The Face Behind Facebook
In today’s society, we have an overwhelming amount of identities. We are our Instagram feed; our Snapchat story; our Facebook page; and finally our genuine, human self.
Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) made this incredibly apparent in the film The Social Network. He started as himself in the opening scene with his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). He is noticeably open and honest to the point of causing his own break up. After Erica leaves the restaurant as a response to Mark’s “is this real” question, we see Mark also leave the restaurant, running all the way home – and it’s not a quick jog.
Is this Mark trying to stay out of the cold in his strangely repetitive outfit (a sweatshirt and some jeans)? Or is he running from the version of himself that he finally showed to someone he cared about only to be shut down entirely?
Throughout the duration of the film from that point onward, Mark seems to be not entirely himself. While equally as much of an “asshole” as before, he begins to bury himself in ones and zeroes as soon as he is able to sit in front of his computer. The new version of Mark takes form in a string of brutal (and probably – definitely – unnecessary) blog posts. Though he is still able to hold on to some of his intensity, he becomes noticeably less confident as he continues to act out at Erica’s expense.
(https://giphy.com/gifs/david-fincher-rooney-mara-the-social-network-2LTBCVMgsUj4Y)
Mark proves himself to be quite the coding prodigy in the process of defaming his ex-girlfriend and embarrassing thousands of others with Face Mash. In the true spirit of using the internet to get what you want, the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer) and their accomplice Divya Narendra (Max Minghella) approach and recruit Mark for the making of their new website Harvard Connections. In agreeing to help but ultimately ghosting (as the millennials call it), Mark buries himself even further. He hides behind emails and text messages, all the while suppressing his true self.
His vindictive path continues as the audience sees him involved in two law suits. He appears quiet and subdued during the majority of the depositions – a stark contrast from the opening scene. His friends have turned on him, his competition is winning, and he is arguably no longer himself. Mark Zuckerberg? Who’s that?
Ultimately, even the creation of a social networking site, Facebook for those of you who don’t know, caused one man to lose himself behind the screen. The movie closes with Mark staring at a computer in the deposition room, catching up on work he missed during the day.
Let’s be honest, Mark began this journey of creating Facebook with the intent of winning Erica back…or at least shoving it in her virtual face. I can’t help but question whether or not Mark would have become the vindictive person he did to the extent that he did if he hadn’t had the help of the internet. It’s easy to lose yourself in the pixels and who knows if you come out the other side as the same version of you.
(https://giphy.com/gifs/the-social-network-pnaizfT196OnC)
Mark gives hope for holding onto yourself when he friends Erica at the end, showing that he is still in love with her – a piece of the original him – but did the social networking change him?
We talk about how there are versions and versions of ourselves out there online. Every time we create a new account or publish new opinions (much like this blog), we break off another piece of ourselves and share it with billions of people. But is it even us or just an extension of us that we managed to hold on to while the original is locked away in a time before the internet?
In a world that measures your worth based on how witty you can be in 140 characters, how do you stay connected to the one thing that doesn’t require an outlet: yourself?
(https://giphy.com/gifs/the-social-network-11XmeISeWKG5O0)
