November 13, 2026
FILM: MYSPACE
DIRECTED BY: TOMMY AVALLONE
FEATURING: KEVIN SMITH, DANE COOK, TILA TEQUILA
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I missed the era of MySpace. I’d heard a little about it from my students back in the early 2000s but it didn’t seem relevant to me. Facebook was where my social media life really began. By then, MySpace was done. The new documentary about the site does an excellent job of diving into its inception, rise as a cultural phenomenon, and eventual decline into obscurity. Directed by Tommy Avallone, the film is filled with everything you’d want to know about MySpace and why it became so relevant and inspirational to future social media sites.
When MySpace began, there was no true online site to socially connect people except for maybe something called Six Degrees, founded in 1997, which I have no memory of. Avallone interviews co-founders of MySpace, Chris DeWolfe and Aber Whitcomb, as they discuss other early forerunners such as Napster, which allowed people to file share – mostly music. It became a new avenue for musicians to release their tunes without a major label. But with MySpace, the same pop/rock stars could generate their own content and interact with fans. Musicians could meet them and vice versa.
Featuring interviews with celebrities such as Dane Cook and Kevin Smith, the film recounts how MySpace became THE place for rising stars to breakout with an audience. Among the many such acts mentioned are Drake, Fall Out Boy, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and a woman you might have heard of called Taylor Swift. Each of them had a major presence on the site before hitting it big. The film features plenty of “archival” footage from the 2000s including many of these artists in the earliest stages of their MySpace-era careers.
The film also highlights several media celebs such as Tila Tequila and Jeffree Star who made names for themselves by connecting with people who perhaps felt lost in their lives. MySpace pages allowed them to feel less alone. They posted their own photos, thus connecting them with like-minded people. It all sounds pretty idyllic. Even Barack Obama campaigned on the site which likely contributed to his eventual winning of the U.S. Presidency in 2008.
Of course, all good things come to an end. In this case, it was partially due to the company’s rapid rise and often unreliable website which had regular glitches. It essentially had a hard time keeping up with its growing population. The biggest issue though came with the founding of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg. As people moved over to that site, MySpace started losing an audience. It was also bought by News Corporation (the home of Fox) which also contributed to its eventual demise.
Part of what’s great about this film is that documents a true American story about two men who had a vision and watched it reach levels that went beyond their wildest dreams. But it also makes the case for the good of social media as opposed to all of the reports of how its ruined our culture. According to the film, MySpace helped people create relationships, launch stars’ careers, elect a president, and made our individual worlds larger by connecting us to people everywhere. That’s not a bad thing, right? If it wasn’t for sites like MySpace and Facebook, I may not have the outlet I have to get people like you to read what I have to say. So, I’m not complaining.
MySpace is premiering at DOC NYC. It is available for streaming online until November 29th. For more information about purchasing tickets, go to https://www.docnyc.net/film/myspace/.
FILM: MYSPACE
DIRECTED BY: TOMMY AVALLONE
FEATURING: KEVIN SMITH, DANE COOK, TILA TEQUILA
RATING: 4 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
I missed the era of MySpace. I’d heard a little about it from my students back in the early 2000s but it didn’t seem relevant to me. Facebook was where my social media life really began. By then, MySpace was done. The new documentary about the site does an excellent job of diving into its inception, rise as a cultural phenomenon, and eventual decline into obscurity. Directed by Tommy Avallone, the film is filled with everything you’d want to know about MySpace and why it became so relevant and inspirational to future social media sites.
When MySpace began, there was no true online site to socially connect people except for maybe something called Six Degrees, founded in 1997, which I have no memory of. Avallone interviews co-founders of MySpace, Chris DeWolfe and Aber Whitcomb, as they discuss other early forerunners such as Napster, which allowed people to file share – mostly music. It became a new avenue for musicians to release their tunes without a major label. But with MySpace, the same pop/rock stars could generate their own content and interact with fans. Musicians could meet them and vice versa.
Featuring interviews with celebrities such as Dane Cook and Kevin Smith, the film recounts how MySpace became THE place for rising stars to breakout with an audience. Among the many such acts mentioned are Drake, Fall Out Boy, Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and a woman you might have heard of called Taylor Swift. Each of them had a major presence on the site before hitting it big. The film features plenty of “archival” footage from the 2000s including many of these artists in the earliest stages of their MySpace-era careers.
The film also highlights several media celebs such as Tila Tequila and Jeffree Star who made names for themselves by connecting with people who perhaps felt lost in their lives. MySpace pages allowed them to feel less alone. They posted their own photos, thus connecting them with like-minded people. It all sounds pretty idyllic. Even Barack Obama campaigned on the site which likely contributed to his eventual winning of the U.S. Presidency in 2008.
Of course, all good things come to an end. In this case, it was partially due to the company’s rapid rise and often unreliable website which had regular glitches. It essentially had a hard time keeping up with its growing population. The biggest issue though came with the founding of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg. As people moved over to that site, MySpace started losing an audience. It was also bought by News Corporation (the home of Fox) which also contributed to its eventual demise.
Part of what’s great about this film is that documents a true American story about two men who had a vision and watched it reach levels that went beyond their wildest dreams. But it also makes the case for the good of social media as opposed to all of the reports of how its ruined our culture. According to the film, MySpace helped people create relationships, launch stars’ careers, elect a president, and made our individual worlds larger by connecting us to people everywhere. That’s not a bad thing, right? If it wasn’t for sites like MySpace and Facebook, I may not have the outlet I have to get people like you to read what I have to say. So, I’m not complaining.
MySpace is premiering at DOC NYC. It is available for streaming online until November 29th. For more information about purchasing tickets, go to https://www.docnyc.net/film/myspace/.