Movies meet social media

Back in 1998, America was just beginning to get the hang of this whole "Internet thing." Chat rooms were all the rage, and everybody was very familiar with the term "You've Got Mail". Who can forget the sound of your computer dialing up and connecting to the Internet?

Well it didn't take long for Hollywood to jump on the bandwagon and craft a movie around this new phenomenon. So in early 1999, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred in "You've Got Mail" and 125,000,000.00 million dollars later, we see the marketing gold of such a movie.
The funny thing is that today, anyone under the age of 18 probably isn't familiar with the term "You've Got Mail". It is as extinct at rotary phones and 8 tracks.

In a few weeks Hollywood is giving the same marketing concept another shot in the Romantic Comedy "It's Complicated" starring Alec Baldwin and Meryl Streep. For anyone at all familiar with Facebook, you will recognize the "It's Complicated" phrase from the popular way to describe one's relationship status on the social networking site.


The interesting thing about such a movie is that it revolves around the complicated relationship of a Babyboomer couple. The studio is attempting to create this decade's "You've Got Mail" by using a title that is familiar in today's society.

There has been much debate about whether or not the Social Networking Craze will reach demographics other than Generation Y. Like 1999's "You've Got Mail",
2009's "It's Complicated" is validation for the power of Facebook and social networking in general. Social Networking is not just a Gen Y tool anymore. If Facebook carries enough weight to greenlight a huge studio picture, it is safe to say that people of all ages are on board. Let's face it, who's mother doesn't love Meryl Streep?

It also makes us realize how drastically different the communication world will look in 2019. What will be the movie that defines the next decade's social tool of choice? Your guess is as good as mine.