The Social Network

Like many people, I count myself among the ranks of those with Facebook accounts. I can spend hours looking at boring photos or facebook creeping on others' wall-to-walls. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I wanted to see "The Social Network" or as I less eloquently call it "that facebook movie."

Despite the dramalicious trailers, I was a bit skeptical as to how interesting a movie about the creation of Facebook could be. However, my fears were laid to rest as I watched the opening scene. So, what's this movie about? The movie begins with, as so many do, relationship drama. Mark Zuckerberg's girlfriend, Erica, breaks up with him for being a jerk. After an obligatory "I'm breaking up with you" zinger, she leaves him. In response to her dumping him, Mark starts FaceMash, a site comparing the "hotness" of the girls at Harvard. While this site is shut down by the administration, it catches the attention of Cameron and Tyler, two very preppy and identical twins (in fact, they're so identical that they're actually only played by one person). They want Mark to help them with an idea they have for a new site. Weeks later, he creates Facebook. This is where all of the drama begins. The main story of the movie is innercut with scenes from two court cases brought against Mark: one by his friend, the cofounder of Facebook and one by the twins.

One of the most interesting aspects of The Social Network was the "true story" aspect of it. While it's uncertain how factual the movie was, it was interesting to think of it as a true story. Because modern society is so engrossed in Facebook, there was a certain dramatic irony to many of the scenes.

Another interesting aspect of The Social Network was the characters, in particular Mark Zuckerberg. I know, I know, they're real people, and it's strange to call them characters. Regardless, it was interesting how he was portrayed as an unlikeable jerk but was ultimately, in my opinion, a little sympathetic. I'm sure most of us can think of the one kid who constantly makes negative remarks that are occasionally kind of funny. That's how Zuckerberg was portrayed. Probably 99% of the things he said were unbelievable rude, and 50% of them were backhanded comments. But rather than him actually being a jerk, this seemed to be more of a defense mechanism than anything. By pushing people away, he gets to be the rejecter rather than the rejected.

Anyway, I liked the movie a lot. It was well-paced enough that I was never bored. It had a sort of somber tone to it that really worked. And, it was just really interesting.

I don't think this review made any sense, to be honest. But it's lateish, and I'm tired. So, I'm just going to post it as is.