The Social Network (2010)

It is pretty unbelievable to think that a movie about the creation of 'Facebook' would be anything but dry. That is why this film is so successful: it manages to take subject matter that wouldn't be very appealing to most people and make it thoroughly engaging. A lot of this was made possible through creative liberties, ensuring that the story progresses at a decent clip without becoming overly complicated.

The concept of old vs new is the core of the film. The 'old' educational institution of Harvard is shown as being ignorant of the importance of 'Facebook' and social networking in general, whilst the younger students at Harvard focus on personal projects rather then course outlines. Watching 'Facebook' grow in the dorm rooms of Harvard as the students skip classes and coursework elicits a feeling of freedom. Likewise, 'old' business is portrayed as outdated and backward-thinking compared to the progressive, individualistic nature of the modern generation: listening to the way that 'Napster' changed the operation of the music business is indicative of this. The 'new' is neatly encapsulated in the main character, Mark Zuckerburg (Jesse Eisenberg). He is a social recluse whose college life seems to be very different from that of his fellow students'. The irony comes from the fact that Zuckerburg understands social society better then anyone else in the film: the website is successful because he knows exactly what college people want to know about each other, such as their 'relationship status'. Eisenburg plays him very cautiously: it would have been very easy to exaggerate the extent of Zukerburg's awkwardness, making him appear autistic or otherwise. Instead, Zuckerburg appears aware of his surroundings, but also very focused and determined to achieve his goals. His goals often come at the expense of his relationships, but Zuckerburg is shown as aware of this rather then simply being oblivious. It is a very brave choice, as it makes the main character significantly less likeable then if he was simply unaware of the problems he was causing. Personally, I still felt myself in Zuckerburg's corner, if only for the drive he was shown to have. As the most self-motivated character in the film, his own sense of morality is often shown as being different, but not necessarily worse.

The tone of the movie suggests that it is trying to appeal to two specific audiences. One is the group of people who are already aware of the history of the website and want to see how it has been appropriated into a film. The other set of people it seems to be approaching are those who have disregarded 'Facebook' as a toy or fad. It is these people who the film is trying to reach, not in a judgemental or critical way, but in an educational sense. I would guess that few people would have expected to hear the volume of money that passes through the company: the numbers thrown around in the interview scenes with the lawyer are staggering. One of the best examples of this is when Zuckerburg becomes fed up with a particularly invasive line of questioning and reminds them that, whilst he doesn't generally care for money, he has spare change enough simply to buy the companies that are suing him if he was so inclined. This is a striking wake-up call in the middle of the film: the person in the scene who actually wields the most power is not an adult in a suit, but a young guy in a hoodie.

This movie shows the 'Facebook' company staring down traditional business conglomerates in a similar fashion to the way the 'Beatles' shook up the music world in the Sixties. Watching something new having a ripple effect on the rest of the world is both unsettling and awe-inspiring, and this film provides the window to see just how important both 'Facebook' and the concepts powering it truly are.