The Social Network

The Social Network is a 2010 biographical drama that chronicles the meteoric rise of Facebook and the fracturing of the personal relationships behind it. Directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, the film is less a "tech biopic" and more a modern Greek tragedy about class, ego, and the irony of a man building a world-spanning network while isolating himself from everyone around him.

Key Facts

  • Release year: 2010

  • Director: David Fincher

  • Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin (adapted from Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires)

  • Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer

  • Genre: Biographical Drama / Intellectual Thriller

  • Notable recognition: Won three Academy Awards (Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Film Editing).

Plot and Themes 

The film utilizes a non-linear narrative, jumping between the founding of Facebook in a Harvard dorm room and the depositions of two separate lawsuits filed against Mark Zuckerberg. It explores the social hierarchies of the Ivy League, the fragility of friendship under the weight of ambition, and the psychological drive to belong to a "club" that doesn't want you. It famously posits that the creation of the world's most successful social tool was fueled by a singular, unsuccessful social rejection.

Production and Style

The film is celebrated for its rapid-fire, rhythmic dialogue (Sorkin’s trademark) delivered with clinical, moody precision (Fincher’s trademark). The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross—minimalist and electronic—captured the cold, frantic energy of the digital age. The cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth uses a low-light, digital palette that makes dorm rooms and boardrooms feel like battlefields.

Reception and Impact 

Upon release, The Social Network was hailed as the "movie of the generation." Critics praised Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Zuckerberg as a brilliant but emotionally stunted anti-hero and Andrew Garfield’s Eduardo Saverin as the film's moral heart. It remains a definitive cultural touchstone for understanding the transition from the physical world to the digital one, illustrating how the internet didn't just change how we communicate—it changed how we relate to our own identities