The film isn't about Facebook: Why The Social Network has the perfect scene
25th September 2025
“The internet’s not written in pencil Mark, it’s written in ink.”
Saying that The Social Network is my favourite film might be pretty predictable coming from a Computer Scientist, but it’s not because of its surprisingly accurate tech detail, or how it makes Mark Zuckerberg seem like a dick - it’s because on the surface this is a film about Facebook, but it’s really a film that’s about Mark’s (brief, and fictional) relationship with Erica, and how his fragile masculine ego responds to it.
In the first scene of the movie, Erica breaks up with Mark as he is more obsessed with getting into an exclusive university club than having any interest in her. Mark then calls her a ‘bitch’ in an online blog rant.
It is this breakdown of this relationship that frames the creation of Facebook in the movie - an attempt which he believes is to create the entire experience of college on the internet, which will give him the popularity and recognition he desires.
But one single scene of the movie reveals that what he really wants is the recognition and admiration of Erica.
I think that this scene is the most perfect scene of film I have ever seen. And it isn’t the infamous Andrew Garfield crash-out scene.
First, let’s try and define what a perfect film scene must be:
- Effective The scene must be effective at what it does, and every individual element of the scene must work well and in no way detract from it.
- Memorable The scene must stick in the mind, making you think about it long after you first view the movie.
- Moving It must have some effect on the audience and their emotions. If we are to look for a perfect scene, we are looking for a piece of art, and for that purpose a scene must achieve what art always tries to do - to move.
For a scene to be ‘perfect’ it must achieve all of these, and I think this scene in The Social Network does.
To understand the scene, we must understand where it is situated in the movie. Facebook has just been launched at Harvard and is expanding to other american university campuses. Mark’s reputation has been rejuvenated after being widely regarded as a mysogynist as a result of his last endeavour, a website ranking female students based on their hotness. Mark is getting recognition and popularity for his achievements for the first time in the film, so much so that just before this scene Mark and his best friend are invited into a bathroom for oral sex by two fellow students (I doubt a software project would ever achieve this in real life).
Mark should think himself at the height of his success, having got everything he seems to desire at this midpoint in the film. As an audience we have largely forgotten about Erica since the film’s opening scenes - everything since then has been about Mark’s unfaltering rise with his creation of Facebook, largely from his perspective. We haven’t had much time to think about Mark’s motivations, or the consequences of his work. Mark should be having the time of his life, but he still seems a bit distant. Mark then sees Erica at the restaurant and decides to go talk to her.
What is striking is that Erica has all the power in this scene.
Mark goes over to her, and rather sheepishly at that. Mark is the one being interrupted by Erica (an explicit contrast to the breakup scene). Mark has to stand awkwardly by her side, the camera having to strain upwards at Mark. Mark is barely lit, while Erica is bathed in the warm glow of the candlelit scene. Mark is shy and nervous, Erica sits confidently. Mark does not end the conversation, Erica does. And most tellingly, Erica sits at a table with a couple of friends, something Mark never does in the entire movie.
Mark only has perhaps two genuine friends in this movie. Eduardo, obviously, and Mark’s programmer flatmate Dustin who has barely any screen time. If we are to believe that friendship and popularity is what Mark desires, he never accomplishes it, while Erica enjoys it with ease. Any time Erica is on screen in this scene, there are friends visible around her - Mark has no one.
Erica forces the audience to think on the consequences of Mark’s actions so far, and to think about why Mark is doing all this, rather than being enthralled in a more simple story about the creation of Facebook. This can be shown in a few lines:
Mark: I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this new website I launched, …
Erica (interrupting): No.
Mark: The Facebook …
Erica (interrupting): You called me a bitch on the internet, Mark.
Erica doesn’t care one bit about the story of Mark’s journey creating Facebook, and I think that’s amazing coming from a film that’s supposedly about the creation of Facebook. It’s almost like this scene is slapping you in the face if you were under the impression that is what it’s about. The film isn’t about Facebook. This scene is crucial, it is persuading you to look more critically at Mark for the rest of the film, and to think more about the relationships Mark has with others in the film - more simply, to remind you that perhaps Mark isn’t that great a person.
In this scene lies the complexity of the film, you can’t understand Mark’s motivations without it - otherwise this film is just a legal tech drama with a crash-out.
This scene is a shock that moves you to change how you watch Mark, and in fact the rest of the movie, meaning that this scene fulfils our Effective and Moving requirements.
And as for being Memorable, the content of their conversation brings up issues of how social networks change our relationships with others and society, something that matters far more than just within the context of the film. It reminds us that our words on the internet are irreversible and influential, and that therefore we exercise a massive amount of personal responsibility in using them. It also reminds us of the insecure masculine egos that dominate wide fields of everyday life, particularly in tech. Mark is one of only a small number that we see in the real world in our schools, universities, governments and corporations.
Mark Zuckerberg is a hell of a dick.
Oh also, I think The Social Network has one of the best DVD menus of all time. I’m serious.