ALL OUR PARANOIA

The most poignant thing about “The Social Network,” directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, is that the chief inventor of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg (brilliantly potrayed by Jesse Eisenberg), is a social failure. He can’t stop belittling people, especially the people he loves such as his girlfriend and his best buddy, and intellectual snobbery controls his life. Zuckerberg has valid reasons for his condescending attitude: he’s a computer genius with insight into what drives society. He’s brilliant on line. He just can’t play the game on the street.

After a Wednesday Movie Nite, my group had a heated discussion about who deserved the profits from Facebook. Obviously, Zuckerberg drives the inception of the company. But the movie clearly illustrates that Eduardo Saverin plays a roll, as does Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), possibly my favorite character, who fresh from the collapse of Napster, has a vision for how Facebook should grow nationally and internationally, and where seed money can be found. He’s a lush and a degenerate with vision and brains.

My friends disagreed about the Winklevoss brothers – rowing team giants at Harvard, identical twins, gentlemen with a load of family money, and the slapstick clowns of the story. Did they deserve credit for coming up with part of an idea at the beginning – an internet social network limited to Harvard students? And what about their Indian friend, Divi? None of my movie-fanatic friends liked these characters. There is a prejudice against old money in the United States, because we Americans are all supposed to be self-made. But rich people can have ideas, even if they don’t know how to program.

“The Social Network” operates well at many levels, first as a story of technology and new business, secondly as a psychology lesson. It highlights the mistakes, fears, and paranoia of all these entrepreneurs. The movie is personal. I saw myself in every one of the characters. I felt every triumph and catastrophe in my gut. I delved inside these characters, despite their blatant misogyny. I wish I could friend them all on Facebook.