10 Takeaways from The Social Network

I just came back from The Grove in LA, where I caught a mid-day matinee of The Social Network. Maybe you’ve heard of it? My recommendation, go see it. At the very least, it will remind kids and parents of the importance of getting into a good college (half kidding). Anyway, a few thoughts while still basking in the glow of the big screen.

(*And don’t worry, no spoilers)

  1. My college sucked. Not to take anything away from city college (Los Angeles Trade Technical College, thank you) days. I had great classmates, we laughed and learned, and it set me on my way to a career as a magazine publisher. But really, stacked against Zuckerberg’s Harvard life of academic excellence, centuries of prestige, unlimited opportunities, access to money—there’s no comparison.
  2. 500 million friends Money will make you a few enemies. There’s no way the conventional wisdom on Zuckerberg—and what this film portrays him as—is entirely accurate. In fact, I’d wager that a majority of the vilifying of him is unfounded.
  3. That said, you don’t launch a globally relevant and paradigm-shifting product like Facebook without being a bit of an asshole sometimes. Especially not barely into your 20s, and a sophomore in college. Stack up all the alleged dick moves Zuckerberg made, and one $100M stock gift to Newark public schools wipes that slate clean to me. And since when has society reward you with riches just for being nice? We reward greatness, period, both intellectually and physically. Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule (Warren Buffet seems like a nice guy. The Google dudes too), but even the seemingly classy greats probably have some dirt we don’t know about. We put way too much priority on human perfection, IMO. Plus, it’s only a movie.
  4. Another milestone for Asian American actresses. Cough.
  5. Sorkin. Wow.
  6. Jesse Eisenberg. Nailed it. At least he nailed the Zuckerberg we’ve come to “know” (see No. 2).
  7. The rowing scene shot with a tilt/shift camera: Gorgeous.
  8. It didn’t take TSN to prove this to me, but I so wish I’d paid attention back when some friends were fucking around with their Commodore 64s or learning BASIC. Can’t say I was exactly a late adopter having jumped into digital desktop publishing in 1989, but I was still on a rotary phone compared to the computer class kids. The geeks have truly inherited (much of) the earth. And rightfully so.
  9. Best line in the film was when Zuckerberg told the brothers Winklevoss (or “Winklevi,” lol), “If you were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.” Now, I didn’t read The Accidental Billionaires, so who knows if that was ever said (ask here), but entrepreneurs and inventors the world over were heard clapping.
  10. There was another great line, but I can’t remember it. I may have to see it again.