Throughout the semester, the topic of web 2.0 and democratized media has been a very popular point of interest in class lessons. The documentary “Catfish” sums up the dangers of web 2.0 that have been discussed throughout the semester. As defined previously, Web 2.0 is basically more user generated as well as open- source content being available on the web. This means that users are basically able to post whatever they want to a site as well as take on any alternate persona on the web. The film Catfish displays this definition adequately, and truly defines the basic ideas and values of Web 2.0.
The basic plot of the movie began when photographer Yaniv Schulman received a painted reproduction in the mail of one of his published photos. His brother, filmmaker Ariel Schulman who had already been making a documentary about Yaniv, basically kept cameras rolling for this interesting new twist to the documentary. Yaniv, who goes by Nev, soon finds out that these extremely advanced paintings are actually being reproduced by an eight-year-old-girl, Abby Pierce, who resides in Michigan with her family. Nev tries to get in touch with Abby and is able to do this through Facebook through her mother Angela.
After Nev’s pen- pal – like relationship takes off with both young Abby and her mother, he comes across Abby’s 19 year old sister Megan’s Facebook page. Megan appears to be an extremely fun and attractive young woman, and Nev is immediately attracted to her. The two then embark on a very intimate online relationship which leads to constant texting as well as constant phone conversations. Nev quickly becomes infatuated with Megan, and it seems that Megan feels similarly about Nev.
From here, Nev and his two filmmaking buddies take a trip to Michigan to surprise Megan and Abby, but instead the story takes a wild turn that is extremely unexpected. Nev soon finds out that Abby is not a painter, and Angela her mother is actually the painter of the family. To add to this, Nev also finds out that there is no Megan, she does not reside with her “family”, and is conveniently unable to talk on the phone or visit her mom while Nev is visiting. Nev soon finds out that Angela, Abby’s mother, has a voice which is extremely similar to that of Megan’s. Nev soon uncovers the chilling fact that he was being lied to by Angela all along. Megan’s facebook was completely fake and Angela was actually the one who was having the intimate relationship with Nev behind the persona of Megan.
The film Catfish basically uncovers the world’s fears of Web 2.0. The fact that people could so easily lead a double life and trick the world around them is something that is indeed chilling. People often criticize websites such as Facebook because it allows people to be whoever they would like to be, and could dupe or hurt others in the process. Nev was actually in love with the girl who he was having a relationship with via Facebook, and was lied to constantly throughout the film.
I think that this film shows the effects and changes Facebook and other social media networks have had and will continue to have in the lives of many. People rely so much on Facebook, but often do not realize how dangerous and faulty it can be. Any person can take on any identity on these networks, and Catfish truly harps on this scary reality.
Earlier in the semester, we discussed Andrew Keen and his opinion that social networking is the downfall of American society and intelligence. The documentary Catfish truly bolsters his opinion. Catfish directly shows that Americans believe everything they see online and are extremely likely to let their guard down while hiding behind a computer screen. I believe that this film is a perfect example of where our society is headed, and that it displays the dangers of the internet extremely well. The fact that Angela Pierce, one woman, was able to manage 15 different facebook profiles and consistently lie to an innocent man, shows that anyone can do anything online.
This documentary truly made me wonder what I would do if I was in Nev’s position. It also made me wonder for the first time if my information and photos that are posted online are safe. Angela used a collection of photos of a random model to form the identity of Megan Faccio and trick Nev into falling in love with this fake person. I think that this film displays the scary reality of social media and democratized media in general, and should be taken as a fair warning for viewers of the film as well as internet users everywhere.
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