The Social Network Reflection

What does it mean to be successful, today? Can an individual be successful in his or her professional life but not in his or her social or intimate life? Is success generated by an individual’s salary or how much money he or she makes? Does success result from how many years of schooling you attended? Can success be categorized by how many “Friends” or “Followers” one has on his or her differing social media accounts? Can one only become successful by being “an asshole?” The concept of “success” is a multilayered topic (as questions reveal above), which cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” answer. The Social Network is a dramatic film, which details how Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg, overcame being dumped by his long-time girlfriend, Eric Albright. In retaliation, that night, Zuckerberg creates a social application titled “Facemash,” which, ultimately transforms into the billion-dollar Internet and social phenomenon, “Facebook.” Yet, with all of Zuckerberg’s financial and social successes, trials and tribulations also came about. Therefore, I believe The Social Network is a fascinating piece to close-read in terms of examining one of the world’s most successful individual’s conversations, relationships and successes, in order to deconstruct if someone must be an “asshole” to order to truly succeed. As portrayed in The Social Network, in 2003, Zuckerberg’s girlfriend dumped him, while the two of them were getting drink together. In The Social Network, the script reads similar to this: M: “And yes, I got nothing wrong on the test.” E: “Have you ever tried?” M: “I am trying right now.” E: “To row crew.” M: “To get into a final club; to row crew, are you like, whatever, delusional?” E: "Maybe, it’s just you say two things at once and I am not sure which one [comment] I am supposed to be aiming at.” M: But you have seen guys who row crew, right?” E: “No.” M: "Well they are bigger than me, they are world class athletes and a second ago you said you liked guys who rowed crew so I assumed you had met one.” E: "I guess I just meant I liked the idea of it, you know, the way a girl likes cowboys." M: “OK" E: "Should we get something to eat?" M: "Would you like to talk about something else?" E: "No! It is just since the beginning of the conversation about finals club, I think I may have missed a birthday….” ——— M: “I want to try to be straight forward with you and tell you that I think you might want to be a little more supportive, If I get in [to a finals club] I will be taking you to the events and the gatherings and you would be meeting a lot of people you would not normally get to meet.” E: “You would do that for me?” M: “We are dating.” E: "Ok, well I want to try and be straight forward with you and tell you that we are not anymore.” M: “What do you mean?” E: “We are not dating anymore, I am sorry.” M: “Is this a joke?” E: "No! It is not!" M: ”You are going to introduce me to people I would not normally have the change to meet? WTF... What is that supposed to mean?" M: “Wait settle down!” E: ”What is that supposed to mean?” ——-- E: “I am going back to my dorm" M: “Wait, wait, is this real?” E: “Yes!” M: "Ok, then wait! I apologize!" E: “I have to go study” M: “I am sorry, I mean it” E: “I appreciate that, but I have to go study.” M: “Come on, you don’t have to go study. You don’t have to study, let’s just talk.” E: "I can’t!" M: “Why?" E: "Because dating you is exhausting, it is like dating a stair master!" M: "All I meant is that you are not likely to, currently; I was not making a comment on your appearance. I was just saying that you go to BU. I was just stating a fact, that is all. And if it seemed rude then of course, I apologize." E: "I have to go study." M: "You don’t have to go study." E: "Why do you keep saying I don’t have to study?" M: "Because you go to BU! … Want to get some food?" E: "I am sorry you are not sufficiently impressed with my education." ——-- E: "I want to tell you something: you are going to go through life thinking that girls do not like you because you are a nerd, and I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that that won’t be true. It’ll be because you are an asshole!"

Here, Zuckerberg’s everyday conversations with Erica Albright appear condescending, but he also then becomes an even less-socially acceptable version of himself, when she calls him out and no longer stands for her mistreatment: Zuckerberg asks “Is this real?” He cannot believe this is happening to him. Throughout the conversation, Zuckerberg continues to upset Albright, and ultimately, attacks her education. She then retaliates by letting him know that, although he may be very successful in the near future, he will never win intimately as he is nothing less than “an asshole.” I find Albright’s last line in this scene a watershed moment as this is the first time she stands up for herself and no longer accepts his unmannerly tone. Here, although Albright concludes the conversation in a firm way, she is not viewed as the villain in this scene – her actions are only a counter-reaction to Zuckerberg’s hurtful ways. Lastly, I find it fascinating to analyze whether Zuckerberg became “an asshole” as a post-reaction to all of his successes, but, this scene and other scenes of him interacting with his peers, show that the “ass-hole-ness” came before the mega-successes from Facebook.