✏️ Loran Journal 001 - 05 July '25

First journal post here. I usually keep my journal writings physical and private, and I will continue to do so with my more intimate thoughts and ponderings - but I figured here would be a good place to jot down more of the media related reflections I have that don't warrant full reviews or essays.

I rewatched The Social Network (2010) last night and God, talk about a film that doesn't get old. I think this is my third time seeing the film? And it's one that genuinely gets better with each and every rewatch. Phenomenal score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who since my last watching of The Social Network, I know have worked on Challengers (2024), which I have still yet to see. Reminds me that they also did Gone Girl (2014), another Fincher classic that I have yet to return to but have been meaning to.

There's something prevalent about rewatching The Social Network around a time that such developments surrounding AI are taking place at silicon valley. Gives a bit of an insight (however fictionalized) into the workings going on there and the minds at play. What a simpler time though, when social media was a big money making experiment that was going to liberate and network the world. TSN does a good job at the very least at highlighting how scummy and manipulative social media was from the start, re: Zuckerberg's insights into the demand of exclusivity.

TSN is a film that fights for a spot in my favourites of all time upon each watch, and I feel soon I will have to allow it to slide in to my top 10 (if it hasn't already). Especially being part of a generation that was born into / lived through the conception of such social networks, I feel it really stands as a reflective piece to the sort of digital and societal shifts we have been seeing in the past two decades. The events that TSN encapsulate are ones that truly fundamentally changed the world we live in forever - its like a historical film but instead of a war to end all wars, its the publishing of a social networking site.

I feel TSN will age quite well as a film, and will one day be considered richly not just for its quality as a film, but for the moment in time it so perfectly captured - a rupture in digital sociality that would forever shift the silicon valley pipeline and the digital tech industry as a whole.

In other news, I've been playing Death Stranding 2, a game that will of course warrant its own dedicate review here at the lounge, but for now I must simply point out how fantastic it has been so far. Visually, it's one of if not the most beautiful and realistic games I have ever played. Kojima really has set an unfathomable bar with this one, and like he has promised time and time again, blurred that line between film and gaming more than it has ever been. Intently looking forward to what else that game has to offer, and to writing a more detailed review here for you all to read.

On that note, I'll leave off. It's July now, which is crazy because May feels like an eternity ago, yet June was so fleeting. Soon, summer will have flown by, so make the most of it, and make sure you do one or two things memorable!

Been considering ditching the whole months and years thing and living life by seasons going forward, thoughts?

Any who, bye bye, have a good one!