They Met On the Internet

"Nev" in Catfish (Trailer is here)

The documentary Catfish (Or is it really a documentary?) starts out as what seems to be the study of a young girl with an extraordinary amount of artistic talent. The camera follows Yaniv “Nev” Schulman, a 24 year-old photographer living in New York City. One day he receives a package of painting one of his photographs. The artist in question is an 8 year-old girl named Abby living in Michigan, thus the friendship between Nev and Abby begins, and Nev’s two friends decide to document this unusual bond.

Not long afterward Nev befriends Abby and her family, which includes her mother Angela and Abby’s half-sister Megan, but only communicates through email and over the phone. The focus of the relationship between Nev and Abby, shifts to the relationship of Nev and Megan, an attractive and aspiring artist, horse rider, and musician.

The documentary then actually becomes an insightful look at online relationships, platonic or otherwise. Nev and Megan began to have an emotional connection through Facebook, even though in a humorous scene, he’s not quite into the things Megan is into as much as she is, but he is definitely into her and admits to actually deeply caring about her as they talk more and more.

It poses the question: Can a real bond exist when we have no idea who the person really is, or what’s going on at the other end of the web? In this day and age, social networking sites have become so streamlined and easy to use that deception and lies are only a few keystrokes away. Even a simple status update or comment can be carefully calculated to a staggering degree.

As the film progresses, it becomes more and more apparent that Nev is falling for someone based exclusively on the photos, text and a voice over the phone but as it unfolds…all is not as it seems.

The film was marketed as a thriller but the last half hour or so is actually a poignant portrait of lonely souls, and asks another question: is putting up a whole new persona online, whether it’s a skewed version of ourselves or pretending to be someone we’re not, taking away our real selves? Having an internet identity allows us to do or say things we never would do in real life (I.E. trolling) but when does that boundary mark between the illusion and our “real” selves start to blur together? Catfish doesn’t go for the exploitative and shocking route, but instead invokes great sympathy and understanding of those that do develop emotional attachment through a chat box or phone call. It also empathizes with those who try and compensate for dissatisfaction in the real world, past and present.

I dare not go into spoiler territory about what’s really going on in Nev and Megan’s relationship, nor would it be right as to explain why it’s called Catfish to begin with, but it’s a tense yet moving glimpse into how much of an impact social networking has on our lives, and is a tale caution about what’s happening beyond the computer monitor. While some may find the events in the film arguably fit in too well to be a true documentary, it remains an important commentary on the changing social world.