caution: if you haven't seen The Social Network don't read this.
I watched The Social Network last night. I was captivated in like the first minute. I loved it.
here's why:
1. It captures the selfishness and arrogance of man. There isn't a good guy. I wasn't sure who to root for the whole time... which is frustrating... but also terribly thought-provoking. (It's like Ayn Rand style, which is fascinating).
2. Because of the exposure of the ill-intentioned beginnings of "The Facebook" I find it remarkable how much of our lives run on the internet-particularly on Facebook. We spend hours and hours (over time, of course) on this website that put our social lives online, for the world to see. But it was created in such a shady way-- by people who were quite power hungry, arrogant, and snotty. That Mark Zuckerberg guy just wanted glory. His friend was loyal and kind, but he just wanted money. Sean Parker, the Napster guy, manipulated the whole thing to turn the tables in his favor. And those deep-voiced extremely good-looking twins were scammed but then came back with a vengeance. And we worship this.... idea. We depend on Facebook for a lot of social interaction.
3. These manipulative, selfish people created something that could possibly do- and does- a lot of good. It helps us keep in touch with people. It helps us wish our friends happy birthday. Share pictures. Brighten someone's day with a "hello." It is a mode of research-- you can contact thousands of people in an afternoon, and a large portion of them will respond. It can help us spread the gospel-- share our religion. So much good can come from this... idea.
Oh the dichotomy.
In the after-moving-watching-research that I performed, I learned all about social culture and clubs at Harvard (a particularly interesting point in the movie), and I read a bit about Mark Zuckerberg. I found a poll on Facebook that asked, "will Mark Zuckerberg watch The Social Network at the premiere?" Surprisingly, most people said he wouldn't bother to see it. After watching the movie, if his person is represented correctly, I can understand that perspective. Someone else wrote, "he'll probably watch the movie and then say it's fiction."
I think that reaction is more likely. The guy is a weasel.
And PS, I'm still kind of sickened by Justin Timberlake because of the character that he plays in the movie. I hate that guy. But I love Justin.
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3 comments:
I just watched that this last weekend too! I agree, it's interesting the dichotomy between the good that it does but how it comes from people so self-interested. I would chalk it up to one of the glories of the free-market: acting in your own self-interest a lot of times involves providing something society needs.
I think I liked it because you get the feel that as intelligent as so many of those people are, they are just kids and regular people in the way they act and what they want.
We loved The Social Network. Brandon loved it because it was a nerd that became uber successful and rich, and I loved it for the same reasons - the way you hate the main character but respect him so much, and basically how the program evolved. And wow - it made me glad that BYU doesn't allow fraternities, because that is some serious stuff!
I'm still so curious if the girl added him as a friend, because that is the whole idea with the facebook - if she adds him it means that being a jerk is secondary to the "cool" factor of having a large friend list (and being friends with a famous guy), and if she doesn't than he is still a jerk and a nerd.
And I hated Justin Timberlake as well - hated how "Mark" was so excited to be perceived as cool that he was used and abused by him. And poor Eduardo.
I'm not surprised that you liked this movie so much - after all, your favorite books are "A Seperate Peace" and "The Chocolate War" - both books about boys social dichotomy and schooling :)
Audge!! I know Sean Parker was a creepy jerk in the movie, but Justin played him so well! You can't hate him a little bit for that. Here is the real question (and take it seriously, after considering Alphadog, The Social Network, etc): Is Justin a better singer or actor? I feel that it's a toss up... And that you will be upset my theory. :) Either way, I love JT forever, and I await his next album feverishly. Let's go get it at Walmart together at midnight, whenever it is.
Love you miss you bye!
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