How Does The Social Networks True Story Reflect the Real Zuckerberg Tale?

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The Big Picture

  • The Social Network 's relevance has grown over time, exploring the effects of technology on empathy.
  • The film dramatizes Zuckerberg and Saverin's dispute, mischaracterizing some key aspects of history.
  • Although some details are embellished, the film accurately portrays key moments and legal battles of Facebook's founding.

Although it was acclaimed at the time of its initial release in 2010, David Fincher’s biopic The Social Network has grown in prominence and is now often regarded as one of the greatest films of the 21st century. While the notion of a film about Facebook seemed preposterous at the time of the project’s inception, Aaron Sorkin’s Academy Award-winning screenplay charted the strange and haunting effects that technology has on people’s ability to empathize. Given recent events that involve many of the film’s subjects, The Social Network is perhaps more relevant now than ever before. Although the film’s insights on the ramifications of Facebook remain vital, The Social Network embellished some aspects of history for dramatic intent.

The Social Network
PG-13BiographyDrama

As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.

Release Date October 1, 2010 Director David Fincher Cast Jesse Eisenberg , Rooney Mara , Bryan Barter , Dustin Fitzsimons , Armie Hammer , Joseph Mazzello Runtime 120 minutes Main Genre Biography

‘The Social Network’ Shows the Origin of Facebook

The Social Network is based on the nonfiction novel The Accidental Billionaire by Ben Mezerich, a prolific author whose books have also served as the inspiration for the films 21 and Dumb Money. The film charts how Harvard University law student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) created the world’s largest and most interactive online social networking platformwhile he was in college. Zuckerberg downloaded photos of various female students from his university’s house face books to create a site called “Facesmash,” which landed him six months of academic probation. The “Facesmash” scandal served as the inspiration for Facebook, as Zuckerberg theorized that the format could serve an audience wider than his Harvard classmates.

While the film explores how Zuckerberg expanded the scope of his small site alongside his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), Zuckerberg has stated that the film misconstrues his motivations. The film suggests that Zuckerberg created the site to rank his female classmates by attractiveness, which is partially stirred by his recent breakup with his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). However, Erica is a fictional character created for the film, and Zuckerberg claimed that he initially formed the site out of boredom, and not to “get girls.” While he criticized the film’s dramatization of his actual personality, Zuckerberg noted that the film nailed his wardrobe, revealing that “every single shirt and fleece they had in that movie is actually a shirt or fleece that I own."

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The Social Network mischaracterizes the roles of Facebook’s founding members, not all of whom are as significant as they're portrayed in the film. While Dustin Moskovitz (Joseph Mazello) is seen as a comically aloof friend of Zuckerberg’s who inadvertently becomes involved in Facebook’s inception, the real Moskovitz was an experienced coder who served as the company's first chief technology officer and then vice president of engineering. The film’s assertion that Saverin was Zuckerberg’s only close friend is also inaccurate, as he was also well-acquainted with Adam D’Angelo. Despite serving as Facebook’s second chief technology officer from 2006 to 2008, D’Angelo does not appear in the film. While depicting Zuckerberg as a lonely, embittered social outcast may have helped Sorkin make his satirical point, it does suggest more malicious intentions on Zuckerberg’s behalf than he actually had.

‘The Social Network’ Dramatizes Zuckerberg’s Dispute With Saverin

A majority of the drama in The Social Network involves former best friends turning against each other, but Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin weren’t as friendly in reality. The film aims to evoke sympathy for Saverin when Zuckerberg begins to make deals with Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) without checking, even though Saverin was the one who initially provided funding for the site. Their relationship reaches its climax when Saverin discovers that Zuckerberg has changed the investment deal and reduced his shares in the company, essentially cutting him out of the website that he helped form. While Garfield’s emotional performance is heartbreaking, an investigation revealed that it was Saverin’s financial liability that inspired Zuckerberg to rework Facebook’s infrastructure. Although the film suggests that it was Zuckerberg’s partying and outside ambitions that deterred his relationship with Saverin, their roles were the opposite in real life.

Despite the suggestion that he “betrayed” his best friend due to his infatuation with Facebook’s potential, many of Zuckerberg’s most eccentric moments are accurately depicted in the film. Zuckerberg did drop out of Harvard University at the end of his sophomore year to focus his efforts on developing Facebook, although the school did bestow him with an honorary degree in 2017 after Facebook had grown to be one of the world’s most frequently trafficked websites. Memorable moments such as Zuckerberg’s snarky business cards and wearing pajamas to an investor meeting are also lifted from Mezerich’s account.

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While Timberlake gives an exceptional performance in the film, the real Parker didn't have a dramatic falling out with Zuckerberg. As the film depicts, Parker discovered the Facebook phenomenon after meeting a romantic partner who left the homepage open on her laptop. Parker, then unemployed, pitched Facebook as a potentially “billion dollar” company to Zuckerberg, and later moved to Palo Alto to join the advisory board. While the film suggests that Parker left the company due to an incident in Palo Alto involving drug possession in 2004, he wasn't actually arrested until 2005 outside of California. While he did end up leaving Facebook due to concerns from advisors, Parker stated that he remains friendly with both Zuckerberg and Saverin.

During his dispute with Saverin, Zuckerberg is involved in a separate court case with Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (played by Armie Hammer in a dual performance), who had initially hired Zuckerberg to help design their website ConnectU. The film depicts how the Winklevoss twins sued Zuckerberg for stealing their idea and misleading them, and received $20 million in cash and $45 million in stock as part of a settlement deal. While the film suggests that the brothers’ ambitions concluded after the court case, the Winklevoss twins launched the venture capital Winklevoss Capital Management in Silicon Valley after The Social Network's release. With their new focus on gaming, education, startups, and cryptocurrency, the Winklevosses are ranked among the world’s wealthiest investors.

The Social Network is available to watch on Max in the U.S.

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