The
Social Network: Living in the Digital Age
Introduction
The Internet became part of mainstream American life in the years
following the 1989 invention of the World Wide Web. This means a whole
generation has grown up with the unprecedented global communication and access
to information the Internet provides. This era – often referred to as the
Digital Age or Information Age – has produced a distinct new culture,
perpetuated by the tech-savvy citizens it spawned. Some key features of this
culture are social networking, information sharing, and individualistic
entrepreneurship. These features may have their benefits, but they are also
frequently problematic, ethically and otherwise. What are the implications of
using the Internet as an outlet for emotions? Or using the ideas of others as
inspiration for your own creations? Or using social networks as a quantifier of
popularity? Do these actions produce moral or ethical quandaries?
David Fincher’s 2010 film The
Social Network is an exploration of all these concerns. In the film, an
awkward 19-year-old named Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) invents Facebook, a
revolutionary social networking site that gains immense international
popularity in a short span of time. While the site brings Mark fame and
fortune, it also wreaks havoc on his closest relationship and lands him in the
middle of two lawsuits. One is filed by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss
(Armie Hammer), Mark’s former classmates at Harvard University; the other is
filed by Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), Mark’s best friend. The Winklevoss
twins claim Mark stole their idea with the creation of Facebook. Eduardo claims
Mark intentionally cut him out of the company through the unfair dilution of
shares. Both cases are bothersome to Mark. The former he finds insulting, while
the latter causes great emotional turmoil as it represents the loss of a
friendship. These lawsuits frame the movie, which is comprised of flashbacks to
Mark’s years at Harvard University and Palo Alto, where he moves his company.
This is more than a story of big bad business. This is the story
of a changing world and the people who live in it. In real life, Mark Zuckerberg
is one of many youthful entrepreneurs who have taken hold of rapidly advancing
21st-century technology and used it to make a substantial and groundbreaking
invention. The fictionalized tale of Facebook’s creation and ascent has been
called a classic tragedy, “Shakespearean” even (Honeycutt). Certainly, The Social Network has themes of
betrayal and loss as old as storytelling itself, but its modern setting adds a new
dimension. With all its focus on the Internet, cellphones, websites, email,
etc., the movie provides a commentary on the effects of society’s entanglement
with technology. This still-developing relationship between man and machine has
changed the way we communicate with each other, and more importantly, it has
shaped the culture of the current adolescent generation, and will likely do the
same for many generations to come. The
Social Network reflects this with its young cast of characters, all
products of the Digital Age. They were born just before it, grew up alongside
it, were influenced by it, and in the movie, help shape it. The Social Network shows this Digital
Age culture exploiting the speed and permanence of digital communication, as
well as concentrating on popularity over friendship and detachment over real
human connections.
Sources
Fincher, David, dir. The
Social Network. Writ. Aaron Sorkin, Perf. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield,
and Justin Timberlake. Columbia Pictures, 2010. Film. 2 Nov 2013.
Honeycutt, Kirk. "The Social Network – Film Review." The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood
Reporter, 12 Oct 2010. Web. 2 Nov 2013.
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