ACADEMIC WRITING

PAPER

“THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIAS AFFECT PERSON’S LIFE”

IN A. CHAGANTY AND S. OHANIAN’S ‘SEARCHING’.

By:

Listiyani (J1E016014)

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY

PURWOKERTO

2018
THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECT PERSON’S LIFE IN A. CHAGANTY
AND S. OHANIAN’S SEARCHING : SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH
Listiyani
Jenderal Soedirman University
[email protected]

ABSTRACT
The object of this research is the movie entitled Searching written by Aneesh
Chaganty and Sev Ohanian. This movie is directed by Aneesh Chaganty and it is produced
by famous producer from Russia Timur Bekmambentov. The major problem of this movie
is about a missing-person investigation that caused and solved by social media. The
researcher employs qualitative method. In this method, the researcher uses two data sources
namely primary and secondary data sources. The primary data is the movie itself, the
secondary data are the articles about the effects of social media and the uses of social
media.
The researcher believes that by doing this research, it can make people understand
and make people have well-understanding of using social media wisely. Because this movie
proves that social media can create a big problem. This movie shows that how a missing-
person happens because of social media and how to solve it uses social media itself. That’s
why the researcher call it as the power of social media.
Keywords : social media, missing-person, search.
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

"You can either allow social media to be helpful for you or it can be harmful. I like to
let it be helpful."

-Ciara

This quotation tells us that we must be aware that a social media brings both
advantages and diasadvantages. We get new tool ( social media) that it can enrich our lives
but we also need to be critical of everything we do in our social media. Social media is the
collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input,
interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. There are many kinds of social media in this
era, for example : facebook, twitter, instagram, line, boardcasting media and many more.
By using social medias, people can connect each other. It doesn't matter how long the
distances they have ,still they can connect each other. The users of social medias are
usually teenagers, so in this stage they are not really aware about the effects of social
medias. They just use it and do whatever they want to do in social medias. They are not
aware that social media also can create serious problem in our life.

In this case, the researcher will show one of the bad effects of social medias that
usually happen in real life. Based on the movie 'searching' by Aneesh Chaganty, the
researcher find one of serious problem that caused by social media. It is happen to Margot
as a missing-person in the movie. A missing person is a person who has disappeared and
whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as his or her location and fate are not
known. This case is caused by social media. On the other hand, social media is not that bad.
Through social media, Margot is found.
 This movie shows how David (Margot's father) do investigation through social
media by asking and observing his daughter's friends in her social media. This is how social
media is a helpfull tool for our life.

The phenomenon above can be a subject of sociology. The purpose of sociology is

to achieve an understanding of social science and that studies the relationship between the
societies. In this case, the relationship between people is through social medias.

Based on what researcher found in the movie 'searching' by Annesh Chaganty, still
there are many debatable issues related to social medias. Because the problem is caused by
social medias but also it is solved by social medias. It depends on the user itself. Actually,
everything can happen whether it is good or bad in social media. If we can use it wisely it
can be helpful, but of we don't it can be harmful. So the power of social media will be
created based on the people themselves.

1.2. Research questions

The researcher will discuss about three things related to the movie and the subject of the
paper, such as :
a. What are the effects of social medias based on the movie?
b. How do social medias cause a-missing person case in the movie?
c. How do David find Margot ( the missing person) through social medias?
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Literature review

Searching is recent movie written by Aneesh Chaganty and S. Ohanian and directed
by Aneesh Chaganty. It is released on August 8th in 2018. This movie is a masterpiece from
Chaganty and become one of the most popular movie in 2018. Before the researcher wants
to analyze it, she has read journals, review and paper related to social medias. “Dangers of
Social Media Use” by Rick Reis. It describe about the effects of social media. “How
‘Searching’ Uses Tech Devices as Narrative Devices” by Mekado Murphy. He tries to tell
us how the movie uses technology and social medias as the devices to show the movie.
“Meaningful Movies with Important Life Lessons” by Princepratap. He tells about how this
movie has meaningful life lessons that we shouldn’t believe person that we found in social
medias. The movie ‘Searching’ also analyzed by Agil Hari Santoso “Film Searching Shows
3 Negative Effects of Social Media”. He analyses that the movie shows 3 negative effects
of social media such as : fake account, fake fact, and bad social media users.

Beside that, the researcher also has read some Searching movie review from popular
movie critics around the world. There is a review from Film Journal International “Father
searches for his missing teenage daughter in a story told entirely through video screens” by
Daniel Eagan. He tries to tell how David as the father of Margot as the missing daughter
tries to find Margot through her social medias and her laptop. And from the popular website
of movie review named Deep Focus Review that written by Brian Eggert tells about how
David find Margot from social media that the detective cannot find it through investigation.

Based on the study of the movie, the researcher focuses on The Power of Social
Media Affect to Person’s Life that happen in the movie ‘Searching’ by Aneesh Chaganty
and S. Ohanian using sociological approach.
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Type of the Research

The researcher applies descriptive qualitative method based on books and other
preferences to support the subject matter. The object of the research is the movie from
Aneesh Chaganty entitled Searching, in conducting the research, the researcher is going to
analyze it by using sociological approach.

3.2. Source of the Data

There are two types of data source namely:

a. Primary Data Source

The primary data source is the movie Searching by Aneesh Chaganty and S.
Ohanian.
b. Secondary Data Source
The secondary data source includes books, journal, cases and other data that
have relationship with this research such as commentaries and other relevant
information.

3.3. Technique of Data Collection

The methods of collecting data in this research are as follow :

a. Watching the movie in several times.

b. Taking note of the important part in both primary and secondary data.
c. Identifying the topic of the movie.
d. Analyzing the data from many sources of movie review.
e. Determining the characters of the movie that are related with the topic.
 f. Analyzing cases that related to social media effects both positive and negative.
g. Reading some books and journal to find out the theory data information required
in library and internet.

3.4. Research Paper Organization

The paper is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is introduction that consist
of background of the study and research questions. The second chapter deals with literature
review. The third chapter deals with the research methodology that consist of type of the
research, source of the data, technique of the data collection, and research paper
organization. The fourth chapter is about discussion and conclusion. It presents the
discussion of research questions and the researcher conclusion about the topic and
discussion.
 CHAPTER 4

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

4.1. Discussion of the Research Questions

a. What are the effects of social medias based on the movie?

Based on the movie, it shows positive and negative effect of social medias.
The positive effects are :
 Margot and her Father, David are connected each other through Facebook, I-
message, and Facetime. Although they’re in a long distance, they still can
communicate and see each other to talk about their daily life.
 David can search Margot through Google Maps and find her last seen.
 David can find Margot’s online friends through her Facebook and ask them
one by one.
 David find out that Margot uses many kinds of social medias such as :
Facebook, Instgram, Tumblr, and YouCast finally find the problem was in
her YouCast online friend named fish_and_chips.

The negative effects are :

 Margot doesn’t have any friends in real life but she has many friends in
online.
 Margot has a friend in Youcast, but it is a fake account and tells fake fact
about himself to Margot.
 Many social medias users were making jokes and meme about the
investigation and about the case.
 b. How do social medias cause a-missing person case in the movie?

It started with Margot that lived separated with her Father because of her school. She
was a quiet person and didn’t have any friends. She used social medias and find many
online friends. One of them was in the YouCast named fish_n_chips. It was a fake account
that told fake sad story about his life and fake story about his mother who is hospitalized
because of cancer. It makes Margot feel sorry to him and gives him a lot of money. One
day fish_n-chips user wanted to meet Margot in the midnight in a lake wanted to tell the
truth but at that time Margot was in drug. Then she was scared and panic because of fish-n-
chips user and accidentally she fell into a ravine. Then she was disappeared.

c. How do David find Margot ( the missing person) through social medias?

David hacked Margot’s social medias account and find her online friends, and asked
them one by one but no one knew Margot closely. Then David found that Margot used
YouCast and watched all of her saved cast. And found that she had an online friend named
fish-n-chips that always talked about their life. So he stalked the account and found that it
was a fake account. Then he found the truth that the investigation result from by detective
Vick was wrong. The detective claimed that Margot died in the lake because her car found
in the lake. Unexpectedly, The user of fish-n-chips was the detective son that cause Margot
fell into a ravine. So the detective didn’t give the right result. After that the investigation
moved into the ravine and found Margot still alive.

4.2. Conclusion

Based on the movie analysis about the power of social medias, the researcher
conclude that social medias bring both advantages and disadvantages for people. If people
can use it wisely, it can be helpful tools for our life. Be if we cannot use wisely and use it
for bad things, it may cause serious problem and affect to person’s life, even may cause
death. So people should know well how to use social medias properly.
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