The Social Network Reflection
When we discussed the movie briefly in class before the screening, a handful of my classmates mentioned the need to be an asshole in order to succeed in life and/or to become extremely wealthy. After watching the film, I will say that there can be a better chance at wealth by being stern and by being somewhat “assholic” in order to get what you want. However, I do not personally feel like such attitudes have to be taken up in all cases in order to succeed. One example of taking the mean approach would be through one of the Winklevoss twins. After initially hearing that Mark Zuckerberg took their idea and changed it to Thefacebook, Tyler Winklevoss and his friend Divya Narendra were ready to not only sue Zuckerberg but beat him up. Tyler’s twin, Cameron, was a lot more apprehensive about taking such drastic measures. He was more than taken aback by the news of Thefacebook but nonetheless, he did not believe that taking the issue to court was the proper course of action. Only until the twins received word in Great Britain during the Olympics that Facebook was international did Cameron suddenly change his mind and agree to sue. Through this example, it is apparent that taking the high road or trying to keep issues outside of the courtroom would not have resulted in the $65 million settlement the twins reached in 2008. Although the court process was surely more sour than sweet, Cameron was finally able to get his piece of the Facebook fortune by deciding to no longer play nice with Mark Zuckerberg. By far the most important and relevant example of using the asshole approach to gain success would be that of Mark Zuckerberg himself. His shameful blog post degrading his girlfriend after their recent breakup was only the first straw revealed to the viewers of Zuckerberg’s less than kind attitude as the movie progresses. As portrayed through his character in the film, Mark Zuckerberg is one of those guys who does not instantly think “hey I’m being an asshole right now.” Instead he tends to act more impulsively on feeling which tends to get him into trouble i.e., introductory scene with Ericka, pushing Eduardo aside once Sean Parker comes around, and some of his commentary throughout the court case scenes. Zuckerberg also appears to be obsessed with rank or status whether or not his character admits it in the film. From being denied entry into the Phoenix club to seeing how “cool people” Sean Parker are received, Zuckerberg knows he wants to be at the top and is willing to overlook the feelings of those he betrayed if at the end, he feels like he retains some level of likability. I’m not saying that Zuckerberg never valued friendships but rather that he was under the impression that as you move upward in society, those old friends can be replaced by new and seemingly better ones, thus portraying him as an asshole. Once again, I do not personally believe that using people to get where you want or merely being mean is any way to reach the top but speaking by lack of experience, it is possible that I have a lot to learn about how to navigate such power and success.
