Generation Why.docx

Generation Why.docx

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GenerationWhy

GenerationWhy?

ZadieSmith

November25,2010

TheSocialNetwork

afilmdirectedbyDavidFincher,withascreenplaybyAaronSorkin

YouAreNotaGadget:

AManifesto

byJaronLanier

Knopf,209pp.,$24.95 

Howlongisagenerationthesedays?

ImustbeinMarkZuckerberg’sgeneration—thereareonlynineyearsbetweenus—butsomehowitdoesn’tfeelthatway.ThisdespitethefactthatIcansay（likeeveryoneelseonHarvard’scampusinthefallof2003）that“Iwasthere”atFacebook’sinception,andrememberFacemashandthefussitcaused;alsothattiny,exquisitemoviestartrailedbyfan-boysthroughthesnowwherevershewent,andtheawfulsnowitself,turningyourtoesgray,destroyingyourspirit,bringingabloodlessendtoasquirrelonmyblock:

frozen,inanimate,perfect—liketheBlaschkaglassflowers.DoubtlessyearsfromnowIwillmisremembermyclosenesstoZuckerberg,inthesamespiritthateveryonein’60sLiverpoolmetJohnLennon.

Atthetime,though,IfeltdistantfromZuckerbergandallthekidsatHarvard.Istillfeeldistantfromthemnow,evermoreso,asIincreasinglyoptout（bychoice,bydefault）ofthethingstheyhaveembraced.Wehavedifferentideasaboutthings.Specificallywehavedifferentideasaboutwhatapersonis,orshouldbe.Ioftenworrythatmyideaofpersonhoodisnostalgic,irrational,inaccurate.PerhapsGenerationFacebookhavebuilttheirvirtualmansionsingoodfaith,inordertohousethePeople2.0theygenuinelyare,andifIfeeluncomfortablewithinthemitisbecauseIamstuckatPerson1.0.Thenagain,themoretimeIspendwiththetailendofGenerationFacebook（intheshapeofmystudents）themoreconvincedIbecomethatsomeofthesoftwarecurrentlyshapingtheirgenerationisunworthyofthem.Theyaremoreinterestingthanitis.Theydeservebetter.

InTheSocialNetworkGenerationFacebookgetsamoviealmostworthyofthem,andthisfact,beingsounexpected,makesthefilmfeelmoredelightfulthanitprobably,objectively,is.Fromtheopeningsceneit’sclearthatthisisamovieabout2.0peoplemadeby1.0people（AaronSorkinandDavidFincher,forty-nineandforty-eightrespectively）.It’satalkie,forgoodness’sake,withasmanywordsperminuteasHisGirlFriday.Aboy,Mark,andhisgirl,Erica,sitatalittletableinaHarvardbar,zingingeachother,inthatrelentlessSorkinstylemadefamousbyTheWestWing（thoughatnopointdoeseitherpartysay“Walkwithme”—forthisweshouldbegrateful）.

Butsomethingisnotrightwiththisyoungman:

hiseyecontactispatchy;hedoesn’tseemtounderstandcommonturnsofphraseorambiguitiesoflanguage;heisliteraltothepointofoffense,pedantictothepointofaggression.（“Finalclubs,”saysMark,correctingErica,astheydiscussthoseexclusiveHarvardentities,“NotFinalsclubs.”）Hedoesn’tunderstandwhat’shappeningasshetriestobreakupwithhim.（“Wait,wait,thisisreal?

”）Nordoesheunderstandwhy.Hedoesn’tgetthatwhathemayconsiderastatementoffactmightyethave,forthisotherperson,somepersonal,painfulimport:

ERICA:

Ihavetogostudy.

MARK:

Youdon’thavetostudy.

ERICA:

HowdoyouknowIdon’thavetostudy?

!

MARK:

BecauseyougotoB.U.!

Simplyput,heisacomputernerd,asocial“autistic”:

atypeasrecognizabletoFincher’saudienceasthecynicalnewshoundwastoHowardHawks’s.TocreatethisZuckerberg,Sorkinbarelyneedbrushhispenagainstthepage.Wecametothecinemaexpectingtomeetthisguyandit’sapleasuretowatchSorkincolorinwhatwehadalreadyconfidentlysketchedinourminds.Forsometimestheculturesurmisesanindividualpersonality,collectively.Orthinksitdoes.Don’tweallknowwhynerdsdowhattheydo?

Togetmoney,whichleadstopopularity,whichleadstogirls.Sorkin,confidentofhisfoundationmyth,spinsanexhilaratingtaleofdoublerejection—spurnedbyEricaandthePorcellian,theFinaliestoftheFinalClubs,Zuckerbergbeginshisspite-fueledrisetothetop.Cuealotofbetrayal.Alotofscenesoflawyers’officesandmiserable,character-damningdepositions.（“Yourbestfriendissuingyou!

”）SorkinhasswappedthemilitarytypesofAFewGoodMenforadifferentkindofall-malecommunityinadifferentuniform:

GAPhoodies,NorthFacesweats.

Atmyscreening,blocksfromNYU,theaudiencethrilledwithintimateidentification.ButifthehipstersandnerdsarehopingforFincher’susualpyrotechnicstheywillbedisappointed:

inalawyer’sofficethere’snotalotforFinchertodo.HehastocontenthimselfwithexcellentandrapidcuttingbetweenHarvardandthelatercourtcases,andafterthat,thediscreetpleasuresofanother,less-remarked-uponFincherskill:

greatcasting.It’llbealongtimebeforeacinemageekcomesalongtopushJesseEisenberg,theactorwhoplaysZuckerberg,offthetopofournerdtypologies.Thepassive-aggressive,flat-linevoice.Theshiftyboredomwhenanyone,otherthanhimself,isspeaking.Thebarelysuppressedsmirk.Eisenbergevenchoosesthecorrectnerdwalk:

notthesidewayscorridorshuffle（theDon’tHitMe!

）,butthepuffedchestverticalmarch（theI’mnot5'8”,I’m5'9”!

）.

Withrucksack,naturally.Anextendedfour-minuteshothashimdoingexactlythisallthewaythroughtheHarvardcampus,beforehelandsfinallywherehebelongs,theonlyplacehe’strulycomfortable,infrontofhislaptop,withhisblog:

EricaAlbright’sabitch.Youthinkthat’sbecauseherfamilychangedtheirnamefromAlbrechtordoyouthinkit’sbecauseallB.U.girlsarebitches?

Oh,yeah.Weknowthisguy.Overprogrammed,furious,lonely.AroundhimFincherarrangesaconvincingbunchof1.0humans,byturnsbetrayedandhumiliatedbyhim,andasthemovieprogressestheylineuptosuehim.Ifit’sathree-actmovieit’sbecauseZuckerbergscrewsovermorepeoplethanatwo-actmoviecancomfortablyhold:

theWinklevosstwinsandDivyaNavendra（fromwhomZuckerbergallegedlystoletheFacebookconcept）,andthenhisbestfriend,EduardoSaverin（theCFOheedgedoutofthecompany）,andfinallySeanParker,theboykingofNapster,themusic-sharingprogram,althoughhe,tobefair,prettymuchscrewshimself.It’sinEduardo—intheactorAndrewGarfield’sanimate,beautifulface—thatallthesebetrayalsseemtoconverge,andbecomepersonal,painful.Thearbitrationscenes—thatshouldbedull,beingsoterriblystatic—gettheirpowerfromtheeerieoppositionbetweenEisenberg’sunmovingcountenance（hiseyebrowshardlyevermove;therealZuckerberg’seyebrowsnevermove）andGarfield’simploringdisbelief,almostthewaySpencerTracygotallworkedupoppositeFredericMarch’srigidityinanothercourtroomepic,InherittheWind.

Still,Fincherallowshimselfonesequenceof（literal）showboating.Halfwaythroughthefilm,heinsertsaravishingbutquiteunnecessarysceneoftheprettyWinklevosstwins（forastoryofnerds,allthemenaresurprisinglycomely）attheHenleyRegatta.Thesetwoblondtitansrowlikechamps.（Oneactor,ArmieHammer,hasbeendigitallydoubled.I’msoutterly1.0thatIspentanhourofthemovietryingtodetectanydifferencebetweenthetwins.）Theirarmsmovesuspiciouslyfast,fasterthanrealhumanarms,theirmusclesseemoutlinedbyafinepen,thewatersplashesupinindividualdropletsasifpaintedbyCaravaggio,andthemusic!

TrentReznor,ofNineInchNails,commitsexquisitebrutalityuponEdwardGrieg’salreadyprettybrutal“IntheHalloftheMountainKing.”Allsynthsandwhitenoise.It’smusicvideostuff—theartforminwhichmynot-quitegenerationtrulyexcels—anditdemonstratestheknackforhyperrealitythatmadeFincher’sFightClubsocompellingwhilerenderingtherealworld,forsomanyofhisfans,alwayssomethingofadisappointment.Anyway,thetwinslosetheregatta,too,byanose,whichallowsFinchertojustifythescenebythematicreiteration:

sometimesverycloseissimplynotcloseenough.OrasMarkpleasantlyputsitacrossaconferencetable:

“IfyouguysweretheinventorsofFacebookyou’dhaveinventedFacebook.”

Allthat’sleftforZuckerbergistomeetthedevilatthecrossroads:

naturallyhe’sanInternetmusicentrepreneur.It’saGenerationFacebookinstincttoexpect（hope?

）thatapopstarwillfallonhisfaceinthecinema,butJustinTimberlake,asSeanParker,neatlystepsoverthatexpectation:

whetherornotyouthinkhe’sashmuck,hesureplaysagreatshmuck.Manicuredeyebrows,sweatyforehead,andthatcoked-up,wafer-thinself-confidence,alwaysthreateningtocollapseintoparanoia.Timberlakeshimmiesintoviewinthethirdacttooffertheaudience,andZuckerberg,theverysamething,essentially,thathe’sbeenofferingusforthepastdecadeinhisvideos:

avisionofthegoodlife.

Thisvisionisalsowafer-thin,andFinchersatirizesitmercilessly.Again,weknowitsbasicoutline:

avelvetrope,acocktailwaitresswhotreatsyoulikeaking,thebestofeverythingontap,aspecialboothofyourown,fussytinyexpensivefood（“Couldyoubringoutsomethings?

Thelacqueredporkwiththatgingerconfit?

Idon’tknow,tunatartar,somelobsterclaws,thefoiegrasandtheshrimpdumplings,that’llgetusstarted”）,appletinis,aVictoria’sSecretmodeldate,wildhouseparties,fancycars,slicksuits,cocaine,anda“sky’sthelimit”objective:

“Amilliondollarsisn’tcool.Youknowwhat’scool?

…Abilliondollars.”Overcocktailsinaglamorousnightclub,ParkerdazzlesZuckerbergwithtalesofthelifethatawaitshimontheothersideofabillion.FincherkeepsthethumpingEurohousemusicturneduptoexactlythelevelitwouldbeinreallife:

theactorshavetopracticallyscreamtobeheardaboveit.Likemanyanerdbeforehim,Zuckerbergistoohyped