What's in a Meaning: Will the Real Mark Zuckerberg Please Stand Up

     For my first ever review last week, I sounded off on my love of David Fincher's newest film, "The Social Network" (or "the facebook movie" as it's more commonly known). One of the strongest points of the film is the fascinating character that is the film's protagonist, Mr. Mark Zuckerberg. There is a lot of protest from people who say the film takes too many liberties with the moral character of the real Mark Zuckerberg, and this may be absolutely true, but frankly, I don't care. It's a movie, and the character as he is written makes for great dramatic art, so while I have no clue what the real Mark Zuckerbeg is like, I am interested in discussing the Mark Zuckerberg of "The Social Network". That's why, for the first ever edition of "What's in a Meaning", I thought we could look into the soul of the Mark Zuckerberg of the film, and discuss the varying opinions people seem to have on who he is and what his motivations are.

     The idea behind this irregular column, "What's in a Meaning", is whenever there is a film that seems to generate special interest in the film's meaning, or the meaning of a particular scene, or the interpretation of a character or line of dialogue, this column will be the place where I will give my opinion and where others can express their opinions. Basically, I wanted a place to get philosophical and this felt like the best way to do it, and the movie that has stimulated my thinking the most lately has been "The Social Network". In particular, I have been fascinated to hear people's different interpretations of Mark Zuckerberg and why he takes the actions that he does in the film.

     The most interesting aspect of the differing assessments of Mark Zuckerberg's character is the apparent generational split on how audiences have perceived him. The younger generation seems to feel that all his actions were justified because, "he did what he needed to do" to protect his interests (frankly, a view that scares me). Meanwhile, the older generation tends to see Zuckerberg as a sympathetically tragic figure who made poor decisions and ended up a hollow man. My own view is different than both of these interpretations.

     The Mark Zuckerbeg I saw in the film is a type of social outcast who makes a tally against someone any time he feels they "wronged" him, whether or not the perceived slight was real or imagined. The emotional drive for human beings like Zuckerberg is simply petty revenge driven by the jealousy of not being in the "in" crowd. The sole purpose in their lives is to triumph over everyone,  stand atop their mountain, and look down on everyone and say, "Look at me know. Who the f--k were you to mock me". I think a line from Sublime's "April 29, 1992" sums up Zuckerberg's feelings the best: "It's about coming up, and staying on top" (minus the "screaming 1-8-7 on a mother f-----g cop" part).

  
     I will now discuss a few scenes from the film, so if you haven't seen the film yet, this is my official SPOILER ALERT. You still there? Good. The first piece of evidence I would like to present to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury is the film's final scene, where Zuckerberg constantly refreshes his ex-girlfriend's Facebook page to see if she accepted his friend request. Some people (mostly women) feel that this shows that she was his one true love. They say she was the one person in his life who kept him honest and he knew he needed her even though he knew he could not have her. To be blunt, in my opinion, this is bull s--t (or more politely, sentimental hogwash). Mark Zuckerberg (in the film) cared for no one, absolutely no one, but Mark Zuckerbeg. The only reason he wanted his ex-girlfriend is because she was the one thing he couldn't have. She was the one person he couldn't look at with self-righteous indignation and say, "See what you missed", because he knew she didn't care about his success and still thought of him as a small and pathetic individual.

     Exhibit number two is the way he treated his best friend, Eduardo Saverin. Eduardo did nothing but help Mark when he asked for it. When Mark needed more money, Eduardo was there to give it to him. When Mark wanted to wait longer to monetize Facebook, even though it was all Eduardo's money that was invested into the project, Eduardo reluctantly agreed. And how did Zuckerberg repay Eduardo's friendship? He tricked him out of his share of the company. Why? Because Eduardo received an invitation to some elitist Harvard fraternity and Mark didn't, even though Eduardo clearly played the invitation down as soon as he saw it was bothering Mark. This is the sort of petty jealousy that drove Mark Zuckerberg. It was all about being able print a business card that says, "I'm the CEO, bitch". "The Social Network" is the real life "Revenge of the Nerds". This is what it looks like when the meek inherit the earth.

     You've probably gathered by now that I drastically disagree with the younger (my own) generation's take on Mark Zuckerberg. I also disagree with the older generation's take on Zuckerberg too, because I don't find him particularly sympathetic. To me, he was driven by hate and got exactly what he wanted, so I find no reason to sympathize with him. What do you think? I'm really interested in other people's opinions about Mark Zuckerberg, and even though I know the article is pretty passionate, I promise I will be polite and won't bite. I am genuinely interested in what you have to say on this subject, so please let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Christopher Lominac