As a user, I know how to navigate Facebook well. Pondering what to fill these pages with, I flip between the words I type on this page, and Facebook. Every time I hit “F5” and see that nothing changes, I hope to find some new inspiration. Nothing is coming to me. There are no new friend requests, there are no new postings. I know that won’t change, but there is still something drawing me back to Facebook. Perhaps it is the fact that The Social Network was a film about Facebook. The Facebook appeal is unexplainable. It makes relationships easier, I feel more connected with others, and I keep touch with past friends. Those things are all true about Facebook, but none of them describe why I gravitate to it on a nearly daily basis. Almost the same holds true for The Social Network. I can’t seem to understand why so many people have gravitated to it, thought this time it’s not a compliment.
As I walked into the theatre, mid previews, I was more fixated on the bag of Sour Patch kids in my hand than what was happening on the screen. This held through during the entirety of the movie. I realized I hated Mark Zuckerberg, the site’s creator and film’s main character, from the first scene. It could be the way entitlement oozed from the glazed look in his eyes, but mainly it was in the way he spoke. Every word he uttered was like a fist to a wall, asserting his own assumed intellectual superiority. Though Mark Zuckerberg in real life is possibly nothing like the caricature offered in the film, the reality is that I don’t care regardless. The film did not make itself out to be a biographical adaptation of an American billionaire’s rise, nor did I believe it to be. My best guess is that the character of Mark Zuckerberg was played out as a choice to draw audiences to the story. One of the issues I have with the film is that there seems to be a lack of likeable or relatable characters. The character I felt remotely in tune with was Eduardo, Mark’s best friend. Yet, being that he gave the money to start up the site, I don’t necessarily feel too bad for the guy.
As an audience member, I don‘t truly know how to feel. Am I supposed to feel bad for the Winklevoss twins, who sue Mark for “stealing their idea”? I find it hard to grieve for the “misfortune” of white privilege personified. Should I shed a tear when Mark sends the girlfriend he bashed a friend request on Facebook? Should I be upset that I will never know if she accepts his friend request? In all honestly, I don’t quite care either way.
Aside from the fact that I cared more for the overpriced snacks I bought at the theatre than I did for the film, I cannot seem to understand the critical acclaim for The Social Network. Prior to watching the film I saw interviews with some of the actors. When talking about the film, there was reference to it being a best film of the year, or about there being Oscar buzz. As I reflect on these assertions, I can’t help but think that I may have seen the wrong movie. Though I can’t analyze the film for its cinematic values (lighting, staging, camera movement, etc.), I can say that I’ve seen better movies. As I left the theatre, I was shocked at the time. The two hour film dragged. When in a movie theater, I normally hit a point when I unwillingly admit to myself that the movie has to come to an end soon. This was not the case during The Social Network. Now, this is coming from someone who has seen Titanic more times than he would care to mention. I have never found the three-hour film to be too long.
Just like I can’t explain why I am a member of Facebook, or why I can’t seem to pinpoint what lures me to the site, I can’t describe why people liked this movie so much. I don’t find the story to be something that needed to be told. I believe the reason many people went to go see the movie was because it was about Facebook, which is something that many are a part of. Just like I’m sure many people would see a film about their parents, friends, or hometown, I believe that many people were drawn to the movie on the basis that they themselves have a Facebook, and somehow feel invested. I, personally, was only moderately entertained throughout, and so the film only barely served its purpose, which is to entertain. I wouldn’t watch the film again, nor would I recommend that people rush to see it. This is definitely a film that can wait to be rented for a dollar on RedBox. I give The Social Network a good standing only on the basis that it gave me an opportunity to eat a bag of my favorite candy.
