DZ-79: Interweaving Timelines 2 - The Social Network

How can interweaving two timelines change how we feel about a character? In this Part 2 of Interweaving Timelines (aka The Stu Monologue Episode), Mel, Chas and Stu tackle Sorkin/Fincher's The Social Network. As you’ll hear, it is clearly Stu’s favourite of the examples we cover and, ah, *not* Mel’s favourite. While all three bring their own biases and opinions on the reality of Facebook as it has become, we do manage to put the destruction of democracy to one side to actually analyse the meticulous craft that this film displays. We analyse Sorkin’s on-the-page skill with time jumps, managing intercutting and introducing characters - as well as explore how the flash-forward technique manages the absence of stakes (i.e. we know Facebook exists) and creates a different emotional experience to the flashbacks of Destroyer. Finally, and most importantly, we look at how the interweaving timelines change how the audience feel about Mark Zuckerberg (as portrayed in this film). Stay tuned! SPOILERS ABOUND! Audio quotations used for educational purposes only. Timestamps indicated below. Chapter markers included in the mp3. Thanks to Chris Walker for editing this episode. RUNNING ORDER 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:48 - The Social Network 00:07:36 - The flash forward structure 00:18:46 - Why did we pick this film? 00:29:41 - What are the stakes? 00:42:45 - Time jumps & transitions 00:52:59 - Audience's perception of Mark 01:00:45 - Storyteller cuts 01:09:20 - Sorkin vs Fincher 01:16:07 - Wrap up & key learnings 01:23:15 - Backmatter LINKS Watch: The Social Network written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher Read: Wordplayer - The Storyteller Cut RELATED EPISODES DZ-78: Interweaving Timelines 1 - Destroyer DZ-43: Driving Sequences – Character and Plot Intensity This episode brought to you by ScriptUp – https://www.scriptupstudio.com – use promo code DZ10 to get 10% off. Many thanks to all our patrons but particularly to Randy, Garrett, Bjorn, Joakim, Khrob, and Sandra. They’re good humans. Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners. We are @stuwillis and @chasffisher on twitter. And you can find @draft_zero on Instagram and Twitter.