# The Social Network for Best Picture? Really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523 "2011-01-30T17:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/1 "2011-01-30T17:37:23Z")
(I did a search for discussion about the film but I guess we never had a thread just for the movie.) Finally got around to seeing this. An entertaining film that pushes all the right cliched buttons with the audience, but Best Picture? C’mon, this thing is far from being anything original. It takes the overly worn formula Hollywood formula of rebel/underdog/nobody to whom fame/money come too fast where we watch their inevitable rise, friends/partners/family abandon them, yada-yada-yada, ending scenes where we get the text overs of where they are today. Again, it was effective, fun, but nothing I haven’t seen before. They just inserted Facebook to build the trope around. We even got all the expected scenes: -Pretty shots of an Ivy league school while the main character travels across campus. -The Ivy league campus bar where the college kids banter back and forth with rapid fire witty dialog straight out of the Gilmore Girls. -The “OMG, this thing is growing so fast!” rise. -Witty one-liners to put down lawyers. -The “wild parties” during the rise. I liked the movie, I’d recommend the movie, but let’s be real, this thing is not Oscar worthy in any form. ---
**Author:** ![alexandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@alexandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alexandra)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/2 "2011-01-30T17:41:44Z")
Agree. But I think some critics/audiences get a hard-on for Aaron Sorkin making his characters verbose and fast-paced conversationists. The man got a pass from many for “Studio 60” - at least this was actually good. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/3 "2011-01-30T17:43:49Z")
I didn’t think it was very good, either. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it just seemed like a movie I see and then never think much about it later. Inception was the movie of the year, to me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/4 "2011-01-30T17:55:57Z")
C’mon! My wife noted that this film is the first she’s seen (or can remember) where the preps were the _good_ guys. She even gave the film credit for not even having a quick scene where the Vandermoss(?) twins are being criminal/racist/sexist… it’s like _Revenge of the Nerds_ without the humor and the good guy/bad guy roles reversed. And if that doesn’t deserve an Oscar, then nothing does. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/5 "2011-01-30T18:00:26Z")
They need 10 movies to fill out the Best Pic category, and this was one of the 10 best I saw last year. It’s still not as good as “The King’s Speech”, which is the one to beat in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/6 "2011-01-30T18:20:06Z")
It was nothing. Let’s say I have an idea for a movie, about a business. Someone thinks it up, but a techie hired to implement it, steals it instead, and the whole movie is about the lawsuit trying to clear up whose idea it was in the first place. To add to this excitement, the originators (identical twins! and born filthy rich!) are unlikeable jerks, as is the techie who steals the idea–he’s totally inept socially, has problems getting girls even after he makes his first few million, and he alienates everyone he knows, even the people who helped him steal the business idea. The whole thing is told in flashback from the depositions. Is this a good plot? No? How about if it’s about --facebook!!! And how about if my name is Aaron Sorkin!!! ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/7 "2011-01-30T20:04:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Inception was the movie of the year, to me. Inception was a movie built on a foundation of unbelievable contrivances. Social Network was not, and thus infinitely more engaging for me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/8 "2011-01-30T20:08:13Z")
My spouse saw Social Network. Said she couldn’t get past the fact that the guy is a total asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/9 "2011-01-30T20:16:00Z")
It’s the Academy’s attempt to appeal to “young people.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/10 "2011-01-30T20:39:25Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > C’mon! My wife noted that this film is the first she’s seen (or can remember) where the preps were the _good_ guys. She even gave the film credit for not even having a quick scene where the Vandermoss(?) twins are being criminal/racist/sexist.. Not so much ‘good’ guys as decently developed antagonists (ditto Wardo) . None of them were evil moustache twirlers, and the disputes between them and MZ were portrayed as reasonable reactions and character consistent. Sean only came across as half douche, not 100%. But this is enough for a decent movie to climb above the dreck and be considered an oscar front runner. (See also: _Slumdog Millionaire)_ ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/11 "2011-01-30T21:01:41Z")
**127 Hours** is it for me. I know it doesn’t have a chance for winning Best Picture, but it really resonated with me, and I loved its refreshing take on the “survival” story. I’d give the Oscar to Franco too. And I say that as a huge Fincher fan (not to mention Aronofsky and Nolan). Also, I think it a crime that Tron: Legacy didn’t get nominated for Best VFX. Sure, the movie on the whole was blah, but the VFX was gorgeous. Otherwise, give that Oscar to Inception. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/12 "2011-01-30T21:10:43Z")
I’ve only seen 8 of the 10 BP nominees, but of those 8, The Social Network is number 7 (The Fighter being #8). It was OK, but deserved a nomination only because there are ten slots. The two I have not seen (yet) are True Grit and Black Swan. Because of all the Best Picture talk, I was seriously underwhelmed; disappointed, even. I did enjoy a lot of the smart-assy dialogue, though. mmm ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/13 "2011-01-30T22:06:20Z")
I liked this movie better when it was called _Pirates of Silicon Valley_. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/14 "2011-01-30T22:15:04Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > (I did a search for discussion about the film but I guess we never had a thread just for the movie.) There was, but I didn’t participate so I never paid much attention to it. I guess I figured most people would be like most of the people in this thread who don’t see the brilliance of it, and didn’t want to bother. I thought it was one of the best movies not just of last year, but of the last decade. I’ve seen it 3 times and I hope to see it again before it leaves the theaters. Not only does it deserves all the nominations it’s up for, it deserves to sweep everything. It won’t, but it will deserve to. And I say that even though it’s not even in my Top 5 favorite movies of the year. And I’m not much of a Facebook person (as in, I’ve made around 10 Status Updates in the last 6 months). I’m not a geek or a nerd or very technologically-minded at all. I’ve only ever seen one other thing Aaron Sorkin has done, **Charlie Wilson’s War** (which I also thought was pretty great), so it has nothing to do with being a Sorkin fan. I say that even though **Inception** is more of a favorite and I think IT deserves to be getting far more awards attention than it has been getting (no Nolan for Best Director, and no Editing nomination?? _outrage_). It’s not going to win Best Picture. For a while there I was sure it would, but I don’t think that anymore. **The King’s Speech** will win, and thank god for it. Not only do I really like it, I won’t have to spend the next several years hearing people bitch about The Social Network winning over a more conventional movie. On the other hand, I’ll feel bad for The King’s Speech because as I said in that movie’s thread, it’s going to be unfairly railed against. To self-indugently quote myself: [QUOTE=me, in that other thread] Of course, if The King’s Speech wins, it will be unfairly reviled by a generation of moviegoers, many of whom will not care a whit about Facebook, but who know great movies when they see one, the same sort of people who complain about How Green Was My Valley winning BP over Citizen Kane, or Dances With Wolves winning over Goodfellas, or Titanic winning over LA Confidential, or A Beautiful Mind winning over Fellowship of the Ring, or Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain. Then it’ll be you folks who have to keep defending it. It deserves defending as much as those other movies (I happen to like all those movies that won, even if I like most of the ones that didn’t win more), but man is it tiring. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/15 "2011-01-30T22:54:46Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My spouse saw Social Network. Said she couldn’t get past the fact that the guy is a total asshole. … which was sort of the point. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/16 "2011-01-30T23:10:23Z")
**Equipoise** , your appetite for movies seems to be voracious. You should start a blog. If you haven’t already. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/17 "2011-01-30T23:38:12Z")
I’ve seen The Social Network twice in just over a week. I’ll admit I watched it the first time because it was about Facebook. I watched it the second time because I thought it was a really good movie. Now I haven’t seen any of the other nominated movies other than Inception, so I won’t try to argue the merits of it compared to them. But just glancing at Rotten Tomatoes I can see that it’s 2nd in average ratings of all the movies (King’s Speech is first), so it’s not really surprising it was nominated. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/18 "2011-01-31T00:21:45Z")
> [@alexandra](#): > > Agree. But I think some critics/audiences get a hard-on for Aaron Sorkin making his characters verbose and fast-paced conversationists. The man got a pass from many for “Studio 60” - at least this was actually good. Ditto - for fans of The West Wing, this was a chance to fill up on that familiar soup. I can see how someone who was never into that show found the verbal fireworks in the movie to be a revelation. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/19 "2011-01-31T00:57:49Z")
He’s definitely an asshole and yes, it’s kinda the point. How many great protagonists are jerks? I’m going to be a real lazy ass and quote myself again, from The King’s Speech thread. > [@](#): > > The Social Network is no more “about some social website” than The King’s Speech is “about some rich guy who stutters.” Or The Wrestler is “about wrestling.” Or Black Swan is “about ballet.” Or The Godfather is “about mobsters.” Or Slumdog Millionaire is “about the slums of Mumbai.” Or Brokeback Mountain is “about sheep herding.” I could go on. > > Great movies can take a core subject and make it more into universal themes that people may or may not be able to relate to, but which elevates it much higher than the subject at its core. As I’ve said elsewhere, but can’t remember where, I had and have no interest in wrestling, but love The Wrestler, because the movie transcended mere wrestling. The same with The Social Network. I don’t have much interest in Facebook, but the movie transcends Facebook. Hell, same with The King’s Speech. I don’t have a whole lot of interest in British royalty, but the movie transcended the royalty aspect, even though it was a very important part. > > The Social Network can and should be viewed more like a Shakespearian-themed story, set in modern day. Who gives a damn about the rich and privileged people who populate Shakespeare’s plays and boo hoo over their misfortunes? Not many, yet Shakespeare manages to make his stories transcend those things and makes us be interested. Aaron Sorkin, who has no interest in Facebook himself, does the same thing. If people don’t like it, fine. I don’t care. But to complain that it’s one of 10 nominees when, as **enalzi** points out, the movie is [97% at Rotten Tomatoes](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-social-network/) and has been nominated for, and won [tons of awards](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/awards) all over the world, and really, I doubt the BAFTA folks are slavering Aaron Sorkin fans, is kinda bizarre to me. It’s made almost [$100 million](http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=socialnetwork.htm) at the box office, which doesn’t mean anything at all, but I love seeing that it did well because it’s a most unlikely movie to do so well. Critics and movie-goers think there’s worth in the movie, and it’s liked by people who both hate Facebook, and people who love Facebook, as well as those who don’t give a damn either way. This is off-topic, so I put it in spoiler tags.[spoiler] > [@GuanoLad](#): > > **Equipoise** , your appetite for movies seems to be voracious. You should start a blog. If you haven’t already. Thank you but I’m way too lazy and I couldn’t make it be worth anyone’s time, especially on a regular basis. There are hundreds, thousands of bloggers who write about movies better than I do vying for eyes. I couldn’t compete and probably more importantly, couldn’t keep up. I have started keeping track of what movies I see on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/happyrhodesfan) and that’s fun but iffy. I record them in order and I’m determined not to fall behind, but no guarantees. I didn’t even keep up with the thread I started here. I do love movies, but I unfortunately lack the capacity to make that very interesting or useful.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523/20 "2011-01-31T01:20:26Z")
I saw it yesterday and I enjoyed it very much. Was it one of the best pictures of last year? I only saw a handful of movies last year so I can’t answer that question. It was fun. The dialogue was engaging and the storyline touches on an important part of the web. The other day I was actually debating whether or not to set up a Facebook account. On one hand the networking idea is nice. On the other I fear the net is already eroding our sense of privacy. I don’t think the whole world needs to know every single detail about my life. I have no idea if Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole. If he is an asshole, well he’s not even 30 yet. He was nineteen at the time and many if not most people are assholes at nineteen. After a bit of reading I think the true assholes here are the Winklevosses. They got millions out of an idea they essentially abandoned because they were too busy concentrating on rowing. They are incredibly good looking, highly wealthy, very smart, in prime health and what do they do with their lives? They’re suing Facebook because a $140 million dollar settlement wasn’t enough for them. I find them disgusting on about sixteen different levels. They’re spoiled, whiny pricks and I hope they lose as much money as possible. Their overwhelming sense of ludicrous entitlement and inability to understand what is true tragedy sort of sickens me, especially after I spent part of yesterday visiting a friend who will probably be dead of breast cancer soon. Her young son is in my daughter’s second grade class. He turns eight next month. The Winklevii strike me as far bigger jackasses than Zuckerberg. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-social-network-for-best-picture-really/569523.md?page=2)