What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

It's one of those big Oscar worthy classics that audiences loved at the time it came out and everyone wanted to see it. But I honestly don't see what's so great about it.

For one thing, the writer Aaron Sorkin changed a lot around from the true story. I know this is done often in movies, but I think he may have taken his liberties too far and made too much up about the main character, and what really happened.

I mean at with a movie like Hysteria (2011), they take a true event, and make a lot up around it, but the filmmakers don't hide this fact, and are having fun with it, where as The Social Network, tries to take it's made up facts, too seriously perhaps.

It's as if he wanted to write something based on a true story, and he couldn't think of anything better to find in the news headlines to write about, so he chooses this very non-compelling, mundane story, that he had to add a lot too, just to get a two hour entertainment out of.

I just don't see what it was so well received or why it was worth making into the movie that it is. But what do you think?

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Nothing. Not a damn thing. Utterly dull and waste of time film, imo. I asked for a refund at the theater and got one. F that movie.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

It's a good movie in my mind, but definitely not the classic many hype it to be.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

I was thoroughly entertained. Go Me.

The story telling.

1. The dialogue is really, really good, as is pretty much always the case with Sorkin. Fast-paced, biting, and clever. This is the first point because it's the most important: if you're not on the same wavelength as the dialogue, the film probably isn't going to work for you.

2. The directing is superb. That it has any sense of narrative momentum or pacing at all, when its frame story is a deposition about a possible financial settlement, is pretty incredible. This makes it a great example of the medium itself, because it shows you how compelling ordinary things can seem in the hands of a masterful director, and Fincher is most certainly that.

3. Far from seeming like a forced or reverse-engineered choice, Sorkin ends up having plenty to say about the topic. Facebook is ubiquitous, and the story here is, very perceptively, drawing parallels between the personal drama over the product and the product itself, and the facsimile of friendship it can entail. There's a lot of meta-level stuff going on here if you dig into it, even on top of the money and betrayal, which make for pretty good dramatic fodder all by themselves and need little embellishment for that purpose.

Anyway, I reviewed it back when it came out. I gave it .

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Well I can understand Facebook being ubiquitious but why not make a movie about actual Facebook then? This movie spends so much time on developing Zuckerberg, as a false character, than what he really is, that he becomes the main focus of the movie, and not Facebook.

Why not make Facebook the main character, and show how it effected the world, rather than Zuckerberg's world?

You got a refund -- good for you!

I saw it at home, and the movie was soulless. I don't remember a thing about it, and couldn't care less about MySpace, etc..

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Because it's about people, not Facebook.

As opposed to what: a movie about a website? That idea is exactly what everyone assumed the film would be, which is why the idea was met with such scorn when it was announced. Any movie about an organization is either going to essentially be a dry, probably boring documentary, or else it's going to be about the relationships between the people behind it, which is exactly what The Social Network is.

Ding ding ding. And moreover, not making this sort of distinction is exactly the problem the character himself makes. This is what I mean when I say there's a lot of good meta-level stuff going on.

But there have been movies about organizations before that were good. Like for example, the movie The Battle of Algiers, is much more about the event, then making it about one person, and putting the event in the background.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

People's lives are ruled by social media so making fb the lead character in a movie is hardly thrilling. Intact I fell sleep typing.

That's about war, which is a lot more inherently dramatic than a website. And even putting that aside, the fact that a good story can be told about one organization in no way suggests that a good story can be made about any other one.

Okay that's fair, but if you are going to make Zuckerberg the main character, why change so much of him around? Why have him make Facebook cause he has issues with his ex-girlfriend, when in fact, he never made it in real life cause of issues with an ex. He was never interested in joining any of the clubs at the University he was going to. He just did it cause he said he thought it would be a good idea to connect people.

So why not make a story about that, instead of making up a whole new person, and naming him Mark Zuckerberg?

Because it was the basis for much of the the drama and meta-level commentary referred to earlier.

If you have qualms about the idea of taking creative liberties in storytelling about real events, that's perfectly reasonable. There's no right answer as to where that line should go. But that's a different matter entirely than assessing the story on its own merits, as a story.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

He didn't create it because of an ex.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

I can understand taking a few liberties here and there, but they made up a whole character, as a liberty, and that seems like it's going to far, or trying to hard. It feels forced for drama, that was just not in the real story to begin with. Well people argue that if they made the story realistic to the real thing, then audiences would be bored? But why make it into a movie at all then, if the real story, is flat, and not dramatic enough? Why not make a movie out of something that is instead, instead of trying to force drama on a non-compelling true story? That's just what I didn't get.

As I said, complaints about thinking they took too many liberties are reasonable, but completely unrelated to critiques of the story itself.

As for "why make it." Well, because they had the opportunity to make a really good movie about a really compelling story by taking a few liberties. So they did. And it's really good. I'm sorry if that bothers you, and I won't try to talk you out of being bothered by it because it's a reasonable thing to be bothered by. But it has no bearing whatsoever on the story or film's quality.

Fiction is completely made up. All of that drama is "forced." Why is that better than a film like this, where only a little of it is?

Okay that might be fair, but I missed what was really compelling about the true story though. What was it?

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

I'm not sure I understand the question. What's compelling about what really happened, or what's compelling about the story the film tells?

I can't speak too much about it because it has been very long but it is pretty much what Yoda said. The appeal of The social network is partly due to the style of Fincher, which makes it visually dynamic and appealing, while also putting emphasis on character exposition through dialogues and a narrative that imbues energy to something as mundane and in theory lacking of narrative appeal as the creation of a website. It's Fincher's pace, cinematography and dynamism what do this trick. Additionally, it tells a story with background messages that are far more universal than one would probably expect and talks about the position of human relationships in the internet era, the concept of success in an insanely competitive society and ultimately the idea of power and influence as a way to create fake and transitory relationships while losing contact with your roots. It's humanism under several layers of misanthropy and many people rightfully compared this to Citizen Kane.

What's compelling about the real story, that it was worth making into a movie?

As for saying this movie has misanthropy, and it's rightly compared to Citizen Kane, where does that come? Mark Zuckerberg? I feel they just made that up for the movie, and they forced it on. The real life event, doesn't seem to have any misanthropic themes to it.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

My review---

Whether anybody likes it or not ,facebook is the one of the biggest phenomenons of our times ,and anyone who uses the internet , literally lives under the shadow of facebook.

This the story of how Mark Zuckerberg founded facebook ,or co-founded it ,as he is forced by a lawsuit to admit.
Mark takes the help of friends in harvard to start facebook ,or thefacebook , as it was called at that time , who finance his endeavour . But as happens when huge amounts of money begin to roll in , friendships begin to sour over money, ,relationships begin to break ,and in the end everyone ends up in the courtroom .

Which provides the perfect setting for flashbacks , as much of the movie is in flashback mode ,as everyone remembers and recounts in the courtroom as to what part he had in the making of facebook ,the wheelings and dealings ,from their own perspective , of course. There is no action in the movie , so the director had to keep the dialogues crisp ,and fast-paced. This ,the director has succeeded in doing , and thus creating an engaging movie.

In this movie , Mark Zuckerberg emerges as a total nerd , somebody who might have made a lot of money , but would be difficult to live with , in real life. The movie starts with him breaking up with his girlfriend , who is fed up with his nerdish ways , and he retaliates by passing insulting comments on her in his blog .

However , the movie is made by inputs given by his former friend Eduardo Saverin , who eventually filed a lawsuit on him ,so he is bound to give a negative image of Mark Zuckerberg. Inspite of this , Jesse Eisenberg has given a good portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg ,and his performance is head and shoulder above the others.

Justin Timberlake also acts well as Sean Parker ,the hard-partying man who asks Mark to drop the 'the' from thefacebook ,and call it just facebook ,the name we are familiar with today.

The story of facebook is not yet over ,so there might be a part two movie when it has evolved ,or moved into a bigger league. If its as good as this one , I'll sure watch it.........

Oh okay. But why did they change Zuckerberg's motivations for making facebook? He didn't have an ex girlfriend who left him that he kept thinking about and the movie acts like one of the reasons he made facebook to see her approval. So why did the writers feel they needed to make this up about the character?

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

I love the guy (MZ). He took something that was nothing and created a giant. Made some enemies along the way, won in court (for the most part) and now lives like a king. Loved the movie, I own it. Great American success story.

Jon

How did he win in court though? He still had to pay what the court said he had to, so how is that winning?

The movie also portrays him as a real jerk though, and he kicked his friend out of the company pretty much all because he wasn't okay with his friend having the 30% which he agreed on. I didn't understand where all that greed was coming from but perhaps only the real Zuckerberg knows.

Read the above part of my review

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

The guy paid out peanuts in the bigger picture of things to come. A parking ticket to me and you. He tossed his buddy under the bus and made millions. I would kiss the ground he walks on!! A true genius.

Jon

Yeah but it's still technically losing. He didn't get what he wanted, which was not having to pay anything at all. To him it was losing. Plus he could have paid it without having to go to court, yet he still chose to hire expensive lawyers and go to court over it.

I also did not understand why the writers felt they needed to add the strange subplot about Edwardo having an angry girlfriend that set his apartment on fire.

I guess it's kind of a good movie, but I don't understand why they had to give Zuckerberg made up motivations.

Doesn't really matter where it comes from. It is an artistic choice, nowhere in the film it was brought as a necessary condition that it had to be strictly close to reality.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Yeah I guess. Perhaps it is a good movie. I wouldn't say it was compelling enough to be the masterpiece that it's often hailed as but I would give it a 6 o 7 out of 10.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

1. The direction.
2. The fast-paced editing.
3. The soundtrack.
4. The not-obvious CGI.

While it's not one of Fincher's best these are some elements I loved from the film.

The guy is a billionaire, has a hot lady and never served a day in prison.

If thats losing.....I'll take it any day. I read a long article about Edwardo, he's also a billionaire. The American dream.

Jon

This seems like a loaded question, since it implies that people should only make movies if the "real story" is compelling, even if they plan to take creative liberties to make it moreso.

But to answer it anyway: the fact that one of the largest and most influential companies in history was potentially founded on stolen ideas and backstabbing, of course. I really don't understand the argument that this was some boring situation without the personalized creative liberties. There's tons of drama here inherent to the situation: money, power, legacy, and betrayal.

You keep citing the addition of material to the real story as a reason to dislike the story itself, and that doesn't wash. If you want to say you don't like people making things up about real people for narrative purposes, that's fine. If you want to say you weren't interested in the things they made up, that's also fine (though I'd totally disagree). But it doesn't make any sense to frame this as a critique of the story itself if, when elaborating on that critique, you pretty much only refer to the fact that material was added. "People shouldn't take creative liberties with real stories" is cultural criticism, not film criticism.

The Social Network is not a documentary on Mark Zuckerberg. David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin were clearly more interested in telling a story of a nineteen-year-old Harvard sophomore who eventually creates a five-hundred-million-strong network of “friends,” but is so egotistical, work-obsessed, and withdrawn that he can’t stay close to anyone and he blows off his only real pal. The real focus of the film was how the idea of comparing appearances, that was initially perceived as perverted and debauched, went on to become a billion dollar industry. What does that say about our own private obsessions?

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

I loved The Social Network, as a matter of fact, I would call it a sure-fire favorite of mine. I never had much thought about how truthful the film was, but, instead, I loved the story it told. I think a lot of why I love it is how I related to the portrayal of the Zuckerberg character, particularly how I was looking back in high-school. I took myself too seriously and was never focused on cultivating real relationships, but instead, effectively alienated others because my own insecurities instilled this mind-set that I always had something to prove. It comes off as an artificial arrogance on some level, that the character so deeply cares about what others think, obsessively so. It's why he is so easily swayed by the Napster creator, because he reaffirms what Zuckerberg thinks, and the character needs that approval. I related to it because I always had trouble with emotional connection and felt I needed vindication. That, and I believe the film really captures the sense of purpose that can come with trying to run a website and I feel that passion really reminded me of my childhood, trying to get forums up-and-going, trying to market them to the right niche.

Best looking gif ever

Considering the posts have a white backround.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

It looks good on the gray quote background, too, so it's totally transparent. :up:

Looked good in the grey too. I stole it and will promptly forget to use it ever.

http://oscar.go.com/nominees/music-o...ng-from-trolls

Props to JT for pushing through the haters.


Actually that's a pretty good write-up. Aside from the HORRIBLE H8R PREDICTION. Agreed that the dialogue is pretty central.

Yeah, dude really needed a win. Before Trolls he was just handsome, talented, rich, and married to Jessica Biel.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

I like Timberlake as an actor and it makes me feel like a teeny bopper. He was hood in Alpha Dog as well.

The project's original name was A Poppy Blooms in Branches' Shade but at the last minute JT decided to "dedicate" the name of the film to all the people who said he'd never make it in this town.

Great post but for me this in particular - I got swept away by Sorkin's script. The words just completely held my attention.

Yeah I guess. It's just when Hollywood makes up things about characters, sometimes they change the character's names out of respect. Like for example in the movie Green Zone or Compliance, the people that it was based on, the names were all changed, out of respect, and I feel that maybe the same thing should have been done here perhaps.

But maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way.

As for Zuckerberg being married to a very hot girl, a lot of times, hot women choose to marry men for the money, so she might not have married him for him, if he wasn't rich, but I guess that's another story.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Yeah, it's a fair point. I really do find it totally reasonable to be uncomfortable with tweaking real people's stories for dramatic effect, and it can definitely go too far (Titanic being the first thing that always comes to mind, for me).

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

For some reason I was totally okay with Titanic ironically. I think it's because the movie seems to realize it wants to tell a fictional story with fictional characters in a real disaster. Where as The Social Network, pretends to be real more so, by using the names of the real people and having the subtitled historical recap at the end, if that makes sense?

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

That makes sense as a distinction, except that I don't get the impression that Titanic realizes that at all, particularly given how much press they did talking about their painstaking, historical recreation of how the ship looked (and other such things). I think it very much presents itself as historically accurate, though I don't wanna hijack the thread away from The Social Network too much. :)

Anyway, I'm not actually sure how much of TSN is tweaked. I imagine there's probably still some disagreement about which liberties were liberties. Usually in cases like this more is unprovable than false.

What on earth. Talk about a fishing expedition because yet again you watched a movie you want to complain about being overrated because you didnt gel with it.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Oh I was just asking why everyone liked it so much and why a lot of people consider it to be a masterpiece, that's all. Is it wrong not to ask why a movie is considered that, and to discuss it?

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Well dude, you didnt just want to know because as with every one of your threads you just argue back when people respond. You didnt like it :shrug: No biggy but you just like talking over anyone with a different pov.

Re: What's so great about The Social Network (2010)?
 

Oh sorry, I don't to be too argumentative, I was just trying to understand other people's points. I actually don't know if I liked the movie and it was right on the line to me and was wondering therefore, why other people like it so much, or what is it that I am not seeing.