The Social Networkis widely appreciated for its masterful storytelling and being one of the most notable cinematic stories of the 21st century. Some might go as far as comparing the film byDavid FinchertoOrson Welles’Citizen Kane. The film delivered on its lofty expectations, as it was a convergence of two brilliant filmmakers in Fincher and screenwriterAaron Sorkin, who examined two buzzy, topical figures inMark Zuckerbergand Facebook. However, the convergence of these two artists was not the only ambitious cross-over onThe Social Network’s plate. According to Fincher, he sought to challenge himself by making his 2010 biographical drama ahybrid betweenOrson Welles' masterpieceand the high school comedies of John Hughes.The concept sounds ludicrous, but so did the prospect of making a movie about Facebook.
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How could anyone make a witty, Shakespearean, and utterly magnetic film about the creation of a social media platform like Facebook? Luckily, David Fincher, the calculating mastermindbehind thrilling and intoxicating filmslikeSeven,Fight Club, andZodiac, conceived of an unusual but wholly inspired formula to tell the true story of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), a Harvard undergrad who founded a university-based social media platform that morphed into a multi-billion-dollar corporation while igniting legal battles between rival entrepreneurs and his best friend,Eduardo Saverin(Andrew Garfield).
Thanks to a central narrative about a modern-day capitalist king who rises to power but destroys his reputation as a decent and honest man,The Social Networkdrew parallels toCitizen Kane, the Orson Welles film about an eccentric media tycoon and politician.WhenTime Outmagazine asked Fincherabout theKanecorrelation toThe Social Network, the director remarked he"wanted to make theCitizen Kaneof John Hughes movies.“Fincher, known for his wry sense of humor, drew this comparison somewhat facetiously, but this is actually an ingenious way of interpreting the film, as Fincher managed to construct sincere pathos and melodrama from the life of an immature college undergrad who unknowingly made the most influential media platform of the 21st century due to drunken jealousy. Fincherdescribed his film as a “coming-of-age movie"reflecting on the life of a 26-year-old.
‘The Social Network’s Parallels to ‘Citizen Kane’ and John Hughes
Fincher has a storied history of evaluating the text ofCitizen Kane, as his 2020 film,Mank, is a dramatization of the 1941 film’s production through the eyes ofHerman J. Mankiewicz,Kane’s screenwriter who may or may not have been the true author of the film. Fincher integrated Welles’ eye for Shakespearean tragedy and skepticism of American capitalism intoThe Social Network, whichpits Zuckerberg as a tragic figure despite his immeasurable wealth.Charles Foster Kane’s power correlated with his ego and greed, leading to the gradual dissolution of his relationships with his romantic partners and friends. All the young Kane wanted to do was play in the snow with his beloved sled,famously named “Rosebud,“but he was snatched from his idyllic childhood to become a wealthy but intensely scrutinized media magnate. Fincher’s lack of didactic direction is the key behindThe Social Network’s staying power, as you’re able to read it as the story of a budding tech entrepreneur born with a cutthroat edge to wipe out his competition, or thestory of an alienated, frustrated college studentwhose insecurity inadvertently led him to becoming a CEO with the authority to sway Presidential elections,even though all he wanted to do was write code to blow off steam.
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While theCitizen Kaneallusions are apparent, connectingThe Social Networkto the films of John Hughes, the writer-director behind the indelible high school dramediesSixteen Candles,The Breakfast Club, andFerris Bueller’s Day Off, seems like a stretch. However, the parallels are there, and the connections do not need a lot of imagination. After all, the first half of the film follows young adults on the Harvard University campus. The party atmosphere depicted at the school’s prestigious Final Clubs and the hustling nature of the charactersevokes the teen liberation of the archetypal 1980s high school comedy.Zuckerberg’santi-authoritarian streak, hacking into databases, crashing Harvard’s Internet, cheating on exams, and being purposefully tardy to IPO meetings, would make Ferris Bueller proud. While Zuckerberg is arrogant,we naturally root for him as a plucky underdog. By having the stereotypical nebbish computer wiz undermine the stereotypical jocks in the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer),The Social Networkcrafts a modern-day “revenge of the nerds” tale.
In recent years, we’ve seen countless biopics tracking the founding of an influential product or business, to the point that the genre has reached self-parody. However,The Social Networkstill soars above its imitators nearly 15 years since its release, thanks to David Fincher’s intelligent understanding of film history and genre.
The Social Network
