A fascinating study of America's cultural fabrics of individualism, capitalism, and competition

Rating: 9/10 (9 October 2010)

"The Internet isn't written in pencil, Mark. It's written in ink." warns Erica, Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend, after he tries to apologize to her for posting photos of her online without her consent in one of the film's early scenes. This clearly is one of the facts of our life and our future, whether we like it or not. The Internet, and more specifically social networking sites - with all their benefits to society, along with all of their pitfalls, aren't going anywhere.
Mark Zuckerberg is of course well known for being one of the co-creators of Facebook, and currently holds the title of the world's youngest billionaire at a mere 26 years old. In David Fincher's masterful "The Social Network," we follow the story of the juggernaut website's creation through the eyes of Zuckerberg, his friend Eduardo Saverin, two of their fellow classmates at Harvard, the founder of Napster Sean Parker (played brilliantly by Justin Timberlake-in a performance worthy of a Best Supporting Actor nomination), and a whole lot of lawyers sitting between all of them. On the surface, this topic would seem to make for a fairly boring film, as movies about lawyers and their clients arguing about settlements and copyright issues rarely would be considered intriguing or exciting to watch. However, in the hands of Aaron Sorkin's fast-paced script and David Fincher's crisp and well-edited direction, the movie is so enticing and fast-paced that it feels almost like an action movie - even though the movie is 2 hours of dialogue without any action whatsoever. Scenes of dialogue between characters often only last 20 or 30 seconds before quickly moving onto another scene. I am not sure if I have ever seen a movie with as much dialogue and exposition as this move at such an exciting pace.
Without going into too many details about the plot, much of the story is focused on the large egos of each of the creators and how they each crave individual recognition, power, and prestige for the site's sudden growth and success. After the website begins to show promise and becomes highly profitable, the creators then file lawsuits against each other and each claim ownership of the idea. The first 2/3 of the film are set on Harvard's campus, where the characters give us a wealth of insight (no pun intended) into America's cultural definition of success, as measured by wealth and individual success, even at the expense of others. I found the topic to be a fascinating look into the ongoing struggle societies and cultures have between trying to balance individualism and pluralism. Cultures in the West, most specifically America, are of course mostly individual-based, focused mostly on capitalism and economic power, even at the expense of others, including family and community relationships - whereas more cultures in the East are focused primarily on families, communities, and pluralism, and those people care less about wealth, prestige, and individualism. One feels that the characters in this movie are all good, well-meaning people, but they feel an uncontrollable urge - an almost addiction, to look out for themselves and their own prestige first to create a zero-sum game of success, even though one can sense of level of loneliness some of them feel, most specifically Zuckenberg's lack of friends or a social life.
"The Social Network" explores the complex relationship between these values, and does so in an intelligent way that never preaches or talks down to its audience. The film simply tells the story of these characters in a very restrained and straightforward manner, and allows the audience to form its own opinions of the story on the screen. Capitalism and competition in America are never directly criticized, nor should they be, as without them we wouldn't be the economic or military superpower that we are today. However, even with our financial and individual successes, one can't overlook the downsides that also come from living in a culture that values those over pluralist and community-based ideals. Given the fact that Facebook and other social networking sites will certainly be around to stay, what does this mean for America's future? Will America always continue to be a "me" society where individualism and competition are valued over pluralism? And will social networking sites just promote those values only more so in the future? Is it possible for technology to change our values, or does technology only serve to reinforce our values? Now those are the 6.9 billion dollar questions.