Lexi Klein Portfolio

A character analysis of Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network

In director David Fincher’s 2010 film The Social Network, actor Jesse Eisenberg successfully embodied Mark Zuckerberg’s character by adopting intentional acting properties that portrayed the inner conflicts one faces between quality and quantity within relationships and business. Through Eisenberg’s portrayal of Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg, he emphasizes the personal battle for humanity that has risen due to the rise and power of social media. Yet, while Eisenberg could’ve merely played the role of Zuckerberg, he instead analyzed the character within the script, allowing for his performance to highlight the film’s theme of the footprint social media platforms have left (and continue to leave) on society.

The use of physicality by Eisenberg as the creator of Facebook helped to convey the strain of popularity on the public. While Mark Zuckerberg himself has been a parody of comedy skits for well over a decade now, Eisenberg took a different approach to the character. Rather than playing the man, he embraced the character he read in the script. The actor utilized contrasting movements to showcase his character’s struggle between personal life and business. When Eisenberg’s character confronts a former romantic interest, Erica Albright, he is stiff and stuttering. The eye-contactless attempt to convince Albright to go someplace alone to talk emphasizes his character’s discomfort in the social setting. He is inferior in this situation, suggesting that for others socializing may come naturally, but for Eisenberg’s character it is not so easy. On the other hand, he is–as he knows and makes known–oftentimes the smartest in the room when it comes to business. Eisenberg plays his character’s arrogance to a T by contrasting his social interactions with his business endeavors. Through the use of harsh articulation and firm composure, Eisenberg is able to deliver a stern performance that highlights his character’s large ego that he musters due to his high IQ level. This can be seen in the cease and desist scene where the Winklevoss twins attempt to sue Zuckerberg for “stealing” their idea for Harvard Connection when creating Facebook. Instead of quivering as he did in the social altercation with Albright, Eisenberg plays his character with conceited confidence. As the twins’ lawyer questions him, Eisenberg snaps his head from staring out the window, showcasing one of his character’s first moments of true conviction. His sharp diction when delivering his character’s lines that his attention truly lies “back at the offices of Facebook” where his work is the kind that neither the Winklevosses nor anyone else in the room “are intellectually or creatively capable of doing,” showcases the business side of Zuckerberg (The Social Network). Yet it is not Mark Zuckerberg he is playing at all. Instead, it is the Mark Zuckerberg that he read and found while analyzing Fincher’s script. Eisenberg is playing the role to convey a message: one faces demons and creates walls for themself when placing success over true human connection. Social media over reality.

It is Eisenberg’s persona, equipped by his talent and mythology carried into this role, that allows him to bring the film’s version of Mark Zuckerberg to life. Eisenberg has been known to play the role of an anxiety-filled, yet driven nerd before starring in The Social Network, bringing a strong sense of a firm foundation to his performance seen in the film. Since he’s constantly cast in such roles, Eisenberg is able to bring the complexity a character such as this needs in order to make the audience believe his performance. His aura allows for this and is especially emphasized in the room with Eisenberg’s character’s lawyers and him and his co-founder Eduardo Saverin. In this scene his lawyers are surrounded by flashbacks from before not only their business partnership was broken, but their friendship as well. Eisenberg’s aura and talent can be seen as a teary-eyed Eduardo looks Eisenberg’s character in the eye declaring that “[he] was [Zuckerberg’s] only friend,” followed by a cut to Eisenberg’s character’s reaction (The Social Network). Eisenberg’s own awkward look, the curly-boyish haircut, translucent brows, and sheepish complexion, give him the qualities of an outcast. His talent is shown in his emotionless reaction to such a highly charged line from his castmate, with his eyes showing no remorse and his lips remaining neutral. It’s moments such as this, something as simple as a reaction to another’s line, that push the viewer to see the persona that Eisenberg is working to exude from his character. Furthermore, the Kuleshov Effect comes into play here as the audience is able to derive a new interpretation of the kind of character that Eisenberg is enacting. He’s not merely a socially awkward nerd, he’s an egotistical maniac who places his societal rank above his true friendships, or in this case his only friendship. Through Eisenberg’s character’s lack of expression to his (former) best friend’s pain, the audience can see his self-centered ways. It’s a seemingly subtle moment, yet it is truly a strong one. Eisenberg’s character is no longer an outcast looking to fit in, he’s a cut-throat businessman who will do anything and everything to accelerate his own status–wounding even his greatest of allies in the process.

Eisenberg’s age and appearance play a crucial role in his ability to rightfully play 20-year-old Zuckerberg in the film. During the time of filming The Social Network, Eisenberg was still a relatively young actor at the age of twenty-six with a baby face that allowed him to pull off his young character’s naive youth. Since age cannot be faked on film as it is in theater, this was crucial to Eisenberg’s success in his performance. His appearance allows for his actions to be believable on screen, as seen in the opening where young Zuckerberg is dumped by Albright. In true frat-boy-form, Eisenberg’s character resorts to bullying tactics via his online blog, “Zuckonit,” in a revenge post aimed at Albright (The Social Network). This showcases the film’s first drill into the negative attributes of social media. Eisenberg’s darting eyes, as he falls to be a slave to his screen, is a tactical performance of his character’s deep reliance on the social network he will go on to create. Hiding behind the screen, Eisenberg plays his character with a childlike pursed lip and vengeful eyes as he sips back a beer. A toddler throwing a young adult tantrum. It’s in this scene that the viewer gets a foreshadowing peak into the cruelties of the online world that comes with the creation of social media platforms such as Facebook. Eisenberg’s successful portrayal of his resentful character pushes the audience into the world of the face social media platforms allow otherwise meek haters to put on. Since the creation of platforms, such as Facebook, people have been able to publicly publish hateful comments and posts with a screen to shield themselves and hide behind. This is The Social Network’s message, this is Eisenberg’s performance’s purpose: to showcase the scapegoat from reality that social media has allowed for and created.

It is not classified information that social media has enabled people to connect with one another at a faster pace with greater ease. With that being said, it is also no secret that social media has placed an obstacle between users when it comes to the enjoyment of real human connection. Despite the release of this film being over a decade ago, and Facebook’s publication date being almost two decades old, Eisenberg’s portrayal of his character remains true to our current-day issues surrounding social media. While there may still be a real-life Mark Zuckerberg standing in the Facebook offices right now, there are also thousands, if not millions, of young Eisenberg-Zuckerbergs out there; hiding behind their screens, posting anonymously, reaping no consequences for their hateful posts and backstabbing comments. The universality of this piece is seen in not only the continuation of Facebook and other social media platforms but also the ongoing legacy of its haunting control over society even now.

Works Cited
Fincher, D. (2010). The Social Network. Columbia Pictures.