Social Network: A masterpiece in parts

I have watched The Social Network too many times to admit, and each time, I catch new details depending on what is going on in my life. When I watched it this time, it was because I saw the trailer for The Social Reckoning . Hence, I was thinking about the film and wondering what makes it so exciting, unsettling, and easy to relate to.

As a result of my thoughts, I have come up with the idea of the “ cool kids’ club ” — the ever-elusive idea that seems to drive Mark Zuckerberg and, in many ways, dictates his decisions.

To put it another way, it’s a rhetorical device: a ubiquitous, omnipresent idea that shapes and defines his perceptions of most aspects of his life, excluding those he understands (such as programming).

His break-up with Erica, who was one of the most popular girls in high school, was the first incident that planted the seed of this idea in his head and caused him to realize that there are people in society who belong to a group, while others, like him, do not.

As he goes to Harvard, this idea crystallizes, taking shape in the form of exclusive final clubs. However, as he realizes that joining them is impossible due to his financial constraints, the image of the cool kids’ club transforms — it becomes Facemash . Then, once he becomes successful with it, gets invited to the parties of the Harvard’s elite — but is not accepted by them, the cool kids’ club becomes Facebook , and so on.

Each time Mark Zuckerberg achieves one level of success and gets closer to his idea of belonging to the cool kids’ club, this feeling evaporates due to some other, more devastating realization, and a new idea of the club emerges. The club, as the protagonist perceives it, is always a step ahead, tricking him into believing that the next achievement will fill him with the same happiness he felt when he joined the previous club.

I think that one of the most interesting parts of The Social Network is the angel-and-devil-like representation of two different paths Mark Zuckerberg could have chosen.

Eduardo Saverin , portrayed as dull but reliable and trusting, personifies the security, stability, and slow but sure progress that is in stark contrast with the image of Sean Parker , who represents the fast track to success, instant gratification, and a different type of belonging.

While Parker’s philosophy is similar to the cool kids’ club in many ways, being the opposite of Eduardo represents choosing the safe but boring life.

It is interesting that these two options are not presented as good or bad, per se, but rather show the different definitions of success and the cool kids’ club. As soon as Zuckerberg begins to pursue one of these goals, the other transforms into something else, becoming his opposite.

As he progresses toward achieving the cool kids’ club, represented by the final club, he is in constant pursuit of bigger and better opportunities. When he meets Erica, and she rejects him, the cool kids’ club becomes Facemash . After it becomes successful, the cool kids’ club becomes the elite party, but after Zuckerberg arrives there, it evaporates, becoming the Harvard final club, which in turn is replaced by the Facebook elite.

The entire movie seems to be a series of transitions as bigger and better (in Zuckerberg’s perception) opportunities arise in front of him. From a more comfortable social environment, such as living with Erica, to the more extravagant but lonely experiences, such as the final club, everything is growing louder, busier, and more desolate with each step on his path to the cool kids’ club.

The same feeling is inspired by the film’s editing and sound design. The cool kids’ club is loud, so most of the sounds in the movie seem to be designed to fill the whole room, consuming it with their noise and leaving no space for silence, which becomes especially noticeable in the last scene when everything dies down at once. Similarly, the visual design of the film becomes busier with each transition, making the cool kids’ club progressively less accessible and more elusive.

What makes these ever-escalating transitions so fascinating is that the cool kids’ club is always presented as the final goal, yet it is always absent. This is the most outstanding characteristic of The Social Network , in my opinion. It is the feeling of missing, of striving to achieve the goal but never being able to do so.

Therefore, instead of celebrating Zuckerberg’s victories and successes, we are left with the feeling of loss and emptiness as one achievement after another fails to deliver the much-needed sense of fulfillment and belonging. As Zuckerberg reaches higher and higher levels of success and gets closer to the cool kids’ club, he ironically becomes even lonelier, and more frustrated, as the next step becomes his only goal.

I believe that this is the most fascinating aspect of The Social Network : the way it portrays the obsession, or, rather, the addiction, to bigger and better opportunities. The cool kids’ club, as the primary source of this obsession, is the stimulus that leads Zuckerberg to both Facebook and incredible wealth, power, and fame.

However, it is also the cause of his greatest disappointments and failures, as Zuckerberg realizes that none of these victories bring him any closer to fulfilling his desire to belong to the cool kids’ club. Thus, the cool kids’ club becomes more elusive than ever, as it is always just beyond reach, and the greater the achievements Zuckerberg attains, the further away he feels from it.

At the end of the movie, having attained all the goals he set for himself, Zuckerberg finds himself in the position to have achieved the cool kids’ club. However, not only is it elusive, but its very definition has changed as well. It no longer refers to any tangible entity, be it the elite social circle, as Zuckerberg is now one of them, or the final club, which is now his creation, Facebook.

The cool kids’ club has become bigger than Zuckerberg, encompassing everything that he has created and built, and the only thing that seems to have remained the same is his inability to attain satisfaction and a sense of belonging. In essence, Zuckerberg is just as lonely as before, just on a much bigger scale.