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Reynaldo Lopez
Dr. Erin McLaughlin
WR 13300-SS13
10 October 2014
The Influence of Sound in The Social Network
The Social Network is an American film released by Columbia Pictures in 2010 that
describes the development of Facebook by Harvard students based on the book The Accidental
Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben
Mezrich. The film was directed by David Fincher and produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti,
Michael De Luca and Cean Chaffi. Starring in the movie were: Jesse Eisenberg as Mark
Zuckerberg, Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, and Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. The
movie has been described by some of its protagonists as inaccurate. However, the book was
written based on interactions between Mezrich and Saverin. Both Mezrich and Fincher took
advantage of the not very well known story behind the creation of Facebook as their rhetorical
situation. According to Lloyd Bitzer, rhetorical situation is the nature of those contexts in which
speakers or writers create rhetorical discourse (1). Once they recognized their rhetorical
situation, Mezrich and Fincher targeted Facebook users, social media enthusiasts as well as the
general movie watching public as their audience. An excerpt from James Herrick’s The History
and Theory of Rhetoric reads, “Rhetoric is planned with some audience in mind” (9). Bitzer also
supports this claim, “rhetoric always requires an audience” (7). In other words, without an
audience, there is no rhetoric. Once David Fincher found his rhetorical situation and picked out

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his audience, his symbolic use of music in The Social Network was essential in suggesting the
meaning of many of the movie’s scenes.
According to Herrick, rhetoric develops in the realm of symbols of one type or another
(5). He goes on to define a symbol as any mark, sign, sound or gesture that communicates
meaning based on social agreement (Herrick 5). Yes, sounds can be symbolic too. When
someone mentions symbols, we tend to jump to the assumption that that person is speaking of
visual cues or images. Seldom does the thought of music, noise or silence come to mind.
However, sound is equally, if not more powerful than sight when it comes to symbols. For
example, consider a handful of iconic songs: “Tocatta & Fugue in D Minor” by Johann Sebastian
Bach, “Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert, “Wedding March” by Felix Mendelssohn and “Here
Comes The Bride” by Richard Wagner. If you were to listen to any of the songs mentioned
above, moods, ideas, feelings and images would all race through your mind. For instance, you
may not recognize “Tocatta & Fugue in D Minor” by name, but as you listen to it you are very
likely to think of Dracula. It doesn’t stop there, though. You can be a complete stranger to
Dracula and the association with this song but still be subject to the rhetoric of the song. If
Dracula doesn’t come to mind, adjectives that would describe Dracula certainly will. Scary,
suspenseful and spine-tingling are a few. “Wedding March”, “Here Comes the Bride” and “Ave
Maria” provide the same function for weddings. It is possible that weddings aren’t exactly what
you think of when listening to these songs but they certainly build a sense of anticipation as if
some major event is about to happen (a wedding). On the other hand, “Ave Maria” also provides
the sense of holiness and association to the church. Remember how Herrick defined symbols?
These songs are all sounds that convey meaning.

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Fincher used music rhetorically throughout The Social Network in many different ways.
One excellent way was through foreshadowing. Fincher lost no time in putting the rhetoric of
musical symbols to work in the film. The first thing we expect to see at the beginning of any
movie is the logo of the studio that produced the film, in this case Columbia Pictures. No
surprise, that’s what we see. However, it is important to note that simultaneously we begin to
hear the song Ball and Biscuit by The White Stripes.
When it comes to analyzing the rhetoric of a work like a film, it’s essential to realize that
every part of that work has a specific purpose and function. It is equally important to note that
sometimes it is necessary to do a slight rhetorical analysis of smaller works used within the main
work being analyzed. Ball and Biscuit is an example of a work that needs to be analyzed in order
to know its influence on the bigger work.
When analyzed, we realize that Ball and Biscuit is about a man who claims to be a
Seventh Son and tries to use this claim to woo and impress a woman who is indifferent towards
him (White). According to Arthur Hutson, a Seventh Son is the seventh son of a man without
daughters and who is also the seventh son of a daughterless family (56). Legend says that
Seventh Sons possess superhuman powers (Hutson 56). These lyrics from Ball and Biscuit
symbolize Mark Zuckerberg’s relationship with the Final Clubs at Harvard,
“It's quite possible that I'm your third man girl, but it's a fact that I'm the seventh
son. And right now you could care less about me, but soon enough you will care,
by the time I'm done… Read it in the newspaper. Ask your girlfriends and see if
they know that my strength is ten-fold woman.”

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Zuckerberg is the Seventh Son, the clubs are his woman, and his “power or strength” is his
extraordinary ability with computers. Mark is also obviously not the first to have the goal of
impressing the Final Clubs, just like the Seventh Son from Ball and Biscuit isn’t the woman’s
first man. One could also include Erica as a less symbolic portrayal of the woman in the song
depending on how deep the analysis is. It is impossible to realize it while we’re hearing the song
and we might even ask ourselves what a song about supernatural powers has to do with a movie
about Facebook but if we pay close attention, within a minute, the subject of Mark distinguishing
himself from the rest of Harvard in order to get into a Final Club is already being mentioned.
This reveals the foreshadowing function of the opening music and it also starts to make sense
why Ball and Biscuit was included.
Another instance where David Fincher juxtaposes symbolic music and what we see
onscreen is in the closing scene. Visually, we are exposed to a bleak scene where Zuckerberg
dejectedly refreshes his friend request to Erica in the illogical hope that she will immediately
accept it and give him the chance to mend their relationship. Audibly, Fincher uses the song
Baby, You’re a Rich Man by The Beatles to add a bit more meaning to the scene. It is also worth
noting the moment when the music begins. As soon as Zuckerberg sends Erica the friend request,
the song starts playing. This precise timing is a huge signal of both the importance of the scene,
and the relationship between the music and the scene. Unlike Ball and Biscuit, which
foreshadows Mark’s relationship with the Final Clubs and Erica, Baby, You’re a Rich Man is
meant to be paired with the closing scene to reveal his emotions.
The song’s lyrics, “How does it feel to be one of the beautiful people…? Baby, you’re a
rich man” don’t need much analysis (Beatles). However, when added to the film, the contrast
between what we see and what we hear makes the scene a window into Mark’s feelings. The

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song can be interpreted as an inquiry into what it feels like to be rich, although the key to the
song’s rhetoric lies within the fact that the word rich isn’t defined. Taking a loose interpretation
of riches, the film shows us that by the end of the story Mark is monetarily rich. In terms of
social relationships however, the movie suggests that he is far from it. When the song is played
along with the closing scene, the audience is persuaded to ponder which sense of richness
Zuckerberg values the most. The fact that he shows a somber expression as he refreshes the page
on his computer implies that he definitely isn’t happy, which leads us to believe that the riches
that he doesn’t possess are the riches that he values the most.
While some may argue that the inclusion of Ball and Biscuit has no rhetorical weight
because the lyrics were excluded from the movie, we can’t forget that nonetheless the song was
included. Even though the entire song isn’t played out, the song as a whole still carries its
meaning. That, then, raises the question: if Ball and Biscuit isn’t rhetorical because the lyrics
aren’t included, then why was it included; what other reasons make it worthy of being put in the
movie or why wasn’t a different song used in its place?
Another argument that others may make is that the inclusion of Baby, You’re a Rich Man
is a contradiction to what we see on-screen and that this only leads to confusion in the audience
as to what the meaning of the scene really is. However, it is precisely that contrast that makes the
music/film pair effective in revealing Zuckerberg’s feelings about riches. The fact that the song
has a positive, happy feel to it encourages the audience to ask why Mark’s expression doesn’t
show happiness if he truly is rich financially. This leads us to the conclusion that financial riches
aren’t what he values the most. Then, by looking at the scene, as Mark refreshes the page on his
browser again, we get a hint of what kind of riches Mr. Zuckerberg really values, social
relationships.

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For a long time, many people have failed to appreciate the true value of music and sound
in film. Some have even gone as far as to simply consider it a type of “filler” agent to prevent
movies from being silent when no one is speaking. However, as shown by the use and analysis of
songs like Ball & Biscuit and Baby, You’re a Rich Man, the music in movies is immensely
important in providing meaning and complementing what we see onscreen. The same film
without the music would very likely not receive the same interpretation as the film with the
music because the audience would be forced to make conclusions without enough information to
reach the view intended by the director. Even worse, the audience could end up missing the
subject completely. If the director is trying to sway you into believing that something is terrible
but he/she can’t even produce a reaction in you at all, for or against, then it’s clear that their
rhetoric is ineffective.
In a society where thousands of films are produced a year and billions of dollars are spent
on making and watching them, it is important to realize why directors make the films they make.
Sure, they primarily want to make money, but another major reason to make films is to provide
rhetorical discourse. Once again, James Herrick states, “I will define the art of rhetoric as the
systematic study and intentional practice of effective symbolic expression” (7). If the director’s
goal is to provide rhetoric, they need to provide the “intentional practice of effective symbolic
expression” (Herrick 7). So, taking into account this enthymeme, without effective symbolic
expression, we would not have rhetoric, and therefore we would have less film being produced.
This is why music plays such a pivotal role in film.

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Works Cited
Bitzer, Lloyd F. "The Rhetorical Situation (1: 1 [1968]: 1-14)." Philosophy and Rhetoric, 25.4 (1992): 1.
Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2001.
Print.
Hutson, Arthur. "The Seventh Son as a Healer." Western Folklore, 16.1 (1957): 56-58.
The Beatles. “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” All You Need Is Love/Baby You’re a Rich Man Single.
Parlophone Records, 1967. Vinyl Record.
The Social Network. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake.
Columbia Pictures Industries, 2010. DVD.
The White Stripes. “Ball and Biscuit.” Elephant. XL Recordings, 2002. CD.