Zuckerberg: the new Holden

Part 1 - The ass
The "biopic" The Social Network begins with a scene involving the "geek/asshole" protagonist (ostensibly Mark Zuckerberg) and his generous girlfriend, Erica Albright. Though the geek/asshole seeks to expose his genius and inherent intellectual advantage, he exposes himself as a jerk. Cut.

(For the record this film is well-written, well-shot, and well-acted. I will take that for granted, and thus not provide critical analysis of those elements as elements. I will refer to the film as a bona fide, quality piece of art that speaks to its (our) time and place.)

This film is about America and the ideas of Americans today. I accept that, for all intents and purposes, when I say "America and the ideas of Americans" I am also speaking of those in the whole world who aspire to have what America has and admire the ideas of Americans, and have the means to acquire/imitate them. The backdrop I propose for this film about this America is Salinger's novel about post-war America, The Catcher in The Rye. There are interesting parallels to explore.

For example, the novel The Catcher in The Rye opens (at least in the first six chapters) with a scene involving the disaffected protagonist and the naive mother of a classmate. Though Holden seeks to manipulate this woman in order to entertain himself, he exposes himself as a liar (and a jerk).

Here's a crucial difference. Holden admits he's an ass. He knows he's an ass. He's an ass on purpose. Zuckerberg, on the other hand, doesn't really seem to see his assholishness until the final conversation of the movie, in which one of his lawyers points out to him that he's not really an ass, he's just a nice guy trying very hard to be one (an ass).

What does this difference indicate? Self-awareness. Holden understands himself as an agent in the world. He understands that his actions will have effects on other people. Sure he spends some time trying to deceive them, but that's because he understands that he will hurt them if he's honest. Holden has passed completely through Lacan's mirror stage and understands the reality of his flesh and blood embodiment in the world. He knows that in order to satisfy himself, he may well hurt others, and so he tries to minimize the damage to others just as much as he tries to increase the pleasure for himself. Often, in fact, he allows himself to be hurt, in order to mitigate the discomfort of others. (Think of his encounters with the following: Stradlater, the nuns, the prostitute, Antolini, Phoebe.)

Now consider Zuckerberg. He seems not to care - perhaps isn't aware enough to care - what effect his actions have on those around him. When he does hurt others, he either seems surprised at the reaction, or he downplays it as weakness and self-interest (theirs). (Think of his encounters with, and the effects caused by, the following: Erica Albright, facemash, Eduardo Saverin, the Winklevosses.) He does not put himself in their shoes. He may have begun to pass through the mirror-stage, but he's stalled at the point at which he can imagine himself in the place of others. He's stalled without empathy. He does not care about the effect of himself on others in the world. If he sees himself in others in the world, it's only that he sees it as an Hobbesian war of all against all and he better get his, before anyone else does.

If Holden was a quintessential young American of his time, what he told us was that Americans were liars, but they were principled. He told us that they worried about what others thought. He told us that they had ideals, but that the ideals were crumbling and it was hard to keep on caring, even though you knew you should. He told us that, despite his complaints and attitude, they still believed in the centrality of relationship and an honest sense of self (the ideal of non-phoniness).

If Zuckerberg is a quintessential young American today, what he tells us is that Americans are self-serving and fame hungry. He tells us that they don't care what others think, as long as they get what they want. He tells us that they don't care about ideals, only about what works best for me (the individual). They tell us that despite their confidence and bravado, they are desperately lonely and unfulfilled. They want friends, but they don't know how to get them.

Which brings us to the next installment of this piece (perhaps tomorrow, perhaps not).

Part 2 - Desperate for the girl