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Frago, M. (2017). Reconfigurations of the classical hero in the digital age: Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network and Steve Jobs. Fotocinema, (14), 159.
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FOTOCINEMA, nº 14 (2017), E-ISSN: 2172-0150 159
REVISTA CIENTÍFICA DE CINE Y FOTOGRAFÍA
E-ISSN 2172-0150 Nº 14 (2017)
Recibido 10-11-2016 / Aceptado 27-12-2016
Publicado 30/01/2017
Preprint 22/02/2014 Publicado 22/01/2014
RECONFIGURACIONES DEL HÉROE CLÁSICO EN LA ERA
DIGITAL: LA RED SOCIAL Y STEVE JOBS DE AARON SORKIN
RECONFIGURATIONS OF THE CLASSICAL HERO IN THE DIGITAL
AGE: AARON SORKIN’S THE SOCIAL NETWORK AND STEVE JOBS
Marta Frago
University of Navarra, Spain
mfrago@unav.es
Resumen:
Las películas The Social Network
(David Fincher, 2010) y Steve Jobs
(Danny Boyle, 2015) son biografías de
dos figuras relevantes de la revolución
digital: el joven multimillonario Mark
Zuckerberg, cofundador y CEO de
Facebook, y el famoso cofundador y
presidente ejecutivo de Apple Inc.
Escritas por el reconocido guionista
Aaron Sorkin, estas dos películas tienen
en común que presentan diferentes
estratos o capas de significado,
permitiendo ir más allá de la vida de sus
protagonistas en la interpretación.
Sorkin, en ambas historias, ahonda en
los rasgos psicológicos del genio. Por
otro lado, y en ambos casos, crea un
personaje dramático universal, al que
cabe identificar con arquetipos y figuras
reconocibles en la narrativa occidental,
como el héroe trágico y el narciso. Pero
además, trabaja a estos personajes
como iconos de nuestro tiempo y a
través de ellos da pie a una reflexión
sobre el tiempo presente y el impacto
que supone la revolución digital en las
últimas décadas.
Abstract:
The movies The Social Network (David
Fincher, 2010) and Steve Jobs (Danny
Boyle, 2015) are biographies of two
outstanding figures in the digital
revolution: the young multimillionaire
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-founder
and CEO, and the famous co-founder
and executive chairman of Apple, Steve
Jobs. Written by the renowned
screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, what these
two movies have in common is that they
present different orders or layers of
meaning, allowing us to see beyond the
life of the protagonists in the
interpretation. Sorkin, in both stories,
delves deeply into the psychological
characteristics of the geniuses. In
addition, in both cases, he creates a
dramatic character, which can be
identified with archetypes and familiar
figures from western narrative, the
tragic hero and the narcissist. But
additionally, he shows these characters
as icons of our times and through them
presents a reflection on nowadays and
the impact the digital revolution has
had in the last few decades.
Palabras clave: biografías fílmicas; Biopic; Aaron Sorkin; La red social; Steve Jobs;
David Fincher; Danny Boyle.
Keywords: Biographical Films; Biopic; Aaron Sorkin; The Social Network; Steve
Jobs; David Fincher; Danny Boyle.
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FOTOCINEMA, nº 14 (2017), E-ISSN: 2172-0150 160
1. Adapting real lives
Like any other serious film biographies, The Social Network (David Fincher,
2010) and Steve Jobs (Danny Boyle, 2015) are based on the documented lives
of their protagonists, so they have a significant referential level, and deal with
such “real-life” material. Although a biopic does not reproduce a person’s life
literally, it uses sketches from his/her real life, such as some events, actions
and relationships (Rosenstone 2006, pp. 109-110). Nevertheless, this genre
presents a process of dramatization which implies interpretation, design and
focus. As Heilbrun states referring to literary biographies: Who can write a
biography without inventing a life? A biographer, like a writer of fiction,
imposes a pattern upon events, invents a protagonist, and discovers the
pattern of her or his life (1993, p. 297).
In other words, a biographer is not a historian who deals with facts and
documents as evidence. A biographer, instead, interprets the facts creatively
both in literature and in cinema:
Biographer and filmmaker both appropriate some of the trace details left by a
life and weave them into a story whose theme infuses meaning into the days of
their subject. The resulting work is ultimately based less on the raw data than
on that data incorporated into a vision created by the literary (or filmic) skills
of the biographer (Rosenstone, 2007, p.14).
Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter for both movies, implies this when, in several
interviews, he says that his main idea on writing the screenplays was to tell a
story, over and above giving shape to the rich documentation to which he had
access (Harris, 2010; Connelly, 2015). He used multiple sources on both
occasions. Both in the case of the The Social Network and that of Steve Jobs,
Sorkin built on literary biographies which had either been published or were
in press. For example, in 2008, when he signed the contract with Sony as the
screenwriter for The Social Network, he used The Accidental Billionaires, the
story of Mark Zuckerberg and the birth of Facebook which was being written
at the time by Bez Mezrich. And in 2012, the extensive biography of Steve
Jobs written by Walter Isaacson was a solid documentary foundation for the
screenplay on the Apple founder. This material was valuable to Sorkin for
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two reasons: firstly, he was ensured of acting within the law because of
having properly acquired the copyrights. Secondly, because the literary
biographies already contained a great deal of verified information that would
serve as a fair starting point. But to these biographical literary sources Sorkin
added his own research by carrying out new interviews with people who were
close to Zuckerberg and Jobs, and also used news items, blogs, diverse
articles or interviews from the media, together with other public documents
such as lawsuits and hearings. Through all of these channels of information,
Sorkin finds that the base for dramatic conflict comes, in both cases, from
problematic relationships, so he decides to build the dramatic premise
around them. In fact, the screenwriter uses the intimate knowledge of
parental relationships, of friends and colleagues which he gained from
personal interviews, to structure each script. Of all these channels of
information, the key to finding the idea and dramatic premise on which
Sorkin structured and wrote each script was the intimate knowledge of
parental relationships, of friends and colleagues which he gained from
personal interviews. This brings us to the conclusion that these movies were
not adaptations of earlier bibliographical texts (Mezrich’s The Accidental
Billionaires or Isaacson’s Steve Jobs) but rather a marriage of different
sources which might also be called an adaptation, but is not exclusively
literary (Deutelbaum, 2016, pp.29-44). While Sorkin’s initial work for these
movies may have had a certain similarity with the work of a documentalist or
a literary biographer who collects earlier material, as soon as he had the idea
of how to articulate the scripts and began to structure them, his work became
that of a storyteller, of a poet (from poiesis: the Greek to make), and was no
longer that of a documentalist, as defined by authors from antiquity:
The true difference (between the historian and the poet) is that one relates
what has happened, the other what may happen. Poetry, therefore, is a more
philosophical and a higher thing than history: for poetry tends to express the
universal, history the particular. (Aristotle, 1451b 1-7).
In the end, and as works of fiction, The Social Network and Steve Jobs adopt
a dramatic form based on real material, thus permitting them to be “larger-
than-life” biographies, which not only allude to the lives of their subjects but
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to further meanings. Thus, referring to the movie Steve Jobs, the reviewer A.
O. Scott concludes: “Cinematic biographies of the famous are not
documentaries. They are allegories: narrative vessels into which meanings
and morals are packed like raisins in an oatmeal cookie” (2015). And Scott
Foundas, the critic from Film Comment, states that The Social Network “is
devoted to larger patterns of meaning” (2010, p.40).
It is widely accepted that all narrative fiction is to a certain extent symbolic.
For Northrop Frye, in literary works we can establish up to “four levels of
meaning: the literal, the allegorical, tropological or moral, and the anagogic”
(1950, p. 246). From a different perspective and with another reach, David
Bordwell makes the case that in cinematographic texts also there are levels of
meaning. (1989, pp. 1-13). And, from the area of hermeneutic
phenomenology, Paul Ricoeur states that there is a possible symbolic
interpretation by the reader/viewer of a story, precisely because there are
metaphorical levels which allow it. In this way one can go from the most
literal to the most symbolic level, in an exercise which in practice becomes
one single interpretative movement. (1975, pp. 7-12).
As the dramatic fictions that they are, we defend the thesis that the two
biopics written by Sorkin have different levels of meaning, which go beyond
the referential or literal level (representation of real specific people), and for
this reason they may be interpreted symbolically. In addition, the way in
which Sorkin organizes data and tells these stories is, to our mind, what
makes them most alike and converts them into “larger-than-life” biopics.
2. Paradox as premise
The premise or central idea in which each of these stories has its roots is the
first element which must be inspected. Aaron Sorkin, in both biopics, begins
with the premise in the form of paradox. That is, with a contradictory
approach whose starting point is a conflict which results in a contradictory
resolution (Sánchez-Escalonilla, 2014, p. 123).
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In The Social Network the paradox of the story can be seen in both the poster
and the trailer for the movie: “You don’t get 500 million friends without
making a few enemies”. In the film, Mark Zuckerberg makes his business
grow at the same time as he weakens and exploits his friendship with
Eduardo Saverin (“Wardo”), without whom he could not have created
Facebook, going so far as to betray him. In an interview after the premiere of
the movie, Sorkin commented that the real contrast in The Social Network
lies in “the fact that someone with enormous and almost inchoate social
awkwardness creates a vision for this network of social interaction, a public
commons, essentially, in which people never have to be in the same room to
communicate” (Sorkin, 2010a, p. 2). There is then, a contradiction between
the action which has given the protagonist celebrity (in this case, the creation
of Facebook to make virtual friends and to be socially accepted) and has
brought about his misfortune (he has very few social skills and scarcely any
friends). Exploring the character’s backstory, Sorkin finds an inner
motivation that is deeper and more radical than the simple practicality of
creating a new social network: Zuckerberg’s need to be socially accepted. This
motivation impregnates the dramatic writing of the movie.
Likewise, fame and character are in opposition in the biopic on Steve Jobs.
While Jobs is well known and admired for his work in Apple (so much so that
he is known as the father of the brand), in the movie his parent-child
relations are shown to be very flawed. The character does not accept the fact
of being rejected by his biological parents, and, on the other hand, nor does
he accept his obligations as the father of his daughter Lisa. Herein lies the
contradiction: the father of technology who cannot manage actual parenting.
Sorkin exploits the character’s ultimate motivation as a motor for the rest of
the story. To the scriptwriter, Job’s character felt deep down to be flawed and
unworthy of being liked or loved which is why he sought to put into his
products more than mere utility or commercial success. The perfection of
these products –continues Sorkin– would provoke an attraction and
devotion of the users towards them from which Jobs would then obtain
certain comfort and fulfillment (Bunbury, 2016).
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Thus, both films show the concept of an ironic inconsistency between the
success of these geniuses in their work and vision, and the limitations and
deficiencies they show in their characters and their interpersonal
relationships.
In fact, the paradoxes that Sorkin sets out in these biopics connect with the
long literary tradition referring to tragedy, which –in Sorkin’s own words–
refers back to Aeschylus and reaches Paddy Chayefski, with Shakespeare in
between (Verini, 2010, p. 54). In fact, tragedy, from ancient times, has
presented paradoxical characters, with strengths and grandeurs which
ironically bring about their very ruin. As Moss points out, these tragic
characters,
Instigate their own disgrace, shame, and guilt, an unexpected diminishment.
They are victimized by a magnificent obsession, a fantasy of unalloyed
authority and excellence, a dream of perfect self-sufficiency or trust. Yet they
cannot always distinguish between virtue and vice so they become fixed in
incongruity, suspended between glory and humiliation or innocence and
brutality. (2012, p. xii).
Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, in the hands of Sorkin, connect with tragic
characters of myths and classical works since in both films they are heroes
whose fame hides a disgrace. The premises of each film already contain this
aspect. Henceforth, we will broaden on the aspects of how the scriptwriter
expands this premise to the full script. He does so leading the characters
towards the traits of the classical tragic hero as well as to those of Narciso’s
arquetype; yet he also adds other psychological traits that are more
contemporary. Through this process, as we will see, the real Zuckerberg and
Jobs are, in good measure, replaced by archetypical characters with wider
and more universal dimensions.
3. Fame, people and archetypal characters
Both The Social Network and Steve Jobs handle the fame of its protagonists
like a mask which hides the individual; thus these movies create an illusion of
unmasking, of showing what lies “behind” the popularity and recognition of
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the celebrity. It is no accident that the two films barely show well-known
public spaces, which is where the popular imagination places Mark
Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs. In The Social Network, the Facebook offices in
Palo Alto have very little footage time, and, in Steve Jobs, the stages of the
Flint Center of the Performing Arts, the War Memorial Opera House and the
Davies Symphony Hall, where the Apple Macintosh, the Next and the iMac
were respectively presented, are a mere excuse to tell another story. On the
contrary, backstage is the real setting in these movies. In Steve Jobs this is
literal, as the action occurs behind each stage, behind the scenes, always just
moments before each presentation. On the other hand, in The Social
Network the backstage is private places: rooms in the student housing in
Harvard, lecture rooms and facilities exclusive to students; the deposition
room where Zuckerberg’s claimants give their testimony, etc. In the two
movies, these spaces or stages that are hidden from the general public are
where Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs’s characters are revealed, creating a clear
contrast between the dark side of their behavior and the social recognition
they receive for their work.
It must be said that traditionally the film biography genre has connected
inherently with narratives and images of fame (Minier and Pennacchia, 2014,
p.22). As Custen points out, many biopics respond to the question: What lies
behind fame?
Part of any mythology of fame consists of the biographee coping with the
misfortune that can level any elevation. Is the hero the agent of his or her own
suffering, or merely the recipient of blows from Olympus? The way fame is
linked to misfortune and, in turn, happiness, is one of the most powerful
instructive lessons biopics display (1992, p.75).
However, these two biopics written by Sorkin do not follow the most trodden
path to which Custen refers: that of so many movies that show that famous
characters always pay a price for fame, even if they deserve it (family
opposition or family complications, loss of friends, the hard climb to the top,
the envy of others with the imbroglios and intrigue that occur, amongst
others). Nor are the biographees in these movies presented as antiheroes
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discrediting the fame they have obtained, making it seem “false” or
“undeserved”. The singularity of these biographies by Sorkin lies in the fact
that they follow a middle path between these two positions. In both cases
their fame is valid, but is based on a specific point: the creative and
technological revolution which they have brought about. In contrast, their
portrayals as men and citizens are difficult, complex and irregular We do not
find the usual recourse to “normalizing genius”, nor are we shown someone
who, in spite of their fame, is ordinary and just like everyone else, and has to
face up to different problems. Sorkin goes further by linking Zuckerberg and
Jobs with tragic archetypal characters, referring more to universal patterns
than to the unique people they represent. Thus, the viewer subconsciously
connects them with larger-than-life references and makes inter-textual
readings which bring them closer to other works of western narrative in
which the characters –within their plots– may be understood, pitied, and
finally recognized or identified. If the tragic hero and the archetypal
narcissist can be seen in these two characters it is because Sorkin has
extracted them, to a certain extent, from the pantheon of mythology.
This is important because the connection between the real person and the
character is mediated by a third factor: the classic tragic archetype; thus the
reference to the real person is never direct. Consequently, we defend the
hypothesis that, in spite of the problematical and negative behavior of
Zuckerberg or Jobs in these films, they do not make a judgment on the real
person but rather a poetic judgment of the archetypal character. This poetic
judgment, in as far as it leads to compassion and comprehension, lessens the
negative effect and does not go so far as to destroy their good reputation.
3.1. The Social Network
Let us begin with the case of Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. The
analysis of the character is inseparable from Sorkin’s narrative strategy.
Zuckerberg’s biographical profile derives from the depositions taken from the
plaintiffs who sued him for stealing their idea for Facebook (the Winklevoss
brothers and Divya Narendra), and from Eduardo Saverin, a friend of his and
co-founder of the original Thefacebook, who also sued Zuckerberg as his
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ownership share in the company was drastically diluted from 34% to 0.03%.
The plaintiffs’ depositions, the attorneys’ questions and Zuckerberg’s answers
are the core pieces to work out the jigsaw puzzle of the image of the Facebook
CEO in the movie: that of a complex and contradictory personality where it is
difficult to distinguish the limits between intelligence, vice and misfortune.
Because of the use of multiple perspectives, with narrators who tell their
version from different subjective standpoints, the movie has been compared
to the story of Rashomon by Kurosawa, or, more frequently, to Citizen Kane
by Orson Welles. The portrayal of Zuckerberg, far from seeming
photographic or objective, adopts an impressionist look, on which the
filmmakers do not have the last word on what “really happened”.
This said, the reconstruction of the facts depicts the Facebook creator as an
antihero. During the brilliant opening scene of the movie, in which Mark
argues and breaks up with his girlfriend Erica (a fictional character invented
for the movie portrayed by Mara Rooney), she berates him:
But you’re going to go through life thinking that girls don’t like you because
you’re a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that
won’t be true. It’ll be because you’re an asshole. (Sorkin, 2010a, p. 9).
Erica reacts this way because, in their nonsensical discussion, Mark shows
brightness but also self-absorption and great petulance up to the point of
reproaching her for her intelligence and education. In the movie, Mark’s first
reaction when his girlfriend breaks off their relationship, is to publish
personal aspects of his intimate life with Erica on his personal blog, where he
insults her in a jumble of revenge and resentment. Then, continuing with his
obsession to become a member of an elite Harvard club and to prove to Erica
that he is capable of socializing with more people than just with her, he sets
up “Facemash”. He does so after hacking the Harvard College directories,
using the algorithm that his friend Wardo lends him. That night “Facemash”
turns out to be a small stroke of genius, a diversion which allows the students
to reject, vote for and choose “the hottest girl” on campus. It is sent and re-
sent with a viral effect which reaches 22,000 visits, making the network
crash, which results in Zuckerberg being put on probation for six months by
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the university. This is the starting point, on page 25 of the screenplay: we are
introduced to a complex personality, someone who is exceptionally gifted and
resentful who does not curb his decision to “be someone special”, capable of
creating his own “private club” and become now none other than the
president (Verini, 2010, p. 55). The price to pay for this decision is shown
scene after scene, particularly after the launch of Facebook: a friendship in
decline which finally breaks up as a result of his betrayal; colleagues who
become angry and sue; people who use him as the business grows and
expands. The approach to Zuckerberg throughout the film is somewhat
pathetic: Behind Sorkin’s ingenious dialogue, the shadow of tragedy looms.
The success of the protagonist, after the Facebook platform goes live, little by
little becomes the screen that hides his misfortune. At the end of the story, as
Sorkin says, the protagonist has become an archetype: Zuckerberg “an anti-
hero for the first hour and 55 minutes of the movie and a tragic hero for the
last five.” (Harris, 2010).
Indeed, in the final scenes of the film, when Wardo is describing the moment
in which he was “removed” from the company for the attorneys, he looks
Mark in the eye and says: “I was your only friend. You had one friend”
(Sorkin, 2010, p. 145). It is a short cathartic moment, as Mark remains silent.
After this, the central character is left on his own in the room after the
witnesses’ depositions are finished. Marilyn, a law intern, comments as she
leaves: “You’re not an asshole, Mark. You’re just trying so hard to be.”
(Sorkin, 2010, p. 162) Marks reaction goes directly to the idea of the tragic
hero:
MARK sits down at the computer. He logs on to Facebook.
He types a name in the search box: “Erica Albright”.
Erica’s name and picture come up, along with Boston University, ‘07. Mark
smiles. She’s on Facebook.
He moves the mouse back and forth between two boxes: “Send a Message” and
“Add as a Friend”.
He clicks on “Add as a Friend”.
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A box comes up that reads: “Your request to add Erica Albright as a friend has
been sent”.
Then MARK clicks to his homepage and waits for the response. And waits…
then hits “Refresh”. (Sorkin, 2010, p. 162).
This final image of the movie shows us someone who has brought about his
own misfortune, a Zuckerberg in whom nostalgia to return to the beginning
of the story merges with the fact that there is no going back. So, the
Zuckerberg character goes beyond the person and embodies one of so many
tragic heroes in western literature who, led by excess, by the Greek “hubris”,
find their retribution (Rodríguez Adrados, 1962, pp. 11-35). Erica explains
the meaning of this excess when telling Zuckerberg off: “You write your snide
bullshit from a dark room because that’s what the angry do nowadays.”
(Sorkin, 2010, p. 78) In this final image, the character is no longer an
arrogant individual, but rather someone who is enslaved by his own
arrogance. In this way the screenplay itself makes an evaluation of the
character and, to a certain extent, redeems him.
3.2. Steve Jobs
In the biopic Steve Jobs, Sorkin also establishes some archetypal
relationships that allow for separation of the portrayal of the person from the
fictional character. And again we find that the structure of the screenplay
helps to establish the new interpretative level we are refferring to. In the
movie, Sorkin’s narrative strategy, very unconventionally for a biopic,
condenses the dramatic material into three major scenes, three major acts
around the three aforementioned presentations of Apple products. During
the 40 minutes preceding each event, we see important relationship conflicts
between Jobs and his daughter Lisa; Jobs and Wozniak (“Woz”, the co-
founder of Apple whom Jobs befriended in high school); Jobs and the Apple
CEO, John Sculley (who fired him from the company); Jobs and Andy (an
early Apple engineer who stayed friends with Jobs). Throughout these
relationships, the arrogance and egomania of the character stand out. The
effect is very theatrical and a sort of artifice, so the whole structure bridges
the true facts and the fiction. As Sorkin explains in an interview:
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Obviously Steve didn’t have confrontations with the same four people forty
five minutes before every product launch, that’s a writer’s conceit. I think the
movie announces itself pretty quickly as being impressionistic in that way. The
content of the confrontations is real, they are not fictional. (Connelly, 2015).
Within this dramatic structure Sorkin presents a new tragic hero in whom
genius and misfortune go hand in hand. In the character there are direct
references to Julius Caesar’s ambition and paranoia: “I’m like Julius Caesar,”
the Jobs character insists to Sculley. “I’m surrounded by enemies.” (Sorkin
2015, p. 23) Like Zuckerberg in The Social Network, the Steve Jobs character
goes from being an antihero to a tragic hero. The relationships and conflicts
between Jobs and the characters who repeatedly visit him before each
presentation drift towards catastrophe and show him to be an antihero. But
there is an exception in the conflict with his daughter Lisa. During the biopic,
this relationship develops upwardly, thus saving the character in the viewer’s
eyes because it gives him the opportunity to confess his troubles and to
redeem himself in a way. The Steve Jobs biopic begins with Jobs’ adamant
rejection of his paternity, which hurts five-year-old Lisa (first act). This is
followed in the second act by an ambivalent relationship with her, which
mixes the admiration and pride of a father who notices her intelligence and
sensitivity with the harshness and detachment he shows towards her. In the
final act, the apparently broken relationship between father and daughter
shifts at the last moment to a point of synthesis and climax. It occurs at the
end, when Lisa decides to leave the theatre after arguing with her father. Jobs
follows her outside and asks her not to go. Lisa berates him and demands an
answer to a question he had never answered: Why had he never admitted
that the name of one of his creations, the LISA computer, was a reference to
her? A stark “I don’t know,” from Jobs, followed by a silence and another
stark sentence, “I’m poorly made,” (Sorkin, 2015, p. 182) make an evident
link to the tragic hero we have referred to. For Sorkin, this comment by Jobs
is, “the most important line (…) But that still has a flourish of poetry to it. “I
honestly don’t know” is just stripped bare of any poetry, any pizzazz. It’s just
a bare confession” (Wallace-Wells, 2015).
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The clear admission of his imperfection, “I am poorly made”, clashes with the
petulance with which he has continuously expressed himself and which made
him compare himself with Julius Caesar, Stravinsky or Bob Dylan. “By
saying, “I’m poorly made,” Jobs confesses that he understands that
fundamental flaw; that perhaps all his achievements were borne out of his
need to escape his own weaknesses”, as Opam states (2015).
This volte-face from antihero to tragic hero also brings Jobs closer to the
archetype. As in the case of Zuckerberg, he is still defective and still a genius
who can be understood and pitied.
4. A psychological sketch of the genius
Apart from drawing on the most classical theatrical tradition, the leads in
The Social Network and Steve Jobs also adopt the typical psychological tone
of 20th-century narrative. In the two films Zuckerberg and Jobs are
represented through a careful exploration of the psyche. The subject of the
“disturbed genius” or “mad genius” is very obvious. And although the
references to the mental disorders among creative geniuses go back to
Aristotle and Seneca, Sorkin’s approach is also close to the psychological and
psychiatric studies based on the works of Freud which connect creative
genius with neurosis. Here we enter another level of interpretation. The two
biopics specifically allude to possible “mental disorders”. In The Social
Network, Erica comments to Mark on the possible obsessive-compulsive
disorder he suffers from, during the argument at the start of the movie:
“You’re obsessed with finals clubs. You have finals clubs OCD and you need
to see someone about it who’ll prescribe you some sort of medication. You
don’t care if the side effects may include blindness.” (Sorkin, 2010, p.5).
Again in Steve Jobs, Joanna (the marketing director who is always with him
in the movie) mentions a syndrome coined by Job’s own colleagues to explain
strange methods of convincing people about his own perception, although it
had no basis in reality. It was “Steve’s reality distortion field”. (Sorkin, 2015,
p.141).
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What is true is that the two films, and Jobs’ biography written by Walter
Isaacson, immediately attracted the interest of psychiatrists and
psychologists, to judge from the number of articles and posts published on
some professional websites and blogs at the time of the premiere. Some
stated that both figures had symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or
that the Zuckerberg in The Social Network had Asperger’s Syndrome.
(Holland, 2010). There were many more authors who diagnosed the so-called
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) in both characters. Joseph Burgo
finds that the protagonist of The Social Network suffers from this
narcissistic pathology which, in general, “is characterized by grandiosity, a
lack of empathy, poisonous envy, a sense of entitlement and a tendency to
manipulate and exploit other people.” (2011). And of the lead character in the
Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, Gregg Henriques writes:
There is no doubt in my professional judgment that Jobs met criteria for a
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). He was preoccupied with his sense of
importance and his brilliance, he consistently damaged others by exploiting
and bullying them and could be completely unempathetic to their feelings, he
was envious of other’s attention, he was arrogant and haughty, and he was
controlling and manipulative (2012).
For Henriques, more important than these reactions is the root of the NPD,
which is “a fundamentally insecure sense of self”, so that, in those who suffer
from it, “their constant displays of superiority and power are attempts to
compensate for their underlying insecurities.” (2012).
We must not forget, however, that “narcissism” has its own Greek myth,
which later was readopted by Ovid who immortalized it in his
“Metamorphosis”. This myth has given rise to the narcissist archetype that
has been portrayed again and again in western art and narrative and was very
common in 19th century literature. The story of Narcissus, who fell in love
with his own face reflected in the water and drowned, describes a mistaken
search for knowledge of oneself. It is a superficial search, limited to
examination of external appearances, of the physical countenance, which
never looks inwards. But above all, it implies an incapacity to see ‘otherness’,
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to understand that another person is different. The archetypal narcissist,
therefore, remains isolated in the mirage of the self, without any possibility of
properly distinguishing his own identity, in an attitude has traditionally been
linked with pride (Barbosa, 2011, pp. 75-83).
To return to the two films, in the presentation of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve
Jobs the echoes of the classical myths of Narcissus are added to the modern
categories which appeared after Freud’s interpretation of the myth to
describe the narcissistic personality. In our opinion, here is where part of the
originality of Sorkin’s work lies, in that he blends traditional and modernity
by creating ambivalent portraits of the two central characters. On the one
hand, the tragic resonance of the classical myths lead to the most universal
side of the character, while the psychological and behavioral treatment of the
Zuckerberg and Jobs characters in these movies simultaneously brings them
closer to the reality of the unwell mind, typical of so many antiheroes in the
popular culture of our times. As modern antiheroes they show the dark triad
of personality (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy), described by
authors such as Jonason and Schmitt (2012, pp. 192-199).
Because of the psychological reading that the portrayal of these characters
contains, their flaws can be interpreted as a problem or an illness before
being seen as a vice; and, in consequence, there is a comprehension and a
lessening of the character’s guilt in the eyes of the viewer. At the same time,
the mythological interpretation of the films conveys the cathartic effect of the
tragedy: The spectator goes from confronting the character to confronting
his/herself regarding the extremes that arrogance can reach as a vice of the
human condition.
5. From the character to the social icon
There is yet another interpretive level which must be mentioned, through
which the characters in these films become archetypes or icons of our times.
Since they are movies about two important protagonists of the digital
revolution of the last few decades, the paradox that the characters show can
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be taken as a paradox which is typical of our era. Nowadays, the
technological progress is irrefutable; the generalized access to the new
technologies and social networks is a reality and a triumph. However, as
different authors have stated, there is a social cost that alters the perception
of the coordinates of time and space, escapism from reality, limitation of
social skills, or fragmentation of knowledge, among other aspects (Carr, 2011,
2015; Goleman, 2013; Turkle, 2011). These biopics reflect similar contrasts.
Jones, in Sight & Sound writes about The Social Network: “It is often said
that social networks are changing the way we think, but this is the first movie
that’s ever held the idea at its emotional core.“ (2010, p. 35). And Foundas
comments: (it) “offers a despairing snapshot of society at the dawn of the 21st
century (…)” (2010, p. 42). And on Steve Jobs, Scott in The New York Times
says: (It) “is a rich and potent document of the times, an expression of both
the awe that attends sophisticated new consumer goods and the unease that
trails in the wake of their arrival” (2015).
5.1. On social isolation
The protagonists of both The Social Network and Steve Jobs have something
in common. This is the above-mentioned contrast: their achievements are a
contribution to the global communications which we now enjoy, but in the
private sphere they are presented as lacking in social skills, with evident
flaws in interpersonal communications. They are both solitary characters,
isolated, cold and apparently lacking in sentiment regarding the people
closest to them. There are numerous situations and images in these movies
which emphasize their solitude, reserve and lack of communication. It could
be said that they suffer from one of the symptoms of what has been called an
“illness of our times”, which has to do with narcissism and the isolation it
entails (Lowen; 1997, pp.11-12).
In the two films there are scenes that show these technological geniuses
totally absorbed in the computer screens where their creations appear and, at
times, the machines show their reflections. They look at themselves or look at
their creation in the same way as a narcissist studies his own reflection in the
water. In The Social Network in particular, Zuckerberg seems to be engaged
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in a dialogue with Facebook in the last few minutes when he is absolutely
alone in the room. In his rented house in Palo Alto, while his companions are
having fun and messing around, Mark remains “wired in” to his computer,
engrossed, and distant from his surroundings. This is also so when his friend
Wardo hits him in the Facebook offices, finally disillusioned after discovering
that he is no longer a significant partner. But Zuckerberg and Jobs’ isolation
becomes even clearer in their cold and distant, sometimes harsh, way of
dealing with the people closest to them.
Each time Jobs comes out onto the stage, where his fans and virtual followers
are emotionally waiting for the presentation of his new stroke of genius, the
applause contrasts with his failure as a father, a friend or colleague, as can be
seen in the conversations before these moments of personal triumph.
“We recreate ourselves as online personae and give ourselves new bodies,
homes, jobs, and romances. Yet, suddenly, in the half-light of virtual
community, we may feel utterly alone”, explains Turkle regarding the virtual
life new technologies offer us. (2011, p.12). And the Zuckerberg and Jobs
characters in these movies seem to point deictically in that direction.
5.2. The digital world as escapism and substitution
Another point the two movies have in common is that their leads convert
their passion for technology into an experience that absorbs their lives, so
much so that it becomes a substitute for affection. This, precisely, is a
problem which, according to experts, we may find nowadays due to an
excessive use of the virtual space offered by the new technologies.
We have already commented that the premises of these films are based on
this defect: Facebook becomes the substitute for a social club for Zuckerberg,
as he has not managed to belong to one in real life; and the applause and
admiration that Jobs receives for the gadgets he creates are a substitute for
the affection and love which he has not received and does not know how to
give.
The use of space in these movies shows how unsound the protagonists’
contact with the exterior is. The Steve Jobs biopic almost exclusively uses
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indoor areas as its arena. There, just as happens with the computer, what is
seen and enjoyed is on-screen (in this case the stages on which Jobs makes
his presentations to an ecstatic multitude), but what makes these moments of
success work is the hard disk and the innards of the machine, with its
complicated system of connections (here, everything that happens to a Jobs
backstage). There are only two brief scenes outside these convention centers.
One in the first act, when Jobs and Wozniak are walking behind the
premises. In this conversation Jobs comes face-to-face with the past, with
memories of the time when they were friends and were working in Jobs’
parent’s garage. Now he and Woz are no longer friends and there is no going
back. The second outdoor scene comes at the end of the third act in an open-
air parking lot at the top of the building. Here, Jobs attempts to stop his
daughter from leaving full of resentment and manages to do so, thereby
opening a door to better mutual understanding. This moment, then, points to
the future. Thus, the spatial architecture of this film becomes a metaphor for
the character’s limited relationship with reality outside himself, outside his
dedication to what is strictly technological and digital. Moreover, there is a
scene in which Steve tries to control his imagination and, by repeating
algorithms, blocks the images of Lisa trying to attract his affection (Boyle,
2015). The scene is revealing in that it visualizes Jobs’ flight from a painful
reality that he does not wish to confront.
The spatial dimension in The Social Network also has a metaphorical
reading. In this film too, the indoors is more important than the outdoors.
The work and the contacts that Zuckerberg makes for the creation of
Facebook occur in enclosed areas: college rooms, bars, the apartments in
Palo Alto, the Facebook offices, and so on. In the very few outdoor scenes,
Zuckerberg is not enjoying himself or contemplating; he is running or talking
because the only thing he thinks about is his project. For example, after
splitting up with Erica, in the first scene, he runs off to his Harvard
apartment, stumbling on the way and leaving the pleasing panorama of the
university campus for the viewer’s eyes only. His aim is different: he is
plotting his digital revenge. Another example can be found in the
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conversation he has with Wardo outside in the cold and the snow for which
they are not properly dressed. The conversation is difficult and fast.
Metaphorically, Wardo was enjoying a Jewish party set in the tropics when
Mark drags him out tell him about his Facebook idea in a desolate townscape
at 20 below. “You’d have to know the people on the site to get past your own
page. Like getting punched”, Mark explains to his friend who cannot even
feel his legs because of the cold; “Wardo, it’s like a Final Club except we’re
the president” (Sorkin, 2010, p.40).
This is a way of underlying the escape from reality that lies behind Mark’s
obsession, which Sherry Turkle and David Carr have diagnosed as the social
problem of our era: “Digital connections (…) may offer the illusion of
companionship without demands of friendship. Our networked life allows us
to hide from each other, even as we are tethered to each other” (Turkle, p.1);
and, “As screens have proliferated, the amount of actual, unencumbered
reality we experience seems endangered” (Carr, 2015).
5.3. Fragmentation of knowledge
Finally, the films we are analyzing also reflect another point which the
authors underline on the cognitive effects of the digital era: the speed in
acquiring a great amount of information on the net, without order and
almost simultaneosly, and the resulting fragmentation of knowledge. In The
Social Network in particular, this aspect is suggested both in the aesthetics of
Fincher’s movie and in the disjointed rhythm of the conversations Sorkin
imposes in the screenplay. The shots and dialogues seem to imitate the
fragmented and disorderly rhythm of our reading and procurement of
information on internet. Going back to the initial scene of the film, we
observe that the conversation between Mark and Erica is not linear. Mark
hops from one subject to another again and again. The way he manages the
conversation brings to mind how we read so many hyperlinked articles or
pieces of information on the web which lead to other marginalia. Erica says
to him: “…it’s exhausting. Dating you is like dating a Stairmaster” (Fincher,
2010; Sorkin, 2010, p. 7). The conversation is intelligent but extremely fast
and unmanageable; thus personal and informative items clash in every
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paragraph. The camera shots and movements accompany this agitation
visually. Likewise, the sequence on the launch of Facemash gives a close-up
of the frantic rhythm in the use of the computer which does not allow the
protagonist to stop and think about the consequences. The flashes about an
imaginary party at the prestigious Porcillan social club in Harvard are
interspersed in the sequence. Visually it is an exploration of the past made by
Mark’s undisciplined mind, which, far from only concentrating on what he is
doing, is imagining and confabulating at the same time.
In Steve Jobs, although the approach is different, the conversations also
occur at a frantic and disjointed rhythm. Jobs interrupts one conversation to
take up another with the same intensity, and handles a great deal of
information at the same time, like someone who was working on a Mac with
multiple windows open. This vertiginous sensation comes from Danny
Boyle’s decision to shoot Steve Jobs in continuous movement and talking
with different characters while he walks as well as the common use of
Steadycam in the film.
The impression of surfing minds, in which time and space are not adapted to
their natural rhythm, can be found in the portrayal of the leads in The Social
Network and Steve Jobs. They remind us of those movies we lived through in
times of change, in which paying attention (the focus) and devoting oneself to
a sole activity becomes more difficult, as Daniel Goleman points out in his
book Focus (2013). In addition, the way in which information is processed
and knowledge is acquired also varies and inclines towards fragmentation. In
the words of Carr: “The linear mind is being pushed aside by a new kind of
mind that wants and needs to take in and dole out information in short,
disjointed, often overlapping bursts – the faster, the better.” (2011, p. 10).
6. Conclusion
All in all, the two biopics allow a broad interpretative reading that goes
beyond merely adhering to the life of the people they represent. Although
they do contain abundant data and real documentation, these biographies
are structured as works of fiction. They establish tragic repercussions given
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that they start from a contradictory premise in which the fame and character
of the protagonists clash.
In this way, further than a realist portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs,
these movies paint the archetype of the tragic hero in which greatness (in this
case genius) and misfortune go hand in hand. This archetype, in short,
supplants the real character, transforming him into an icon. And given that
these protagonists also reflect the myths of Narcissus, modernized and
filtered by psychological studies, we see a vision of what causes their
misfortune. Arrogance and pride are the problem, and are the true subject of
these films. And although it is treated as weakness rather than a vice, (due to
being linked to trauma or previous psychic issues in these characters), it
doesn’t cease to be the flaw that ruins them. Through these modern tragic
heroes, arrogance is also depicted to the viewer as akin to the human
condition and, going one step further, as the possible dark side of our times,
a digital and technologized era to which geniuses like Zuckerberg and Jobs
belong.
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:
Cómo citar: Frago, M. (2017). Reconfigurations of the classical hero in the
digital age: Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network and Steve Jobs. Fotocinema:
revista científica de cine y fotografía, nº 14, pp. 159-181. Disponible en:
http://www.revistafotocinema.com/ e-ISSN: 2172-0150.