What annoys me most about the flurry of 'best of the year' prizes for The Social Network is the discussion of the seemingly 'revolutionary' idea that much of human progress stems from the desire to impress the opposite sex (or same sex) in an effort to appear sexually desirable. Sorry folks, it's probably a somewhat correct notion, but Matt Groening and the gang hashed this one out way back in May of 2001. The Social Network is a fun and entertaining bit of fiction helped immeasurably by the clever penmanship of Aaron Sorkin. But it's 'groundbreaking' idea isn't as original as the pundits seem to think. Futurama had the right idea nearly ten years earlier.
Scott Mendelson
