Virtual Connection or Real Affinity: A Reading of Fincher’s The Social Network

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By: Meenakshi Daga, PG (English) 4th Sem.

By tracing the evolution of social media over the years, we can identify the complexity it has gradually wrought over human relationships. The Social Network (2010) is an example of how personal anxieties are reflected upon society and its mechanisms. By reflecting upon David Fincher’s take on Meta’s (then Facebook) Mark Zuckerberg’s life, in this paper I would like to discuss how the movie deals with themes beyond its core subject of the founding of Facebook. Although superficially seen as a series of sequenced conversations, Fincher takes inspiration from real life events and presents a fascinating story of identity and friendship. The complex portrayal of Zuckerberg by Jesse Eisenberg in terms of his complicated social relationships and his manipulative, egotistical approach serves as an ironical foreshadowing of the menacing impact social media would have on normal human interactions in the following years. 

The Social Network can be analysed as a movie about legal wrangles based on issues of ownership and copyright over Mark Zuckerberg’s ground-breaking invention. Through the setting of a buzzing tech savvy institution and an isolated yet threatening protagonist, Fincher takes his viewer into a familiar yet alienating world in the beginning of the movie. At the crux of legal battles, financial control, and complicated power dynamics, the film uses flashback techniques to create an idea of what led to Facebook. Eisenberg’s portrayal of the peculiar idiosyncrasies of Mark establish the hidden insecure self which lurks beneath Mark’s manipulative actions in the whole movie. The introductory scenes in the movie focus on Mark’s creation of a precursor of what would later be called Facebook, “Facemash”. A product of unabashed misogyny, it is somewhat justified in the movie by Mark’s alcohol consumption and the anxiety of being broken up with by his partner Erica (played by Rooney Mara). Mark’s complicated relationship with Erica and his subdued urge to be loved made him insult her online.  Again, in no ironic terms, the film ends with a shot of Mark stalking her again on the same page he created for the world to be more social. Although the pioneer of a promising social platform, the ugly origins and roots of Facebook and related platforms establish a similar sociopathic, anxious, and paranoid existence which the later generations share with the application’s creator. 

The artifice of friendships propagated by the idea of social networking is to be understood in terms of the last confrontation between Mark and his initial CFO, Eduardo Saverin (played by Andrew Garfield). He mentions to Mark, “I was your only friend” while being driven out of the company in a legal frenzy cooked up by his former partner’s damaged ego. The idea of a friendship overwhelmed by obsessions with money and intellectual superiority forms the emotional basis of the movie channelled through Saverin. Furthermore, being replaced by Sean Parker (portrayed by Justin Timberlake) forms one of the most heart wrenching moments of the movie where we see Zuckerberg choosing to take the advice of Parker over that his long-term friend and partner. The complex motivations behind the actions of the characters indicate a stark difference in the way audiences see Saverin and Zuckerberg as almost antithetical to each other. Despite being ousted from the company due to reasonable claims in real life, the movie strays from the real in depicting Saverin as a representative of normal, human emotions which are sidelined in this world of legal and capitalist frenzy. The superficiality brought forth by Zuckerberg falls in line with the idea of how any act of creation is a reflection of its creator’s mindset. The mechanisms of  “liking” posts, “adding” friends, and “blocking” people are no less than Mark’s own sociopathic tendencies towards Saverin and the Winklevoss brothers (played by Armie Hammer). Setting the trend of an oversimplified system of interpersonal relations which can be easily manipulated by liking or blocking a person online, the aftermath of Facebook’s introduction as a replacement of conventional social interactions cannot be ignored. Gestures of approval or rejection online have taken over the way people treat others in a way which focuses primarily on superficial things. Peculiarly depicted by the same person, the Winklevoss brothers’ depiction overshadows the existence of Mark as a grey character. The viewer is made to realise that the ugly reality which lurks underneath the blockbuster social media application is common to all the characters in the movie. Sean Parker actually forms one of the most likeable characters of the film with his undeniable charm and subtle opportunism. 

The film is an undeniable mix of fact and fiction which cannot be written off as a purely autobiographical retelling. The storm with which the movie took over cinemas and critical opinion shows that director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin had a deeper idea in mind. Eisenberg’s depiction of a sociopath who betrays his Harvard friends in order to rise up to be a billionaire is not far from the idea propagated by the idea of the American Dream. Eisenberg's unforgettable acting as Mark in the iconic confrontational scene with Saverin, where the latter breaks the former’s laptop when he was “plugged in”, forms one of the most important scenes in the movie. It shocked audiences while also making them applaud the cold dedication Mark put into side-lining his former friend. The emotional, human side, which gradually disappears with the coming generations, is energetically depicted by Saverin who is seen to lash out at the former. The same cold-hearted dedication Mark shows through the film has also invaded ideals of how one should be seen in a social setting. His personality forms the core of the social Eden he promises to Facebook’s users which consequently led to generations of alienated individuals desperately wanting to be a part of something bigger than them online. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

• Bradshaw, P. (2010, October 14). The Social Network - Review. The Guardian. https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/14/the-social-network-review 
• Phillips, M. (2020, October 5). “The Social Network” 10 years later: A grim online life foretold. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/movies/the-social-network-facebook.html