By Isabella Purdy staff writer
Earning a 93% scoring on Rotten Tomatoes, “Searching” is a modern thriller that has shocked critics and audiences ever since it made its debut on Aug. 24th. The unique film is told only through screens of technology that we use everyday.
Websites like Facebook, LiveCast, Google, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, and even Google Sheets are used during this movie along with Facetime and IMessage. All of these platforms are used to tell the story, reveal important plot points, and show the audience what is going on with our characters.
In this movie, David Kim’s 16 year-old daughter goes missing and he must uncover the truth of what happened to her with the help of Detective Rosemary Vick and the most important piece of evidence, Margo’s laptop.
“Searching” is a film that makes us very afraid of the internet and at the same time shows us how useful it can be for finding information. Margo, like most high school students has a virtual presence stretched across multiple social media platforms.
She livestreams, texts friends, blocks unwanted followers, shows fellow LiveCasters photos of her mom and her favorite places to hang out. She also takes photos on Tumblr and has over one-hundred friends on Facebook.
Margo and her social media presence ultimately helps her Dad discover where she might be through what she says and shows online. It ultimately gives us a problem we’ve been hearing about for awhile-does social media help or hurt us more?
While it helps Margo’s dad find her, it is also directly connected with why she’s missing. It shows us how loss, parenting, friends, relatives, and social media can affect a person in the worst way possible-by going missing.
“Searching” is a film that ultimately understands how significant our virtual lives are online through various platforms. By having the whole movie told through screens it truly shows how important technology is in our lives, and understands what it’s like to be a teenager that spends a lot of time on various platforms and online.
