Last Friday, October 9, writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Reckoning” was released in theaters, sporting a message everyone needs to pay more attention to. The film was marketed as a companion piece to 2010’s “The Social Network,” which Aaron Sorkin wrote and David Fincher directed. “The Social Network” starred Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg and chronicled the creation of Facebook and Zuckerberg’s fallout with his co-founder and best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield).
“The Social Reckoning” sees Jeremy Strong step into the role of Zuckerberg, though the plot is less focused on him directly. Instead, most of the film tells the story of real-life whistleblower and former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, played by Mikey Madison (“Scream,” “Anora”). Haugen reluctantly teams up with investigative journalist for The Wall Street Journal, Jeff Horwitz, played by Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear,” “Shameless”). The two work together to uncover and expose some of Facebook’s controversial behind-the-scenes decisions, largely when it comes to engagement, misinformation and what the Facebook algorithm suggests to its users both on Facebook and Instagram.
The film pretty much spans from 2019 to 2021, and while it doesn’t shy away from using real-world events to situate the viewer and reveal Facebook’s involvement (or lack thereof), it doesn’t spend too much time getting into the details of the events, which works in its favor. One major event depicted is the global COVID-19 pandemic, which the film uses to highlight how many people were misinformed about COVID-19 precautions including masks and vaccines due to what they were seeing on Facebook. Another major real-world event shown is the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which allows the film to dramatize Zuckerberg’s decision to temporarily suspend Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts as a result.
The film is smart in its portrayal of these events, as it shows their importance and how Facebook impacted real life but doesn’t spend too much time getting into all the details, which would’ve been biting off more than it could chew. This strategy allows it to cover all kinds of other ways Facebook was under investigation at the time, when it came to misinformation in paid political ads, mental health in teenage girls on the platform, users being led by the algorithm to join violent extremist groups, etc.
The dynamic between Horwitz and Haugen drives the film, with their verbal sparring adding humor and humanity to the events. Haugen’s emotions are also quite interesting, as she repeatedly emphasizes her love for her job and belief in Facebook’s mission alongside her concern for the decisions being made by leadership.
Personally, I enjoyed the film a lot and was entertained from start to finish. It succeeded in making me feel frustrated about the state of the world, with billionaires controlling everything without care for the people they harm. The most frustrating part is the fact that we are watching the film knowing that very little has changed since the events of the film occurred; if anything, things have arguably only gotten worse with the rise of AI. The film should definitely be rocking the world by highlighting the real events, but unfortunately I don’t think anything will come of it. Nevertheless, the film is worth watching and will hopefully lead more people to question their support of the billionaires in charge.
Senior Emily Myers is a Copy Editor. Her email is emyers3@fandm.edu.