History YMMV / TheSocialNetwork

** Mark's insistence to Eduardo that what separates Facebook from its competitors is that "''we don't crash EVER!''" is usually looked back on with a chuckle whenever the site goes down, especially following the site's longest outage since 2008 occurring in October 2021, in which both it and several apps it owns (Instagram and [=WhatsApp=]) were down for over six hours. Users on Twitter and Letterboxd had a field day with it, flooding the site with quotes and references to this movie. Another lengthy outage in March 2024 caused the scene to start circulating once again.

** The entire scene of Eduardo storming the Facebook office has gained a huge following; then again, it's next to impossible to write a line about "'fuck you' flip-flops" that ''doesn't'' have this effect.
*** His "You better lawyer up, ''asshole''" line is often repurposed as a general-use PreAsskickingOneLiner.

** Mark's insistence to Eduardo that what separates Facebook from its competitors is that "''we don't crash EVER!''" is usually looked back on with a chuckle whenever the site goes down, especially following the site's longest outage since 2008 occurring in October 2021, in which both it and several apps it owns (Instagram and [=WhatsApp=]) were down for over six hours. Users on Twitter and Letterboxd had a field day with it, flooding the site with quotes and references to this movie.

** The Winklevoss twins later executive produced another film adaptation of a Ben Mezrich book about the 2021 [=GameStop=] stock fiasco, which was even titled ''The Antisocial Network'' after this film.
** Mark's insistence to Eduardo that what separates Facebook from its competitors is that "''we don't crash EVER!''" is usually looked back on with a chuckle whenever the site goes down, especially following the site's longest outage since 2008 occurring in October 2021, in which both it and several apps it owns (Instagram and [=WhatsApp=]) were down for over six hours.

** In ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', Creator/JesseEisenberg's character said that the best part of the zombie apocalypse was not having to worry about updating his Facebook status. Twice as hilarious is how, according to the commentary, Eisenberg had to have the directors and cast explain to him what a Facebook status was.

** Movie Zuckerberg's comment about people wanting to sit on his shoulders to make themselves tall became this after the real Zuckerberg [[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics/mark-zuckerberg-testimony.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news sat on a cushion to make himself look taller during a Senate hearing]].

** When Creator/JesseEisenberg was cast as ComicBook/LexLuthor, it [[WhatTheHellCastingAgency raised some eyebrows]], but a lot of people who defended the decision said that he could pull it off because he played the same character in this movie...which is really stretching things. Yes, both Mark ([[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope in the movie]]) and Lex are arrogant billionaire geniuses, but Mark (in the movie) is a {{Jerkass}} at the very worst; Lex in most depictions is a [[AMillionIsAStatistic mass-murdering]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]] with [[AGodAmI a God complex]] (also, Mark is a computer whiz and internet billionaire while Lex is an OmnidisciplinaryScientist and major industrialist). Evidently, a lot of ''Social Network'' fans either think that Lex Luthor [[DracoInLeatherPants isn't that bad a guy]], or they think that Mark Zuckerberg (in the movie) [[RonTheDeathEater is an evil supervillain bent on world domination]].

** After Eisenberg's performance as Lex Luthor proved [[BaseBreakingCharacter polarizing]], many of ''Dawn of Justice''[='=]s detractors found his performance as Mark Zuckerberg to be a more faithful portrayal of Lex Luthor than his actual performance.

** [[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/movies/the-social-network-facebook.html This New York Times article]] analyzes how prescient the film seems in light of events in the decade since its release, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

** The mostly rosy picture of Eduardo Saverin is somewhat harder to accept when in the subsequent years he was accused of renouncing his American citizenship to avoid paying taxes. His action caught so much attention there was a brief attempt in Congress to make him ineligible to return to the United States even as a visitor.

** After Jesse Eisenberg's [[BaseBreakingCharacter polarizing]] performance as Lex Luthor in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', many of that film's detractors found his performance as Mark Zuckerberg to be a more faithful portrayal of Lex Luthor than his actual performance in ''Dawn of Justice''.

** "You're not an asshole, Mark. You just try so hard to be." And it apparently paid off, since Jesse Eisenberg was later cast as the [[ComicBook/LexLuthor ultimate rich asshole]].

** Zuckerberg later became known in the late 2010s for being an '''extremely''' awkward and un-charismatic individual, with comparisons to an alien, a robot, or a talking reptile masquerading as a human becoming particularly popular [[MemeticMutation meme fodder]]. This can make his characterization in the film as a curt and direct but incredibly fast-thinking, decisive and ice-cold individual look bizarre and laughable in hindsight. However, it also makes Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of him (which some criticized as wooden and even robotic) surprisingly accurate as well.
** Movie Zuckerberg's comment about people wanting to sit on his shoulders to make themselves tall became this after the real Zuckerberg [[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics/mark-zuckerberg-testimony.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news sat on a cushion to make himself look taller during a Senate hearing.]]

** The Winklevoss twins later executive produced another film adaptation of a Ben Mezrich book about the 2021 [=GameStop=] stock fiasco, which was even titled ''The Antisocial Network'' after the film.

** Creator/RooneyMara played Erica a year before she was her StarMakingRole in ''Film/TheGirlWithTheDragonTattoo2011''.

** Some people characterize it to be a demonization of Mark Zuckerberg, when he's portrayed somewhat sympathetically, having some good qualities, along with some bad ones.
** Not to mention the film's story is from the point-of-view of [[UnreliableNarrator characters trying to defeat him in a legal battle.]]
** On the opposite end, you had more and more people [[TheWoobie sympathizing]] with the real-life Eduardo based on the events that transpired in the film. It's easy to forget that in real life, Eduardo actually ''won'' the lawsuit (or more specifically, they settled out of court with him) and that the real guy has been on record saying that he didn't care about being part of Facebook's operations, he just wanted his deserved financial stake.
** When Creator/JesseEisenberg was cast as ComicBook/LexLuthor, it [[WhatTheHellCastingAgency raised some eyebrows]], but a lot of people who defended the decision said that he can pull it off because he played the same character in this movie...which is really stretching things. Yes, both Mark ([[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope in the movie]]) and Lex are arrogant billionaire geniuses, but Mark (in the movie) is a {{Jerkass}} at the very worst; Lex in most depictions is a [[AMillionIsAStatistic mass-murdering]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]] with [[AGodAmI a God complex]] (also, Mark is a computer whizz and internet billionaire while Lex is an OmnidisciplinaryScientist and major industrialist). Evidently a lot of ''Social Network'' fans either think that Lex Luthor [[DracoInLeatherPants isn't that bad a guy]], or they think that Mark Zuckerberg (in the movie) [[RonTheDeathEater is an evil supervillain bent on world domination.]]

* The mostly rosy picture of Eduardo Saverin is somewhat harder to accept when in the subsequent years he was accused of renouncing his American citizenship to avoid paying taxes. His action caught so much attention there was a brief attempt in Congress to make him ineligible to return to the United States even as a visitor.

* {{Applicability}}: What the film's social statement or point is is ultimately up to the viewer, and just how sympathetic Zuckerberg is.

** Christy may count as well, even if she's a total nutter. But her ''face'' just before Eduardo breaks up with her...it's both creepy and "Awww..." inducing at once.

*** His "You better lawyer up, ''asshole''" line is often repurposed as a general-use PreAssKickingOneLiner.
** The Internet got a small bit of leverage out of filling in its own answers to Sean Parker's question of what's cooler than a million dollars.

** Music/JustinTimberlake portrays Sean Parker, who, prior to the founding of Facebook, had a hand in founding Napster. In 2011, Timberlake himself will oversee a re-launch of Facebook's former competitor [=MySpace=], which jumps from social media to [[http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/digital-and-mobile/revamped-myspace-planning-to-take-on-itunes-1005326022.story online music store]]. That move in itself would pit [=MySpace=] against current competitors iTunes, Spotify and, albeit a shell of its former self, Napster.
** "You're not an asshole, Mark. You're just trying so hard to be." And it apparently paid off since Jesse Eisenberg was later cast as the [[ComicBook/LexLuthor ultimate rich asshole]].

** Following his highly-criticized appearance before Congress in 2017 (which soon led to numerous memes of him as a stuttering robot), fans found the movie's presentation of Zuckerberg as an ice-cold manipulator quite laughable compared to the real man.
** Zuckerberg later became known in the late 2010s for being an '''extremely''' [[CringeComedy awkward and un-charismatic individual]], with comparisons to an alien, a robot, or a talking reptile masquerading as a human becoming particularly popular [[MemeticMutation meme fodder]]. This can make his characterization in the film as a curt and direct but incredibly fast-thinking and decisive individual look bizarre in hindsight. However, it also makes Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of him (which some criticized as wooden and even robotic) surprisingly accurate as well.
** Movie Zuckerberg's comment about people wanting to sit on his shoulders to make themselves tall becomes this after the real Zuckerberg [[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics/mark-zuckerberg-testimony.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news sat on a cushion to make himself look taller during a Senate hearing.]]
** Cameron's quip that suing Mark could make the brothers look like they're "in skeleton costumes chasing [[Film/TheKarateKid the karate kid]] around a high school gym" became this after the release of the film's SequelSeries ''Series/CobraKai'', which portrays Johnny Lawrence and his friends in a more positive light while highlighting more of Daniel [=LaRusso=]'s character flaws. Furthermore, in one episode, Miguel, a modern Cobra Kai student, wears a skeleton costume as a CallBack to the original Cobra Kai members and ends up fighting a gang of bullies at the Halloween party.

--->In 2010, ''The Social Network'', with its egomaniacal antihero, seemed overdramatic, too pessimistic in the way it examined the birth of one of the biggest social media sites. Facebook was still in its infancy, far removed from what it would eventually become. [...] In 2020, as the world shut down, we’ve learned all the ways we can define distance, and social media — as one cynical film predicted — is one of them.

** Eduardo's "You better lawyer up, ''asshole''..." is often repurposed as a general-use PreAssKickingOneLiner.

** Whenever there's executive-level drama going on with Facebook, people will often invoke the climatic scene where [[spoiler:Eduardo's ownership share was diluted down to ''point-zero-three percent'']].

** Mark -- "[[{{Jerkass}} asshole]]" or "trying so hard to be" one? And were the makers of the film trying to portray Zuckerberg as an outright {{Jerkass}}, or did they make him more of an admirable jerk?

** Mark -- "[[{{Jerkass}} asshole]]" or "trying so hard to be"? And were the makers of the film trying to portray Zuckerberg as an outright {{Jerkass}}, or did they make him more of an admirable jerk?

** Mark--"[[{{Jerkass}} asshole]]" or "trying so hard to be one?" And were the makers of the film trying to portray Zuckerberg as an outright {{Jerkass}}, or did they make him more of an admirable jerk?

-->In 2010, ''The Social Network'', with its egomaniacal antihero, seemed overdramatic, too pessimistic in the way it examined the birth of one of the biggest social media sites. Facebook was still in its infancy, far removed from what it would eventually become. [...] In 2020, as the world shut down, we’ve learned all the ways we can define distance, and social media — as one cynical film predicted — is one of them.

** And it's satisfying to compare the current state of Facebook with Mark's original vision. Now that anyone can join, not just Ivy League college students, it's not exactly the elitist, exclusive social club he thought it would be.
** To paraphrase Zuckerberg, he's probably too busy having sex with numerous women on his gigantumous pile of money to be particularly bothered by this.

** Zuckerberg later became known in the late 2010s for being an '''extremely''' [[CringeComedy awkward and un-charismatic individual]], with comparisons to an alien or a talking reptile masquerading as a human being particularly popular [[MemeticMutation meme fodder]]. This can make his characterize in the film as a curt and direct, but incredibly fast-thinking and decisive individual as bizarre in hindsight. However, it also makes Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of him (which some criticized as wooden and even robotic) surprisingly accurate as well.

* {{Narm}}: As universally acclaimed as the screenplay is, it would be remiss to claim there aren't a handful of lines that left some scratching their heads.
** One line commonly regarded as weirdly written came when Cameron finally got on board with Tyler and Divya's plans to pursue Mark. Of all the declarative statements in the world to show them that he's finally switched sides, he chooses "Let's gut the friggin' nerd," which sounds far more appropriate for a bully on a kids show to say with genuine conviction than a Harvard student.
** During the scene in which Eduardo is explaining how Mark first approached him with the idea for Facebook, there's a close-up on his face as he utters the very strange line: "[[InAWorld In a world]] where social structure was everything, that was ''the'' thing." In context, it sounds incredibly bizarre and out of place, almost as though someone accidentally included a page from the script for the trailer voiceover in the screenplay itself.
** The incredibly intense, brilliantly acted confrontation between Eduardo and Mark is undone slightly by mentioning the [[InherentlyFunnyWord chicken]] when it could have easily just used "the ''Crimson'' article". They at least lampshade it and it doesn't throw things off course, but it is still odd to see a powerhouse actor on the verge of tears, fully committing to dialogue about a chicken while sorrowful music plays. It doesn't help that Sean keeps interjecting to sincerely ask what the hell they're talking about.
---> '''Eduardo:''' Tell me this isn't about me getting into the Phoenix. ''(DramaticPause)'' You...you did it, I knew you did it! You planted that story about the chicken!

** Creator/RashidaJones plays a character who claims that she can turn an entire court against the head of a major company with just a few words. Seven years after this film came out, she unfortunately found herself having to do just that, as her remarks about how Creator/JohnLasseter, then one of the most powerful men in show business, was mistreating female and minority employees got him fired from [[Creator/{{Pixar}} both of]] [[Creator/{{Disney}} the companies]] he was in charge of.

** Zuckerburg later became known in the late 2010s for being an '''extremely''' [[CringeComedy awkward and un-charismatic individual]], with comparisons to an alien or a talking reptile masquerading as a human being particularly popular [[MemeticMutation meme fodder]]. This can make his characterize in the film as a curt and direct, but incredibly fast-thinking and decisive individual as bizarre in hindsight. However, it also makes Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of him (which some criticized as wooden and even robotic) surprisingly accurate as well.

* SignatureScene: Eduardo confronting Mark and Sean in the Facebook office after [[spoiler:he finds out that the investor contract diluted his ownership share down to near-zero while Mark and Sean kept their existing shares]]. From its being the emotional climax of the film to its top-form music and dialogue, it's oft regarded as the most memorable part of a famously quotable film.

** A less literal version: Creator/RooneyMara as Erica Albright only appears in three scenes, one of them very brief, for a total of roughly five minutes of screen time, but is considered by some to be one of the best parts of the movie. And she impressed Creator/DavidFincher enough to land the lead role of Lisbeth Salander in ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo]]''.

** Amy, the Stanford girl who sleeps with Sean Parker in his first scene, is played by Creator/DakotaJohnson; she would land the female lead in FOX's ''Series/BenAndKate'' in 2012, and the lead role of Anastasia Steele in ''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey''.

* SignatureScene: Eduardo confronting Mark and Sean in a Facebook office after [[spoiler:he finds out that the investor contract diluted his ownership share down to near-zero while Mark and Sean keep their existing shares]].

%%* AdaptationDisplacement: Ben Mezrich's ''The Accidental Billionaires''. Not really all that surprising.

** Cameron's quip that suing Mark could make the brothers look like they're "in skeleton costumes chasing [[Film/TheKarateKid the karate kid]] around a high school gym" became this after the release of the film's SequelSeries ''Series/CobraKai'', which portrays Johnny Lawrence and his friends in a more positive light while highlighting more of Daniel [=LaRusso=]'s character flaws.

** Zuckerburg later became known in the late 2010s for being an '''extremely''' [[CringeComedy awkward and un-charismatic individual]], with comparisons to an alien or a talking reptile masquerading as a human being particularly popular [[MemeticMutation meme fodder]]. This can make his characterize in the film as a curt and direct, but incredibly fast-thinking and decisive individual as bizarre in hindsight. However, it also makes Jesse Eisenberg's portray (which some criticized as wooden and even robotic) of him surprisingly accurate as well.

** The Winklevoss twins later executive produced another film adaptation of a Ben Mezrich book about the 2021 Gamestop stock fiasco, which was even titled ''The Antisocial Network'' after the film.

** Whenever there's executive-level drama going on with Facebook, people will often invoke the climatic scene where Eduardo Saverin's ownership share [[spoiler:was diluted down to ''point-zero-three percent'']].

* {{Narm}}:
** One line commonly regarded as an iffy note came when Cameron finally got on board with Tyler and Divya's plans to pursue Mark. Of all the declarative statements in the world to show them that he's finally switched sides, he chooses "Let's gut the friggin' nerd," which sounds far more appropriate for a bully on a kids' show to say with genuine conviction than a Harvard student.
** During the scene in which Eduardo is explaining how Mark first approached him with the idea for Facebook, there's a close-up on his face as he utters the very strange line: "{{In a world}} where social structure was everything, that was ''the'' thing." In context, it sounds incredibly bizarre and out of place, almost as though someone accidentally included a page from the script for the trailer voiceover in the screenplay itself.
** The incredibly intense, brilliantly acted confrontation between Eduardo and Mark is undone slightly by mentioning the [[InherentlyFunnyWord chicken]] when it could have easily just used "the ''Crimson'' article". They at least lampshade it and it doesn't throw it off course but it is still odd to see a powerhouse actor on the verge of tears, fully committing to dialogue about a chicken while sorrowful music plays. It doesn't help that Sean keeps interjecting to sincerely ask what the hell they're talking about.

* NarmCharm: Eduardo has this famous line when he's ripping into Mark after having his shares reduced [[spoiler:to a mere 0.03% while the other top dogs of Facebook get to keep theirs]]. While it might seem out of place in the midst of a very dramatic scene about betrayal, it also encapulates just how ''done'' he is with the way Mark is running the company and [[SorkinRelationshipMoment leaving him for Sean]].