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Ana Gonzalez

Professor: Erin Dietel-McLaughlin

WR 13300: Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric

February 28th 2014

The use of Immediacy and Hypermediacy to convey a message

The Social Network is a Hollywood film that takes its turn on the creation of Facebook. It

was directed by David Fincher and released in 2010. This film draws allusion to the friendships be-

tween the characters and the development of those friendships through the evolution of technology,

most specifically Facebook. The film centers primarily on Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Face-

book, and Edwuardo Saverin, the CFO; and their interaction with other important characters such

as the Sean Parker, Erika Albright and Marilyn Delpy, whom help shape the story and complete

the drama.

This essay will focus on the idea that the film uses cinematic techniques to convey a

sense of immediacy and hypermediacy in key points of the film in order to aid its critique of

our society’s relationship with screen media. The director’s choice of cinematic features to

convey the critique of our society’s use of technology, allows rhetorical analysis of the film

and its “response to a situation of a certain kind” (Bitzer 3). Fincher’s systematic use of

rhetorical features, in turn, proposes an alternate view of the film that renders significance to

the director’s claims.

Throughout the use of camera angles, diegetic and non-diegetic audio and superposi-

tion of texts, the director successfully conveys the idea of immediacy and hypermediacy—

terms that will be further developed through out the essay—. Camera angles are the ways in

which the camera is positioned in order to focus the attention of the viewer, as the camera is

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more towards eye level there is more sense of immediacy, compared to when the camera is

looking down or up to the subject. Sound also forms part of enhancing “the dramatic mes-

sage” (McGrawHill A-8). Finally the superposition of text can accurately convey a sense of hy-

permediacy, due to its ability to edit the film and incorporate unnatural action and emphasis

to certain parts of the film.

In certain parts of the film Fincher uses cinematic techniques to offer a sense of immediacy

which highlight different points of view he wishes to convey. According to Bolter and Grusin, im-

mediacy refers to the human need for transparency and refers to an interactive space of which we

are part of. It is produced by taking away “the programmer/creator from the image” (Bolter and

Grusin 28). Immediacy is portrayed convincingly in a scene at a party of the Phoenix Club, one of

the most famous fraternities in the United States. The first view points of the party are intended to

allow us, as spectators, to capture the essence of the event. Nevertheless, the camera’s focus shifts

when we are turned towards the men who are welcoming the their guests, portraying them in a way

we as audience feel we are the guests. Regardless, of our gender we are put in the position of

women. It could be argued that the male audience would not feel the same sense of immediacy

than the female audience, but, the way the diegetic sounds and camera angles come together allure

the same emotional appeal to all audience. The diegetic sound refers to, according to Columbia

CNMTL, those sounds produced by the characters or situations of the film. We only hear the

voices of men and the music playing in the background and this music is related to the party rather

than added for additional rhetorical significance. The way we are put in the position of women

through the use of immediacy conveys the sense of denigration and provokes an emotional appeal

towards women by feeling their inferiority portrayed in the film. This sense of immediacy renders

significance to the director’s claim of the figure of women in the film.

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The first scene of the movie not only conveys very important script lines but also projects

the most realistic sense of immediacy portrayed throughout the film. This first scene consists of a

date between Erika Albright and Mark Zuckerberg, and with the use of camera angles we are, as

Bolter and Grusin would describe immediacy, rendered “automatic the act of representation” (33).

Meaning we are completely introduced as part of the film. The camera is at the eye level of each

character and switches between characters and scenes of both of them, making us believe we are in

the bar at that same time experiencing that date. Also, Fincher’s use of only diegetic sounds—bar

noises and characters’ voices—is consistent with the idea of immediacy he is trying to portray in

the scene. Non-diegetic sounds are not used because it would exemplify a hyper-mediated space

which would contradict our sense of direct relation with the scene. The director’s choice to portray

us as parts of the scene, is used to reach out to our emotional side and feel the lines of the actors as

if they were directed to us. By putting ourselves as part of the conversation the director manages to

create an emotional connection between us and the characters, which will later on form part of our

biased critique towards the characters.

The Phoenix house and the Bar scene both draw on the use of diegetic sounds, camera an-

gles and emotional appeals to rhetorically induce a sense of immediacy that will project a critique.

Rhetoric as a persuasion technique, according to Herrick (2001), has the ability of guiding the au-

dience into the perspective of the author. Fincher employs several scenes such as the aforemen-

tioned bar scene where he depicts through the rhetorical use of immediacy a “social conception”

(Henrrick 2001) of women as inferior to men. In addition, the use of rhetoric is paramount in the

representation of characters as unique individuals that the audience can relate to. Sean Parker’s pre-

potent and dominant nature renders special significance to people with such characteristics. This

compares to the depiction of women's inferiority by rendering importance of the role of women in

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a society where as Fincher would describe in his rhetorical use of script lines, has been character-

ized by “following men”. The emotional appeal of the role of woman is one of Fincher’s most pre-

dominant themes throughout the film; and the description of characters through what they make us

feel is the director’s most efficient technique for presenting the characters.

Certain critiques are supported as well through the implementation of hypermediacy in cer-

tain parts of the film. According to Bolter and Grusin, hypermediacy presents an interactive space

in which we are not part of but rather we are an outsider looking in, “windowed style” (Bolter and

Grusin 31). To exemplify Fincher’s use of hypermediacy to convey a message we can examine the

scene in the dorm room were Mark Zuckerberg is creating FaceMash. The camera centers on

Zuckerberg as he is hacking his way through houses databases, in order to create FaceMash. We

get a sense we are looking from above rather than from within the scene. Further on, in the screen

appear a number of coding fragments super-positioned onto the film that tell us we are undoubt-

edly watching a medium in itself. Also, the fast pace nature of the scene induces a sense of rapid

progression and a bit of stress onto the viewer. We are now completely sure we are seeing a media

represented for us rather than a situation happening directly in front of us. Moreover, the non-

diegetic sounds start appearing to portray a sense of further hypermediacy. Non-diegetic sounds

refers to those sounds “outside the story world” (Columbia CNMTL), introduced through film edit-

ing. These non-diegetic sounds are presented as we start hearing the thoughts that go through Mark

Zuckerberg’s head. The proposition of a supernatural effect—hearing peoples’ thoughts—further

establishes the hyper-mediated scene. In this particular scene, we start to formulate questions—

What does all this coding mean? Is he creating the next big thing? or Is he simply a nerdy guy with

nothing to do?—and through all the mediated fragments we feel overwhelmed with everything and

we are left with a sense of misunderstanding. Through the use of faster pace, supernatural effects,

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non-diegetic sounds and superposition of text the director appeals to our more primitive ways. He

confuses us with hyper-mediated text and therefore aides his critique on technology and its effect

on our daily lives.

The last scene’s composition of camera use and non-diegetic sounds positions us as specta-

tors of a hyper-mediated text. The scene consists of Mark Zuckerberg—creator of Facebook—

alone in a chair, friend requesting Erika Albright. The camera goes back and forth from the face of

Zuckerberg to the computer screen. We are watching Mark Zuckerberg from above reinstating the

fact that we are not in the scene with him. Some could argue that there is a real appearance of

diegetic sounds, such as the clicking of the mouse, without interference of non-diegetic sounds—

there is no music at first—and this comes across as if we are in a real not interfered situation. Nev-

ertheless, soon after Mark starts clicking more continuously a sad music appears in the background

and the camera shifts up in a close zoom of Mark’s face. This hyper-mediates the scene even more,

by “rearranging existing forms” (Bolter and Grusin 39) and thoroughly conveying the sense of iso-

lation the director purposely introduces throughout the film. This scene encourages us to look at

Mark Zuckerberg not as the millionaire, or as the jerk, but rather as a child who although is worth

billions of dollars is still alone.

A crucial point to be understood between this last scene and the first scene is the narrative

structure that occurs between them. Through parallel editing the director “helps establish a viewing

pattern” (Lancioni 108) that guides the viewer to a certain perspective. Although, they appear so

far in time, they share the same theme— a boy trying to reach out to a girl—. Nevertheless,

through the portrayal of immediacy when Mark is face to face with Erika and hypermediacy when

he is alone; the director is able to differentiate both situations and convey his idea of loneliness

achieved through technology.

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Hypermediacy as a tool of windowing reality, according to Bolter and Grusin, is seen again

in the rhetorical use of cinematic techniques by the director of The Social Network. In this case

Fincher’s use of hypermediacy is seen when he portrays the creation of The Facebook in the dorm

room of Mark Zuckerberg. The camera takes a turn and goes out of the room and zooms in on the

window where there is the logarithm for Facebook written down. More than the actual sense of hy-

permediacy were we as spectators are pushed out of the room entirely, there is the presence of the

clear analogy of the windowed reality. As Bolter and Grusin would say, “not as a window on to the

world, but rather as “windowed” itself” (34). The dorm room is seen through the window and is

portrayed as a distant and unachievable. Even further, since the glass that separates us has written

on it the logarithm of Facebook, we can see the director’s choice of composition as his idea of

comparing it with actual Facebook. Where Facebook is the windowed reality of something else.

The contrast between the two types of relationship—immediate and windowed— portrayed

in the film in regards to Zuckerberg’s relationship, shows the director’s point of view towards how

technology affects our relationships. Although, according to Bolter and Grusin, throughout history

we have developed a need for immediacy and hypermediacy itself is considered a “cultural coun-

terbalance to the desire for immediacy” (33). Fincher’s rhetorical features suggest we are more in-

clined to a need for hyper-mediated relationships—through Facebook—rather than real immediate

relationships. We can clearly understand this idea through Fincher’s use of rhetorical features to

portray immediacy and hypermediacy.

Through the special use of narrative structure, sound and cinematic techniques,

Fincher portrays his critique on technology and backs it up with the metaphorical use of im-

mediacy and hypermediacy. Fincher centers his critique of the use of technology, on the real

essence of media. We believe technology offers more immediacy and faster communications

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while Fincher proposes that face to face interactions can actually be more immediate. To aid

this assumption he shows immediacy in points in the film were relationships are face to face,

and shows hypermediacy when relationships and scenes are drawn by technology. There-

fore, aiding his idea that what we claim to need—immediacy—is not what we portray to

want—technology—.

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Works Cited

Columbia CNMTL. Film Language Glossary. Columbia Univeristy. Web source. Date

accessed:02/27/2014. Retrieved from http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu

Bitzer, L. “The Rhetorical Situation”. Pennstate University Press. Vol 1 No 1, January 1968, pp.1-

14. Digital Format. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40236733

Bolter, D., Grusin, R. “Immediacy, Hypermediacy and Remediation”. MIT Press. 2000. p21-50.

Digital Format. Retrieved from https://sakailogin.nd.edu/access/content/group/03319589-

55cd-4190-a35d-e342595338dd/ImmediacyHypermediacyRemediation.pdf

Herrick, J. “The History and Theory of Rhetoric” Allyn and Bacon. Chapter 1. 2nd edition. Digital

Format. Retrieved from https://sakailogin.nd.edu/access/content/group/03319589-55cd-4190-

a35d-e342595338dd/Herrick_OverviewOfRhetoric-1.pdf

Lancioni, J. “The rhetoric of the Frame-Revisioning archival photographs in The Civil War”. West-

ern Journal Communication. 1996. p 105-117. Digital Format. Retrieved from https://sakailo-

gin.nd.edu/access/content/group/03319589-55cd-4190-a35d-e342595338dd/

Lancioni_RhetoricOfTheFrame.pdf

McGrawHill “Writing a film analysis”. McGrawHill Inc. 2003. Digital Format. Retrieved from

https://sakailogin.nd.edu/access/content/group/03319589-55cd-4190-a35d-e342595338dd/

McGrawHill_WritingAFilmAnalysis.pdf

The Social Network. D. David Fincher. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Web