The Anti-Social Network Review: How 4chan Became Home to the Worst of the Internet

The context of the Internet is not easy to define. Something that has been confirmed by several directors, both in the fiction and documentary fields. About experiments related to horror films such as Remote And Masterto real stories like The Great Hack. The truth is that the story of the dizzying changes that the online world has brought in our time must include the assumption of the transformation of various scenarios. In particular, when these changes They are usually unpredictable and part of a meteoric rise that is difficult to recover from one step at a time.

The point that Antisocial Network: From Memes to Chaos, this is clear from the first minutes. A documentary that tries – without complete success – to tell the evolution of the platform. 4chanit’s dirty. This is due to the same inability to systematize existing information. Namely, how what began as a meeting place for like-minded internet users turned into a hub for conspiratorial plots and hate speech.

Giorgio Angelini and Arthur Jones’s production does not lose sight of the fact that such an event is directly related to the changing nature of the Internet. So, first the possibility of immediate information, direct communication and anonymity is explored, created an ideal scenario for a new type of human relationships.

In fact, the documentary devotes time and effort to making it clear that 4chan’s rise to the center of all sorts of conspiracies and even uprisings happened due to a series of accidents. Therefore, a feature film includes everything in the story that helps reinforce the meaning of change. Including, of course, the first meme popularized by various communities. He Rickrolling (the famous Rick Astley meme), which has become an integral part of understanding the popularity of the platform, is shown as a spontaneous phenomenon. But at the same time, it was the first step towards popularity, which would inevitably turn against him.

From a promising start to a trap

The first part of The Anti-Social Network: From Memes to Chaos tells how 4chan became the first, more or less rudimentary attempt to create a large-scale social meeting space. But unlike other social networks, this one was more direct, obviously private, and also with a dangerous scenario that This made it possible to exchange data of any kind.

While this was a real problem in Japan—the documentary shows enough of the problem to contextualize it—4chan had a decidedly more controlled version in North America. Especially when the figure of Christopher Poole is under a pseudonym controversialon its own website – has become central to understand the popularity of this phenomenon.

The reasons were obvious, and the documentary simply brings them together. So this shows how 4chan based its power and importance on creating user groups that were free to do almost anything. Since the rules relate to the experience of use and not to the ethical level of the information available, The platform soon gained immense popularity.

Complex Internet Freedom

Antisocial Network: From Memes to Chaos This evolution is told through anonymous interviews, video versions of the page and footage of the first celebrations between the participants. As a result, it feels like the platform had a fairly simple goal – to become a conduit for internet culture. However, pressure to expand its influence beyond the Internet led to unexpected consequences.

The second part of the documentary explores just that. Gradually, the groups, teams and users that became centers of public opinion became more and more numerous. In addition, more closed and focused on all kinds of modern paranoia. The plot becomes darker, telling of the arrival Pizzagate, QAnon and information leakage exploits Anonymous.

What’s most interesting is that the plot manages to lead all the displayed data to an obvious conclusion before showing it on the screen. The 4chan ecosystem provided complete freedom through which its users wanted to be recognized. A a dilemma that ended in rebellion, and a large-scale plan that ultimately destroyed the platform.

Anti-Social Network: From Memes to Chaos could have been so much more

However, despite its quality, interest in the documentary wanes as it becomes timid in its accusations. Therefore, avoid assigning blame for all types of events that are influenced by 4chan. This includes, of course, the series of anonymous posts that apparently led to the attack on the US Capitol in October 2017. Before this, directors prefer to talk about everything that happened, how long-term consequences caused by small restrictions on the platform.

Which also makes the visual rhythm the production takes uncomfortable. Essentially, the narrative consists of very rapid changes in web material entries, and at some point the narrative becomes confusing. And although the eventual repetition of what was said is well planned, the feature film seems a little adrift. Which detracts from the impact of his arguments, so full of obvious lessons about the Internet and its few limitations, and way to study a topic.