Network and Fight Club.

Oh, it sucks that much?

*Death stare*

[Killbert-Robby]

...he typed on an internet messageboard.

This is the internet age. May as well boycott a movie about television in the 50's..

Who said its cause this was from the internet? Does not liking Britney Spears mean I hate all music? Fuck, nerdy source material is a *plus* for me. Hell, I wouldn't even mind a movie where Facebook has a central role. I just feel that some things are just simply, like it or not, kind of not that big a deal (like Facebook), and making them out like they're more than just a big deal, but the biggest deal of deals dealt, well, thats just stupid.

[Toxic]

...he typed on an internet messageboard.

This is the internet age. May as well boycott a movie about television in the 50's..

Who said its cause this was from the internet? Does not liking Britney Spears mean I hate all music? Fuck, nerdy source material is a *plus* for me. Hell, I wouldn't even mind a movie where Facebook has a central role. I just feel that some things are just simply, like it or not, kind of not that big a deal (like Facebook), and making them out like they're more than just a big deal, but the biggest deal of deals dealt, well, thats just stupid.

Hope I don't ruin your manifesto but Facebook doesn't really have a central role in the movie. In fact I think there's only two scenes in the movie where the Facebook homepage can be seen for longer than a split second. It's really a Citizen Kane-esque character study of someone becoming extremely successful and subsequently screwing over his close friends. Facebook is only mentioned in the background and isn't really made into a big deal (Unless founding an internet company worth $24 billion is a big deal).

[Yeahduff]

xpost

Well the site has half a billion users and made the dude a billionaire before he was, what, 25? Not to mention the site is currently shaping the nature of the internet along with other massive companies like Google and Apple. Kind of a big deal. It's also not really about Facebook, it's about how some guy made a lot of money and a lot of enemies on the internet.

Guess I just don't know why you don't want to see it. You actually haven't said.

[Killbert-Robby]

But I have said why I don't want to. It's pretty simple : yes, Facebook is fun, and yes I use it. Its convenient for throwing parties, talking to friends back in other continents, storing pictures, etc etc etc. But that's where it ends for me. I mean, its not even a unique service, social networking has been around since tween-me dicked around on Myspace. Being the youngest billionaire in the world is impressive, yes. But, to me, Facebook is a casual tool that people are investing way too much hope and money into, and I see this going dot-com-bubble when it pops and people realize Facebook is just a site for fratboys to post about how wicked sick that party last night was. So to me this movie just falls into the "people hoping that since I'm on FB I'll throw money at them" category. I already made a man a billionaire through datamining and ad revenue, so its not a matter of boycotting because I dont think my $12 is gonna make that big a difference, I just happen to think the premise and hype around this movie is for lack of a better word stupid.

Hope I don't ruin your manifesto but Facebook doesn't really have a central role in the movie. In fact I think there's only two scenes in the movie where the Facebook homepage can be seen for longer than a split second. It's really a Citizen Kane-esque character study of someone becoming extremely successful and subsequently screwing over his close friends. Facebook is only mentioned in the background and isn't really made into a big deal (Unless founding an internet company worth $24 billion is a big deal).

Right, and I'm sure the millions of people flocking to the theater are doing it out of their undying love for economic drama, and not "cause its da facebook movie, dude"

[Toxic]

But I have said why I don't want to. It's pretty simple : yes, Facebook is fun, and yes I use it. Its convenient for throwing parties, talking to friends back in other continents, storing pictures, etc etc etc. But that's where it ends for me. I mean, its not even a unique service, social networking has been around since tween-me dicked around on Myspace. Being the youngest billionaire in the world is impressive, yes. But, to me, Facebook is a casual tool that people are investing way too much hope and money into, and I see this going dot-com-bubble when it pops and people realize Facebook is just a site for fratboys to post about how wicked sick that party last night was. So to me this movie just falls into the "people hoping that since I'm on FB I'll throw money at them" category. I already made a man a billionaire through datamining and ad revenue, so its not a matter of boycotting because I dont think my $12 is gonna make that big a difference, I just happen to think the premise and hype around this movie is for lack of a better word stupid.

Hope I don't ruin your manifesto but Facebook doesn't really have a central role in the movie. In fact I think there's only two scenes in the movie where the Facebook homepage can be seen for longer than a split second. It's really a Citizen Kane-esque character study of someone becoming extremely successful and subsequently screwing over his close friends. Facebook is only mentioned in the background and isn't really made into a big deal (Unless founding an internet company worth $24 billion is a big deal).

Right, and I'm sure the millions of people flocking to the theater are doing it out of their undying love for economic drama, and not "cause its da facebook movie, dude"

This movie is in no way endorsed by or affiliated with Facebook, so they're not going to make a dime from people seeing it. Mark Zuckerberg was even on the Oprah show last week to announce a $100 million charitable donation to counter bad publicity from the movie. So by boycotting this movie it seems like you're really encouraging Facebook, which is I think isn't what you are trying to achieve.

The movie doesn't deny that social networking was already around. There's a scene in the movie where he's being pitched the concept for a Facebook-like site by the people he allegedly stole the idea from but dismisses it because it's so similar to Friendster and MySpace, only to later realize he can market his site by keeping it cleaner, exclusive and under-commercialized. Think how Google beat out Yahoo to become the top search engine despite a four year gap between their releases.

As for the hype being stupid, just by being about Facebook is definitely drawing in a large chunk of its audience. The real source of hype, and what will keep people coming to the theaters, is that this movie is really good. (Another tidbit I picked up from watching this: the best way to advertise a product is by good word of mouth.)

[Yeahduff]

But I have said why I don't want to.

I refuse to watch it out of principle. When Facebook not working is front page news, and a movie based on it tops the box office, something is very very wrong in my book. I mean yeah I hear the writing and cinematography are excellent, but just.... no....

So..... because Facebook is popular and because this movie is popular.....?

It's pretty simple : yes, Facebook is fun, and yes I use it. Its convenient for throwing parties, talking to friends back in other continents, storing pictures, etc etc etc. But that's where it ends for me. I mean, its not even a unique service, social networking has been around since tween-me dicked around on Myspace. Being the youngest billionaire in the world is impressive, yes. But, to me, Facebook is a casual tool that people are investing way too much hope and money into, and I see this going dot-com-bubble when it pops and people realize Facebook is just a site for fratboys to post about how wicked sick that party last night was. So to me this movie just falls into the "people hoping that since I'm on FB I'll throw money at them" category. I already made a man a billionaire through datamining and ad revenue, so its not a matter of boycotting because I dont think my $12 is gonna make that big a difference, I just happen to think the premise and hype around this movie is for lack of a better word stupid.

The actual service being supplied here is mostly neither here nor there. Myspace, Twitter, Friendster, whatever, this movie could have been about any of them. The movie isn't really about the pages on the internet, it's about how a guy with little to no social savvy built an empire trying to figure out how why and when connect to each other, supplying a way to do that on the internet. Whether or not Facebook survives the decade is irrelevant, because something else will take its place, and more importantly, it's an interesting story. You may as well discount Citizen Kane because you don't like newspapers.

[Dotty]

He does make a valid point about the bubble burst. Myspace was/still is pretty huge, but facebook blew it away. Twitter exploded a few years ago, but has been around forever, and down the road will (or is, I'm not really sure, but it's definitely the way to follow celebs, so it suggests to me it's next) be the next super duper fad. He's essentially saying (from what I gather) he doesn't want to watch a movie about a fad because the fad is being made out to be a super juggernaut of world changing proportions, and while it's changed a lot of internet stuff, and really seems to change how some people socialize, in the end it's a fad. Seems fair to me, not sure why it's a hot point of contention. (He IS allowed to not like things, right?)

This movie is pretty decent, but it really does blow itself up to nauseating proportions, even if it doesn't show the site much. It's deep, and more about the battle between the guy who came up with the concept of "Thefacebook.com" for a university or...can't recall atm, and the guy who stole it and made facebook, and the lawsuit that followed (and only broke half a year ago..). That's my gripe with this movie, it was announced like a couple months after the lawsuit, and seemed like a gigantic money grab.

Fads and money grabs tend to annoy me, but you know, I'm one of those "rebel without a cause" types.

[Toxic]

In the long run everything is a fad. The one thing every legitimately functional internet fad has in common is that it didn't just disappear, something else came along that could do everything the preceding fad could do and more. Facebook might not be around in a decade, people have had a taste of social networking and like it, so expect it to be in for the long run.

Also, I fully support people having the right to like or dislike what they choose, but I don't understand someone disliking a movie when they haven't seen it and have a vague understanding of its premise.

[Yeahduff]

He does make a valid point about the bubble burst. Myspace was/still is pretty huge, but facebook blew it away. Twitter exploded a few years ago, but has been around forever, and down the road will (or is, I'm not really sure, but it's definitely the way to follow celebs, so it suggests to me it's next) be the next super duper fad. He's essentially saying (from what I gather) he doesn't want to watch a movie about a fad because the fad is being made out to be a super juggernaut of world changing proportions, and while it's changed a lot of internet stuff, and really seems to change how some people socialize, in the end it's a fad. Seems fair to me, not sure why it's a hot point of contention. (He IS allowed to not like things, right?)

Homeboy said he wasn't going to see it out of principle, despite hearing it was very good. The principles in question seem completely arbitrary and based on nothing more than a wish to be contrary. He doesn't have to like the facebook or this movie, but his dismissal is nonsense. Didn't mean to blow it out of proportion, just wanted to make a breezy dismissal of what I found to be a non-point two posts into the thread.

while it's changed a lot of internet stuff, and really seems to change how some people socialize, in the end it's a fad

This seems insane. We're all aware that the internet is probably the most important invention since the industrial revolution, right? Fad or not, if you change how the internet works along with the way human beings interact with each other, if you don't exactly have a super-juggernaut on your hands, you certainly have a large piece of one.

[Toxic]

Yeah, and I'm really amazed that for the first time I remember Yeahduff and I actually agree on something.

On another note, I'm no etymologist but if I recall correctly for something to be considered a fad its value has to be entirely novelty, i.e. if it changes or simplifies your everyday life, or is in someway useful it's not a fad. Does anyone remember how we planned parties before Facebook?

[Yeahduff]

Evite.

[Yeahduff]

And we agree on things. Y'know, like, on Elliott Smith, and, stuff....

[Toxic]

Friend me on Facebook!

[Bustertheclown]

Does anyone remember how we planned parties before Facebook?

Real-world face-to-face contact. It's still my preferred method, but I'm a Luddite.

[Nanda]

It's directed by David Fincher, stars Jesse Eisenberg, and the trailer featured a children's choir singing Radiohead's "Creep." I'm there.