Another high-profile documentary to play South By Southwest Film & TV Festival this year is the Netflix title THE ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORK, which had a lot of varying reactions at SxSW this year depending on who you talked to.
About: The filmmakers behind cult hit “Feels Good Man” elaborate on their Emmy and Sundance winning film with “The Antisocial Network.” Telling the story of one of the most consequential websites in history, 4Chan.org, the film chronicles the experience of a few early “channers” who helped to create this once thriving community for self-described shut-ins. What began as niche website, bringing together a shared love of anime and memes—and porn…lots of porn—the site wound up becoming a powerful machine for warping reality and fomenting chaos in the real world. Now as adults, these channers look back on what they built, wondering if the genie can be put back in the bottle.
Jason’s Reaction: As much as I love connecting online through social media and through my online work, I never took it this far with 4Chan.org or any of the other online forms of anonymity. (Sometimes I will post on Reddit!) This doc really gets into the passion of these people but what it could also lead to, making a bit of a cautionary tale along with a fascinating look at just how far you can go down the rabbit hole of the internet. I also liked how a lot of it was clearly explained and easy to follow, which will even engage people unfamiliar with the topic. While this is a Netflix documentary, this would play really well at some special screenings in theatres with some post-screening discussion. The lively presentation and overall entertaining value needs to be seen on a big screen.
THE ANTISOCIAL NETWORK will begin streaming on Netflix on April 5th, 2024.
