The Social Network and Citizen Kane

   Citizen Kane and The Social Network contain very similar elements, especially between the main characters of each film. There are also distinct differences between the main characters of each film. This essay aims to point out these key commonalities and differences found between Charles Kane and Mark Zuckerberg.
   There were surprisingly quite a few similarities between The Social Network and Citizen Kane. One of the main similarities is that both Charles Kane and Mark Zuckerberg were not interested in making money from their business even though they became extremely wealthy from it. Another similarity is that both characters made a form of media that changed the way information is spread out. Kane made a newspaper that influenced the public so much so that they would vote for whoever Kane supported. Zuckerberg created a website that made the way we socialize radically different from what it used to be. For example, we sometimes Facebook stalk a person to get to know him or her rather than asking people we know about the person. Another similarity between the movies is that Kane and Zuckerberg did not get what they wanted in the end. Kane wanted his sled and childhood back, and Zuckerberg wanted Erica Albright who left him at the beginning of the film. Another similarity is that both Zuckerberg and Kane wrote badly about their ladies: Zuckerberg writes mean things about Erica after she breaks up with him, and Kane writes a bad review about Susan Alexander Kane’s opera singing on opening night.
   There were obvious differences between the movies. For instance, Kane writes exaggerated newspapers, but Zuckerberg created a social website for users to have control over their own accounts. Another example is that Kane tried to fill his life with physical objects whereas Zuckerberg did not. Another difference is that Kane yearned for the love and attention of everyone around him whereas Zuckerberg only wanted the love of one person, Erica Albright. Another difference is that Kane used his newspaper business to try and gain political power while Zuckerberg just wanted to redeem himself with the Harvard student body after making FaceMash.
   At a first glance, it might seem like both movies have very little in common, especially since each takes place in very different time periods. However, when comparing and contrasting both movies, it turns out that The Social Network and Citizen Kane have many commonalities and a few differences between their main characters, Mark Zuckerberg and Charles Kane, as shown above.