10 Years Later: A Retrospective on 'The Social Network'

I'm still waiting for some of you to answer my friend request...

When I did my article on the script for The Social Network, I had the pleasure of focusing on how the words of Aaron Sorkin built one of the greatest movies of this century. But it's been a decade since the movie came out, and there are obviously so many more things to take into account. 

David Fincher's directing, Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall's editing, and the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, are among the top things to talk about. There's also the film's legacy and how we view Mark Zuckerberg today versus back then. 

This video from The Royal Ocean Film Society takes us through the last decade of the film's existence and explores how our views might've changed if it was made today.

10 Years Later: A Retrospective on The Social Network

When looking at The Social Network today, I keep thinking of everything we've learned about Facebook in recent years. We saw Zuckerberg testify before Congress, fake news and advertisements on our timelines, and its influence in echo chambers and the election cycle, something even within the original cynicism of the movie no one could have predicted.

One thing the movie got right about the future is that Facebook became the ultimate way we judge people. We see their stances, their feeds, what they post, what they have, what they show off, and what they value in their lives. 

Still, the movie is not really about tech. It's about the people. 

The hubris people bring to their inventions. The movie has been called Citizen Kane for the Digital Age, but in Sorkin's Academy award acceptance speech, he likened it to Network. And that's probably true. It was a predictive movie. Like Network saw TV news becoming sensationalist, The Social Network sort of predicted The Social Dilemma. 

How do we view these connections with people? How are we using advancements to become better than the people before us? 

Or are we doing that at all? 

Although, the movie is still built around the Erica Albright character being his Rosebud. The idea that real human connection is what people are searching for online when they find much more shallow things instead. 

While we toss around the word "masterpiece" in Hollywood, I think the definition should be in how a movie echoes throughout the decades. One that is both prophetic and profound. Well, we got that with The Social Network—a movie that only carries us deeper as we move forward. 

Are you a fan of The Social Network? 

Let us know in the comments. 

What's Next? Learn from Almost Famous 

Cameron Crowe is one of the best writer-directors of our time, but it's hard to imagine the hot streak he was on at the turn of the century, with Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, and Vanilla Sky. Out of that trio, Almost Famous is the one I go back to the most. Keep reading.