Lawrence Lessig, a law professor and go-to guy on Internet law issues and net neutrality, has a great review of The Social Network. Like Jeff Jarvis’ review, he is offended by the possible motives of the story tellers. He also sees this as a well-done movie; just not an accurate story, or even a good lesson.
You will see this movie, and you should. As a film, visually and rhythmically, and as a story, dramatically, the work earns its place in the history of the field.
But as a story about Facebook, it is deeply, deeply flawed. As I watched the film, and considered what it missed, it struck me that there was more than a hint of self-congratulatory contempt in the motives behind how this story was told.
Here’s another “zinger†(ie good point):
But the most frustrating bit of The Social Network is not its obliviousness to the silliness of modern American law. It is its failure to even mention the real magic behind the Facebook story. In interviews given after making the film, Sorkin boasts about his ignorance of the Internet. That ignorance shows.
That was, as I left the theater and headed home, and later read the print version of Jarvis’ review/critique and now this one, my biggest problem with the movie. The lack of what really made Facebook get started and keep going: its vision for what people sought (and I think it is more than just “who’s available to have sex with†as the movie suggests; although, “that too†also helps fuel the desire for connection.
