Aron Ralston vs. Mark Zuckerberg

What does canyoneer Aron Ralston have in common with Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg? Not much at all, you might think. However, given the fact that these men are the subjects of two of the biggest movies of the year (“127 Hours” and “The Social Network”), I thought it appropriate to put them under the microscope and see what makes them tick. It turns out that they are more similar than you would expect.

Both films find these men traversing lonely terrains. Aron (James Franco) finds solace in the deep canyons of Utah whereas Mark (Jesse Eisenberg) takes refuge in the vast reaches of cyberspace. However, in the end, Aron’s experience in isolation brings him closer to his loved ones while Mark’s drives him further away. Ironically, Mark loses friends in the process of building a platform to bring friends together.

Mark and Aron’s stories both tap into the zeitgeist and reflect our nation’s current state. “127 Hours” is the quintessential survival story for our time—a time in which our country, like Aron Ralston, is trapped between a rock and a hard place. Like him, we need to accept great sacrifices in order to survive.

“The Social Network” is about the age of online everything in which we do not always consider the emotions of the people we are communicating with behind our computer screens. Mark is a new age loner, a man who loses friends through the cold detachment of technology. Aron is a refreshingly old-fashioned loner—a thrill-seeker who favors the great outdoors over human connection. In the end, both of these films call for more human connection in this increasingly disconnected world.

Lastly, both of these films surprised audiences by taking seemingly simple stories and exposing their complexities. With “127 Hours,” audiences asked, “How could a story about a man forced to cut his arm off in a canyon make for a two-hour movie?” With “The Social Network,” the question was: “Why does a website where people chat with friends warrant a feature-length film?”

Both films transcend those simple concepts. “127 Hours” was even more successful in this regard than “The Social Network.” Now hear me out, stick with me. “The Social Network” had Facebook’s current, growing success on its side whereas “127 Hours” had to take a news story that is seven years old and make it seem fresh and relevant. In the trailer alone, it takes the vaguely familiar story and makes it vividly iconic. I did not know what the film was about when the trailer started and as soon as I caught the brief glimpse of James Franco falling into the slot canyon, I found myself knowingly nodding. The memories of Aron Ralston’s ordeal came flooding back to me and I felt the inspiration from it all over again.

There's the Facebook nutshell of how these men are similar. In short, if Aron Ralston was on Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg would friend him. (It would probably work the other way around actually.)