Journal #4: A closer look at The Social Network

One of the most important scenes in The Social Network in my opinion, begins at one hour and thirty-nine minutes into the movie. In this scene, shots between the legal meeting and the past are cut much shorter than in the rest of the film, and color saturation remains low for the most part. One important factor is when Zuckerburg is shown going into an office as a revenge stunt devised by Parker, who doesn't appear to take much seriously. Next is when Saverin returns to the Facebook offices to celebrate Facebook's one millionth member and to take care of, as he was told, a business meeting. What he wasn't expecting was having to sign papers that diluted his share of Facebook to 0.03% to make room for new investors.

At this point in the film, color saturation is much higher than in any other part. The Facebook offices create a more casual, fun atmosphere filled with color, rather than the grey and bland business-like atmosphere we're used to. Shots are shorter in order to indicate higher emotions and a sense of urgency as Saverin storms over to Zuckerburg and slams his computer down to get his attention. You'd expect Zuckerburg and Saverin to start arguing, but a few short words are exchanged before Parker jumps in and takes over, completely reaming Savering and forcing him out with security. After the event, Parker is shown as taking things lightly once more when he treats it like no big deal.

The final part of the scene is a party attended by Parker and a few interns from the company. Color saturation and exposure are both low and shots are short once again as Parker goes off onto a tangent about new features on Facebook and how revolutionary they are. While Parker is distracted, someone else brings out some cocaine right as the cops break up the party downstairs. Long story short, Parker is caught and phones Zuckerburg who keeps his cool even when it's obvious that he's panicking. It's then that Zuckerburg finally realizes that Parker doesn't take the company seriously and he had a much better chance working with Saverin. The scene ends as Zuckerburg tells Parker to go home before contemplating how he's going to clean up the mess Parker's caused.