A Summary and Review of The Social Network
A Summary and Review of The Social Network
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A Summary and Review of The Social Network
The Social Network was released in October 2010 and highlighted the life of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg played by Jesse Eisenberg. Other cast members include Andrew Garfield (who plays his partner and best friend, Eduardo) and Justin Timberlake who plays Napster co-founder Sean Parker. Other cameos include Brenda Song and Rooney Mara who both play Zuckerberg’s girlfriends at different points in his life.
The movie takes you through the initial idea that leads to the confrontation with the Winkelvoss twins through the lawsuit and Zuckerberg’s personal complications and the social network’s success. It follows Facebook from Harvard to Silicon Valley up until it’s success in 2010.
The movie got a lot of critical acclaim, but it also saw a lot of criticism for how Zuckerberg is portrayed. The movie makes it seem like Zuckerberg created Facebook to get back at his ex-girlfriend (played by Rooney Mara) and that he is a social outcast. Colleagues of Zuckerberg have said that he is not as socially inept as the film suggests.
Nonetheless, The Social Network does define our generation because we are so centered around social media and online connections. The Social Network was rated the number one movie of 2010 by great publications like Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Chicago Reader, Entertainment Weekly, and the LA Times. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three including Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (for Aaron Sorkin), Best Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture, and Best Achievement in Film Editing. It was nominated for Best Motion Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jesse Eisenberg) among others.
All and all The Social Network focuses more on Mark Zuckerberg’s personal life that lead to the blowing up of Facebook (including the 1 millionth user) rather than Facebook itself. It’s also imperative that you remember that The Social Network is based on a true story, not a biography of Mark Zuckerberg, so a lot of the events that happen is sensationalized for movie ratings.
Overall Rating: 8.5 stars out of 10