Getting in Character: The Angry Nerd

The Social Network is probably my favourite movie of the year. However it is so hard which is better. That movie or Inception? How the movie about Facebook works is because its screenplay by Aaron Sorkin is so engaging, the direction of David Fincher is wonderful and that the performances were extraordinary especially Jesse Eisenberg who plays Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg is depicted as this white angry, self centred, deplorable, arrogant person who has a lot of money. He's the youngest billionaire in the world with a revenue of $6.9 billion. How did he does that when Facebook is free to sign up? Well it's beccause of a boost from advertising, large amounts of investments. And advertising can earn a lot.

But in Social Network, Zuckerberg is shown to be the genius here while all of his people around him does the work for him and Zuckerberg would not acknowledge the full cooperation behind Facebook especially with his best friend Eduardo Saverin who would later take him to court in order to gain his full shares since he made his own company along with former Napster CEO Sean Parker who would give Saverin no sympathy for him.

Zuckerberg before had shows no sympathy towards anyone who would not follow his ideas or orders. At the beginning of Network, Zuckerberg discusses Finals Club with his girlfriend Erica Albright and when she talks about Finals Club he makes a big deal out of it. When Erica then dump him, he wrote about how scathing his girlfriend in and then makes a website comparing women in Harvard based on their looks.

So we learn that the result of Facebook was on a girl. And the discussion of Harvard clubs are that Zuckerberg wanted or possibly desperate a spot of social acceptance. There was nothing that showed that Zuckerberg was bullied or let down at college that would make him want to massacre 30 people, but that he is a nerd. One that is put down by society because of their low social skills.

Here is a nerd that are not usually depicted like they wear dull clothes, or are totally strange and at the same time they obsessed with sex which creates really stupid levels of humour like Jim Belushi or Adam Sandler. But the nerd is depicted as a person who is still obsessed with the sciences (math, physics, computers) however they are dead serious and are so angry.

The theory of how these characters are the raging bulls, according to writer Aaron Sorkin is that they are furious if the 'pretty girl still goes out with the star athlete'. Imagine if you had liked a really pretty girl with no attention to her looks, then you would breakeven with her if she goes out with the jock and you would think the jocks are self indulgent and wouldn't treat you better.

Frankly I'm a movie expert and I would get pissed off if people told me off about my music and are horrible. Or if I focused on an actress like Scarlett Johansson rather than Megan Fox. Even i get pissed off if someone yells at me in a shopping centre. These were my experiences and I could possibly relate to Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg seems somehow to have Aspergers, where he is a genious but is not usually socialized. And when someone tells him bad that is a tiny thing, he turns it into a big deal. Well have you watched The Big Bang Theory? Remember the character Sheldon (pictured there) ? People, mostly psychiatrists believed he has Aspergers. HE can't communicate like every body else. Even his friends can't understand him. I've seen The Big Bang Theory and honestly I hated that TV show. Sheldon is shown to have no emotion, speaks for more than ten seconds and such. IF people don't follow what he wants, then he would distance himself like in many other episodes. For example if his friends won't eat Chinese on a Friday, then he will overreact. But the excuse for hating this show is because of that character which I find annoying. Also i don't get the humour of the show.

Sheldon and Zuckerberg are all prime examples of what the nerd is today. They have a huge amount of anxiety and seem to feel like a total creep. The don't understand how do people feel. Instead they would think about themselves.

So today nerds are filled with grunge-soaked angst because nobody likes them, but here's a good thing about them. They are controlling how we live. Look at Zuckerberg today, he made Facebook which is part of our everyday lives. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are making gadgets and computers that almost 96% of the world will have access to. These guys have reached where they have became influential of their works.

They are also unique like I am. Obviously it's my tastes in movies and life that makes me different. As a teenager, I talk words 16 year olds never speak like 'emphasized', I like different tastes of music like Radiohead and Arcade Fire. And yet people won't appreciate it and refuse to listen because of their prejudiced and biased impression.

But as Willy Wonka had quoted 'we are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of dreams', it's proof that whatever we are making of ourselves, we are certain to be the narcissists of our society

The Social Network Review

A (9.6)

I don't remember the time when Hollywood announced they're making a movie about Facebook but I've initially heard of it because I was googling the band Radiohead and there was a trailer where a cover version of their song Creep was used. But then as the summer had got to a departure, The Social Network then become a box office hit in the US as well as here in Australia because of a strong word-of-mouth the kind of marketing where audiences spread how good a movie is. So The Social Network was one movie I wanted to watch because I thought a movie about Facebook would be interesting.

I haven't seen this film from the opening weekend because I was studying for my final exams. But today after I've finished my exams, I've finally got a chance to see it. And when I was sitting in the cinema, there was no one there because it was a school day and i was allowed to have a rest day after the exams.

In The Social Network or as I call it ' The Facebook Movie', Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) was discussing finals clubs at Harvard to his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) at a noisy bar filled with music from The White Stripes. Minutes later it turned icy where at the end of the scene, Albright dumps him for being too arrogant and obsessed about clubs and called an asshole. Zuckerberg hits back by calling her a 'bitch' on his LiveJournal blog and then along with with his dorm mate Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) started a website rating girls at Harvard based on their hotness.

Zuckerberg gets in trouble with the admins, but then attracts the attention of the Winklevoss twins Tyler and Cameron (Armie Hammer) and their business partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella). There they offered him a job to monitor a Harvard social network called ConnectU. Zuckerberg then works on his own and created a similar website called Facebook.

Wherever he create a website he would attract any attention to businessmen associated with the net. And that was Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), former founder of the torrent site Napster. But when the Winklevoss twins found out, they would sue him in Federal Court. Even joining them was Saverin who wants to get his share of the investment where it was suggested that Zuckerberg's best friend has no role in the website.

The Social Network is almost cream of the crop. It is directed by David Fincher who made Fight Club, Seven, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button and Zodiac. Fincher's style of filmmaking would be controversial because sometimes it involves analysing the egos of the male, especially the testoterone fueled greed of Man. This was done in Fight Club where Brad Pitt's character and himself is turned into a role model for all males. In The Social Network, the ego is also explored but for a younger generation. He know how dark the movie should be and you may recognised the tone of the minimum lighting and cinematography.

The screenplay is terrific as it is written by Aaron Sorkin (he wrote A Few Good Men, Charlie Wilson's War and created the great TV show The West Wing). Sorkin's main gift in screenwriting is that he use the Walk and Talk method. The dialogue is almost at bullet-speed when it comes to how the dialogue is used. Sorkin usually adds politics in his screenplays where characters had almost come into aiming for power. Even if the film lacks quotes that would have been memorable, the dialogue has full on ambition and engaging and entertaining.

The cast is almost wonderful. Jesse Einseberg who come from any film ending with 'land' and The Squid And The Whale executes the irony of Mark Zuckerberg sublimely. His character is more narcissistic, white angry and almost self-centred that he cares for nobody. This makes Zuckerberg (probably the real person himself) more hated but then as the film progresses, Zuckerberg fills himself with regret for what he made for himself making him a tragic hero. What makes his character more engaging was the soundtrack from Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. It almost similar to the industrial music NIN had did. It is more informing of how Zuckerberg becomes almost into an annilator.

Andrew Garfield who will be the next Spiderman takes his character to a point where he has to be treated to a pulp from almost everybody including Zuckerberg as well as his Asian girlfriend. We would feel sympathy as he would lose everything to him and ends up being betrayed by Zuckerberg. Armie Hammer is almost tribulating as the Winklevoss twins. Also tribulating was Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker. He received credit for Alpha Dog, but as Parker, Timberlake is smart and funny as the character who I think looks like an asshole.

Some people who would be offended by this movie would be people who get bored by movies, the people depicted especially Mark Zuckerberg who is still alive and feminists. The misogyny in The Social Network is almost high. Girls are being treated as sex objects. Honestly, I'm not a fan of misogyny in movie but the sexism is there because Sorkin describes how men would be so angry towards women and describes how each character are infuriating if 'the cheerleader still goes out with the quarterback'.

People debated whether this movie was fact or fiction. Well unless you've read at the Facebook article in Wikipedia, you wouldn't believed it was true because most of the plot is the same as the information in the article. But Sorkin explains that he researched the lawsuits regarding Facebook and looked into the depositions of them.

But the one question everybody's asking is why see it? Well I've watched it because I thought a movie about Facebook would be interesting. And I find that Facebook belongs to a generation of gadget users and defines the generation as Facebook is used by 500 million users in their everyday lives. It shows how we are becoming narcissists and that every time we say something harsh to our friends, all of us would feel deeply hurt. The lawsuits involving the Winklevoss twins and Eduardo Savirin is also fascinating.

However one thing you should remember about The Social Network is that Zuckerberg is a character so reflective to almost everyone. Facebook users, schoolyard bullies, intellects and people who have low social skills. These people would have a great hatred towards anyone or everyone if they assume that we are not following their orders and turn their backs.

Honestly I have too much to say about this movie, but the story is amazing as half follows the structure of Greek and Shakesperean tragedy. Funny cos this reminds me of Scarface.

I have a Facebook profile for almost a year now and after watching this, I was impressed. The Social Network may join the ranks of Citizen Kane or There Will Be Blood about men ovulating on about power, but I'm not quite sure if this is a modern classic.

'Like' this cinematic genius.

The Social Network - Previews, Predictions and Points to make

As we head into Oscar Season or Awards season as a little warm ups for next year's Oscars, there are a few films in the eligibility list at the moment:

- Inception
- Toy Story 3
- Black Swan (not yet released)
- Winter's Bone (not yet released)
- The Kids Are Alright
- 127 Hours (not yet released)

and as we prepare for that, there's one movie that is in the run for the money and that is...

The Social Network





After you've watch the trailer you would see how great this movie. It shows brilliant performances Jesse Einsberg of Zombieland fame and Andrew Garfield who will be the upcoming Spiderman, bautiful cinematography and direction from David Fincher and shows several interpretations of Facebook as we users never know it 

OK. 


Have you ever been tired of hearing really bad stuff Facebook has to face involving privacy issues and identity? In Australia, a girl in my place was on the news, couple of months ago that made me sick. She finds this guy who is an animal carer and you know what she did? She followed him to the address he "supposedly' worked at and got murdered. That person was a wilderness person. It's a sad stoory that involves Facebook. 


In The Social Network, it's the story of how Facebook becomes a success story for founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Einsberg). But it was to get popular in Harvard and join the elite clubs as he was a total loser there (sorry, but that's the truth)


So when Facebook becomes a phenomenon in his college later he get involved with a lawsuit that charges him with breaching privacy and copyright infringement. BUt this ravels towards his personal life with his feud with his best friend Eduardo Sevin.


So About Facebook...


Facebook is a revolutionising social network that is used currently by more than 500 million users. But if you want to know more, here's a link of the full info about Facebook. 


To hear the first time that Hollywood is making a movie about Facebook sounds ridiculous to you. But if you understand film maturely, wisely use Facebook at your own time, then seeing this movie wouuld be a huge offer.


I first logged in to Facebook on November last year and you won't believe this but the day before I signed up, I've seen New Moon and I've realise how awful it is and wanted to write a comment about the scene where Kristen Stewart's acting went so horrible. So I just got 'sucked in' into Facebook.


The first few months on Facebook, it seems that you can message and chat your friends, share photos, posts and videos on to your profile, play games like Poker, Yahtzee and build up your virtual farm.


The real truth of Facebook and that... South Park episode


Unfortunately, there are some things I would not wanted to do on Facebook and that is to become social.


There was a line in The Breakfast Club where Bender said to Brian who tells Bender that he was part of the Physics Club where he tells him they discuss physics, do experiments and so on. And this was what Bender reacted...


"So it's social. Calm and demented, but social"


This was one of my favourite lines in the movie because not only Brian's being tormented for joining an isolated social group, but he's been praised since at least in a group and not completely a basket case. 


The fact that Facebook is a social network doesn't mean a lot of users on Facebook are social. IT's not a law or a rule from social networks to be social but many of them doesn't follow the rule.


There are two kinds of people who are not social in the network:


The first kind is the people who choose not to be social on Facebook. And I chose not to. I would either socialise outside of Facebook and can just have a chat with a person in eye contact. And users on Facebook have to go and do something like that since they can't devote their lives too much on Facebook.


The second kind is people who turned out to be losers inside and outside. They can become that if they are bullied or berated online or offline and will lead them to feel manically depressed and kill themselves.


Facebook reminds us that the Internet and many other types of technology such as MP3s and mobile phones is a waste of time and changes the way we live completely.


One person who shows this example is South Park. I've dowloaded this episode called "You Have 0 Friends" which is an obvious spoof on Facebook. Apparently this actually send the real messages of Facebook. The boys are on Facebook, they made a profile for Stan so he can socialise with them when Stan doesn't wanted to get into this new way of socialising. Meanwhile Kyle keeps losing friends when he made friends with a loser named Kip Drordy.


The whole episode wasn't that funny and yet it is really the most popular episode before the 200th and 201st episode of South Park. But the main message by that episode is that Facebook is pointless in life since Stan never wanted a Facebook profile as well as making friends on that site when you don't know anyone.

This is Kip... and he's a social outcast

I really hated that character Kip. Not hate, but I disliked him. I first take pity to him because he only made a Facebook account six months ago and made no friends but when Kyle decided to friend him he goes berzerk and hangs out with him everywhere on his laptop. The truth is Kip is a social outcast and he is a loser inside Facebook. And he doesn't do anything with his account once he has no friends. For the worst, he's one of the most disturbing character I have seen in South Park


Facebook can also be tool for attention. You put in photos and videos... for what. For comments on how good looking you are. I don't want comments on my photos or tags like "Oh he's sexy" in my photos. And I don't want a profile picture but everybody force me to because they think I might be a paedophile. But if you look at my badge you will see a picture of me I made for Scott Pilgrim which is my profile picture and I will keep that picture because I want to.


I wish I wasn't on Facebook on the first place. Even so, I've been thinking many times about deleting my account since I was meddled with by so called 'friends'


SO GOOD RIDDANCE!


Anyway back to the movie and..


The Previews


Surprisingly, The Social Network had got rave reviews. Many of them have a star rating between 3.5 to 5 stars. 


In this review by Rolling Stone, Peter Travers gave this four stars out of four and said that Facebook had changed us into narcissisists that we are becoming


A glowing review from cinemablend.com says that we relate our lives to Zuckerberg and will keep you engaged

A review from an anomynous person at the New York Film Festival said that it's razor sharp and plays a meteoric rise... for Facebook

So if these preview tells you anything that it looks awesome and is one of the best movies of the year. Go see it.

Predictions about The Social Network

The Social Network is moved to October 26th in Australia from November 26th. One thing certain and is and again from the trailer is that the performances are brilliant and beautifully directed. Might have a certain chance for Best Picture at the Oscars.

But there's a flaw in this and it is whether or not the audience would be moved by this film. Expectations was very small because people think a movie about Facebook is boring while it was on production.

Not only would they be bored by this movie, but the fact is that much of the world, almost half a billion people in this world use Facebook would be insulted by this movie as they might have use Facebook for nothing and that Mark Zuckerberg has been using our profiles for profit.

But anyway, The Social Network is one of the movies I want to watch in this season with The Town as well as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.