The Social Network

Starring Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake

Directed by David Fincher                                                        By Steve Norton

Rated PG-13 for sexuality and drug use                                    Rating: **** (out of 5)

Available on Blu-ray and DVD           

            Every movie speaks to a certain moment in time.  It really is inescapable. Every film speaks to the values and social issues of its culture and, as such, presents us with an opportunity for cultural study.  However, some films do more than that.  Some films offer timely windows that people years from now will be able to use to gain a better understanding of our culture.  They capture a ‘moment-in-time’.

            The Social Network is such a film.

            Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not claiming that it’s the greatest film of all time or anything.  I think it’s great—but not the best movie I’ve ever seen.  Rather, I do believe that The Social Network offers a clear portrait of the values and issues being addressed by this generation… and that makes it an important film.

            Penned by Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing), The Social Network follows the story of Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg), a student at Harvard University.  Zuckerberg is a man who craves connection—his ultimate goal is to join a fraternity—yet exists outside the popularity circle.  So, partnering with his best friend Eduardo Savarin (Andrew Garfield), Zuckerberg develop a website designed to connect Harvard students in a way that they haven’t before online.  In his own words, Zuckerberg’s endgame is to build a site that ‘takes the college experience and puts it on the internet’.   As a result, ‘Facebook’ is born.  As the site grows in popularity, Zuckerberg finds himself battling everything from copyright infringement laws to lawsuits from his (now former) friends.

Although initially written off by the press as ‘the Facebook movie’, The Social Network, has demonstrated it’s own social importance.  Directed by David Fincher, this film has shone a light firmly on the challenges of this hyper-connected generation of youth (which, ironically, is something that Fincher swears he never meant to do).   As such, for our purposes, there is as much to grapple with theologically as there is culturally.  For instance, one of the primary themes within the film is the quest for personal wholeness in today’s society.  Throughout the film, this issue is best demonstrated through Mark Zuckerberg’s personal journey.  Without question, Eisenberg’s portrayal of Zuckerberg is complex to say the least, conspiring against his friends at one moment while appearing naïve and broken the next.  We are reminded several times that ‘Mark doesn’t care about money’ yet he fights tirelessly for his site to conquer the world.  It’s an interesting contrast because, even as Facebook rises in power, Zuckerberg has difficulty truly reveling in the moment.  In a fashion similar to Citizen Kane, it’s as if the success Zuckerberg craves so badly is merely a feeble attempt to fill the gaping hole within him.  Despite being at the centre of the social universe, Zuckerberg seems to cling to the memory of his ex-girlfriend and yearns for love.  (Although, at the same time, one could also make the argument that his continued interest in her stems from the fact that she is the one who rejects him—and Mark likes things to happen on his terms.)  Either way, The Social Network portrays Zuckerberg as a man who seeks to build an empire—to ‘do something exceptional’—yet lacks a sense of completion.  Just like his description of Facebook, Mark will ‘never be done’.  The relevance of this issue cannot be ignored as we, as a culture, continue to search for the answer of what it means to be whole.  Insatiated with ourselves, we work to earn the right to experience fullness and grace but to no avail.  Instead, only through an active relationship with Christ can we ever begin to understand what it means to experience holistic rest and true shalom. 

In addition, The Social Network also speaks to the reality of the ‘new community’. Whether one is ready to admit it or not, relational connections have changed as a result of the internet and, more specifically, Facebook.  In The Social Network, Zuckerberg’s dream is to create the opportunity for people to engage one another socially—even personally—at all times.  In doing so, he creates a space for people to vent the gambit of their emotions, all the while feeling completely safe and secure in themselves.  Nevertheless, The Social Network is also very honest about the possible realities that such a shift encompasses.  Zuckerberg blogs about his ex-girlfriend online and faces the consequences for it.  Eduardo fails to change the relationship status on his Facebook page and must try explain why to his girlfriend.  Ironically, it’s here that The Social Network really speaks to the Church at large.  As Christians, we must be aware of this changing relational landscape and be prepared to engage our world through its lenses.  The social realm of the internet in many ways is the new “ends of the Earth” into which Jesus commanded the disciples to speak.  Still, however, the Church seems slow at times to address and reassess its understanding and practice of modern day Kingdom relationships.  The ‘new community’ is a changing reality and the Church needs to rethink how to bring holistic Gospel life into the world as it stands.

            By following the journey of Mark Zuckerberg, The Social Network challenges us to reimagine our world and its understanding of the ‘new community’.  Will people remember the film in 10 or 15 years?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Still, for this moment in time, David Fincher has offered us insight into the broken nature of the hyper-connected generation.