Social Butterfly or Socially Inept? : Review of The Social Network

By Mary Treuer

Logging into our Facebook accounts is something we do everyday, naturally, without considering it. In fact, my Facebook window is open on the back of my computer screen right now, as it often is, glowing blue and white behind my homework assignments. I never really stopped to think about how the website came to be until I saw the movie, The Social Network, a recent film featuring Jessie Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
The movie begins in a café at Harvard University, the night that Zuckerberg breaks up with his girlfriend and launches facemash.com, a website that allows Harvard students to view pictures of girls and rate them based on looks. The controversy in Zuckerberg’s life ensues after this one night and evolves as he develops Facebook, facing two lawsuits and many crumbling relationships. Although I won’t spoil the movie, we all know how the story ends. Facebook becomes a multi-billion dollar company and goes far beyond the creator’s expectations of a collegiate online network.
The movie is drama-ridden and does focus on Zuckerberg’s relationships, but devotes more attention to the history and legal issues that arose with the creation of Facebook and the surrounding lawsuits. If you’re not planning on taking the LSAT soon, these scenes might make you yawn, but they are crucial details for the overall story. Some may also be disconcerted with the way Zuckerberg is portrayed in the film. While some see him as a brilliant man, or even a philanthropist (He recently donated 100 million dollars to Newark, NJ schools), the movie portrayed him as a self-absorbed jerk who sought to reach notoriety at the expense of his friends.
Whether or not you enjoy the screenplay, The Social Network really raises some insightful themes. Sometimes, after spending all of high school and college plugged into the social network, it is hard to imagine life without Facebook, but the movie makes it possible. I was surprised to learn that advertisers were reluctant to use Facebook, when now the website has overpowered very many traditional media. I also found it difficult to think about the company as something that began in a college dorm room, between three people.
How could something so small become this huge? We in the millennial generation have trouble logging out, but what about those in who come after us? The creation of Facebook will really be a history lesson for them, a reminder of something they couldn’t imagine living without. This is a movie worth watching to decide what you think about Facebook and its creation.