the social network
The Social Network (2010)
November 15, 2011
Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
From the book, Accidental Billionaires, by Ben Mezrich The Social Network is an adaptation of a book about the amazing story behind the rise and rise of Facebook. It is a story of friendship and rivalry, with a little conspiracy, bad behaviour, perhaps betrayal or just plain dirty tricks. You’ll find lots out there about this film including this review from Rex Baylon’s Film Expression which specifically addresses conflicting perspectives in the film. Some have been at pains to point out major factual errors in the film, useful mostly in clarifying that the film is a fictional account in the end; the book uses fiction techniques to illuminate the story after all. (Listen to an interview with Ben Mezrich on The Book Show.)
A recent article, “Friendship Pending”, Screen Education, No. 61, Autumn 2011, pp8-15, discusses, in particular, friendship and betrayal and the portrayal of women in the film. A few thought provoking questions are listed for class discussion at the end of the article and may be useful for developing your own perspective:
Do you think Zuckerberg is portrayed as a creative? Provide arguments for and against.
The premise of the film is that a Harvard drop-out named Mark Zuckerberg comes up (or steals — depending on your opinion) with an idea for a website that hinges on exclusivity and the rejection of others deemed unworthy of being added as a “friend”. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Erica, Mark decides to hack into the servers of the Harvard network and build his very own Hot-or-Not website, which manages to become so popular that it crashes the school’s servers. Though this was in-fact true, you can’t help but admire the subtle magnificence of these beginning scenes which set the stage for what’s to come. The fact that a simple website (one where you can reject women you see as unworthy, hint-hint) became so popular in a matter of
November 15, 2011
Directed by David Fincher. Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
From the book, Accidental Billionaires, by Ben Mezrich The Social Network is an adaptation of a book about the amazing story behind the rise and rise of Facebook. It is a story of friendship and rivalry, with a little conspiracy, bad behaviour, perhaps betrayal or just plain dirty tricks. You’ll find lots out there about this film including this review from Rex Baylon’s Film Expression which specifically addresses conflicting perspectives in the film. Some have been at pains to point out major factual errors in the film, useful mostly in clarifying that the film is a fictional account in the end; the book uses fiction techniques to illuminate the story after all. (Listen to an interview with Ben Mezrich on The Book Show.)
A recent article, “Friendship Pending”, Screen Education, No. 61, Autumn 2011, pp8-15, discusses, in particular, friendship and betrayal and the portrayal of women in the film. A few thought provoking questions are listed for class discussion at the end of the article and may be useful for developing your own perspective:
Do you think Zuckerberg is portrayed as a creative? Provide arguments for and against.
The premise of the film is that a Harvard drop-out named Mark Zuckerberg comes up (or steals — depending on your opinion) with an idea for a website that hinges on exclusivity and the rejection of others deemed unworthy of being added as a “friend”. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Erica, Mark decides to hack into the servers of the Harvard network and build his very own Hot-or-Not website, which manages to become so popular that it crashes the school’s servers. Though this was in-fact true, you can’t help but admire the subtle magnificence of these beginning scenes which set the stage for what’s to come. The fact that a simple website (one where you can reject women you see as unworthy, hint-hint) became so popular in a matter of