The emerging "Internet Bad" genre of documentaries, known for exploring the darker sides of the internet and technology, gets a new addition with "The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem". Many films in this subgenre have struggled to depict the complexities of the online world. However, directors Giorgio Angelini and Arthur Jones manage to create an engaging narrative, tracking the evolution of 4chan, from a platform connecting individuals sharing interests, to an arena for controversial online trends like Rickrolling, and even harbingers of political unrest.
"The Antisocial Network” effectively illustrates the journey of 4chan, reflecting its descent into toxicity similarly exhibited by its predecessor, 2chan, in Japan. It depicts the growing fascination for the online entity, "moot", and its creator, Christopher Poole, often compared to Mark Zuckerberg due to his influence in the digital community. It presents a riveting account of the evolution of gatherings initially for social bonding to sources of tension, as members seek to make a real-world impact using pranks. It further explores how unchecked liberties taken on 4chan have led to origins of conspiracy theories and widespread misinformation, raising concerns on the continuous emigration of online reality into actual discourse, and the blurring of what's real and what's not.
The film does not blatantly assign blame but insinuates the inevitability of corruption within a forum where there is an absence of accountability. This lack of finger-pointing at times leads to a sense of people in it evading personal responsibility, thus sparking debate. Furthermore, it demonstrates that while the activities on 4chan may have caused social friction, it also resulted in spotlighting crucial issues such as privacy rights and income inequality, albeit at the cost of spreading unverified information at an exponential rate.
“The Antisocial Network” successfully deconstructs the digital deceptions of the past decade, unveiling a slew of manipulations resulting from individuals exploiting national anxieties for their amusement. Despite a slightly fragmented narrative due to a plethora of story performances, the directors pack a punch in disclosing 4chan's global impact as a single-feature. The documentary premiered on Netflix on April 5th, after being screened at the SXSW Film Festival.
