Introduction
The Social Network is a well thought out film that is interesting to watch. Watching the film leaves one convinced that it is a masterpiece work portraying the creativity of the artists. The film is a story about the results of friends who fall victims of their inner misgivings and how the decisions they make disturb them eventually. The onset of the film is Cambridge, where Mark Zuckerberg who is a student engages in a conversation with his girlfriend that leaves him angry and disappointed as he goes back to his room.
Zuckerberg is assisted by his friend Saverin in hacking into the servers of Harvard where he gets profile pictures belonging to two ladies and gives people a chance to rate the pictures. This activity enables Zuckerberg to attract attention and he eventually steals ideas of those coming up with a Harvard based social network to develop his own (Lind, 2010).
One of the most important characters in the film is Garfield who plays the role of Saverin, the only friend Zuckerberg had while in college. While in many ways Garfield represents Christensen, he proves that he has capabilities that are far beyond those of Christensen.
The close bond existing between the two, the selfish and selfless is one thing that is evident in the play and in real life. Zuckerberg is one person whose only focus is search for greatness, a quest that in several occasions leads him into self-aggrandizement. Zuckerberg goes on to capitalize on the good character of Saverin and we anticipate an outcome that is in the affirmative but with knowledge that the end might not be good. The story is basically a tale of how friendship begins.
The Social Network and Privacy
Some technology executives continually argue that privacy in technology has died but the truth is that privacy still exists. People from all walks of life and of all ages are still sensitive with regard to privacy. They are concerned about privacy both in online and offline circumstances. However, privacy might have different definitions to different people. The basic idea behind the concept is the act of controlling the flow of information from one source to the other.
It has to do with the capacity to comprehend the social set up for appropriate code of conduct. For this to be possible, it is imperative for people to believe the interpretation they give of a context, inclusive of all those present in the place. When they seemingly think that they have been deprived of their anticipated control, they complain that privacy has been interfered with (Boyd, 2010).
The social Network which is an interesting film explains how Mark Zuckerberg and a couple of friends managed to launch face book. Watching the film for the first time, a number of people can be seen using their mobile phones to play. In the course of watching the film, the cell phones disappear and they are no longer part of the film. The most intriguing part of this movie is not the social repression of Zuckerberg or the legal cases attempting to control the use of face book.
The salient concern of the film is the rate at which Harvard students and students from other universities and the whole world become open to discuss their private lives. This gives rise to privacy issues when using face book because most of the information revealed is private. At some point in the life of the film, Edwardo has a girlfriend who becomes very nagging and uncomfortable because he is yet to update his relationship status (Smith, 2010).
Face book use is more than just the privacy issue because some users seem addicted to the site. In one episode of the film, Justin Timberlake reveals to his girlfriend that he spends more than six hours on face book which is definitely addictive. This is a big contrast because not many people would spend such long hours in an opera house. In a way, social networking has compelled many people to divulge their most secret issues in life.
Information that could previously be made known to just a few close friends is now made available on the internet. The film Social Network reveals the urge of people to share their personal information on social sites. However, it is important for all users of social media to be sensitive when sharing the information and the importance of controlling issues related to privacy of social networking (Nippert-Eng, 2010).
The Social Networks and Authenticity
The authenticity of the film The Social Network which basically talks about how Mark Zuckerberg ascended from being a student to a billionaire has its facts questionable. The film to some extent goes out of reality with its screen writer and director seemingly dramatizing serious events, instead depicting the film as being enthusiastic like the Hollywood ones. It is advisable to liven some of the scenes in the film that might seem boring but the attempts of its producers to achieve this goal causes the film to go beyond the limits of its authenticity.
It engages in a search for some of the obvious reasons that inspired Zuckerberg to come up with face book. It is accepted that the obvious reason behind the introduction of face book was to come up with one of the largest social networks. However, this film turns the brilliant efforts of Zuckerberg to an endeavor of looking for recognition by some final clubs or Sean Parker who is lauded for inventing Rock star Napster.
The film seems to be attempting with little success to assimilate real life happenings into an ancient tale. Essentially, it is not possible to be seated at the cinema holding a notepad then anticipate getting to the bottom of the reasons behind the creation of face book. From most of the information provided by Zuckerberg detailing how relationships are established and destroyed all revolving around the ever biggest social network to exist, it is possible to get wind of the basic events about face book. But most of the elements of the film drift from reality and get into the world of fiction.
The areas where the film is lacking in authenticity it compensates with style. The dialogue involving Sorkin is a brave way to bar the daring one-liners. His excellent dialogue coupled with the meticulous camera work of the film assist in framing the story to resemble fiery dramas that are witnessed in court rooms. The story of how face book came into existence is more than a fictional story. The ills that accompany social networking are not explicit and should not be expected to be noticed that easily. This is a study of characters and themes that cannot be restricted to a particular period of time. Putting aside our expectations of utmost authenticity, the story of social networks remains an interesting topic in this film.
The Social Networks and Intimacy
The concept of social networking and its strength of influence existed way before face book was introduced. Psychologists through numerous studies have argued that being involved in huge social networks is crucial in improving emotional and physical functioning. They say that many reasons can be attributed to why social networks improve health.
In this film, there is a general lack in intimacy and true friendship among the participants in the film who represent true human beings. The characters have a sense of narcissism which though entertaining, makes one think of who a true friend really is. The minds behind face book did not have many real friends and those who had friends ended up in disagreements. For example, some people experiment with face book to get the inner thoughts of a suicidal patient. In such a scenario, old friends would call and express their sorrow and generally share in the plight.
This whole idea is all problematic because out there, there are not many real friends hence sharing of crucial things on face book poses its own challenges. Face book is ideally a better avenue for law enforcement or shame as opposed to a tool for sharing. Users post on face book when what they are posting is of little importance like going to take a bath. Young children have thousands of friends on face book but ironically they have never spoken to the friends neither do they know them.
The word friend should have a more serious attachment than just clicking on the computer. This can be better explained by analyzing what a real friend can do. Friends can be with you when you are ill, they can pick you up when you are stranded somewhere and they can also lend you money when in need. A click on the computer will do none of these things that are real friend can do. The term friend should have a sacred meaning attached to its use. Friendship should symbolize the need for being together and the real nature of human beings (Nassbaum, 2007)
Additionally, the mind of a human being is naturally driven towards connection and that the bond that is developed has a certain degree of privacy. Face book negates this truth yet its users are fascinated about what their friends are involved in doing. It becomes an issue of concern when close friends are not on face book because it is assumed that it is not possible to have knowledge of what they are involved in.
Reference List
Boyd, D. (2010). Making Sense of Privacy and Publicity. Web.
Lind, D. (2010). Mark Zuckerberg’s Silver-Spoon Vanguardism. Web.
Nassbaum, E. (2007). Kids, the Internet and End of Privacy. Weekend australian Magazine , p. 5.
Nippert-Eng. (2010). Islands of Privacy. London : University of Chicago Press.
Smith, Z. (2010). Generation Why?. Web.