The most quixotic quest in Steve Jobs does not come courtesy of the title character, but of his Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who shows up at each of the three product launches that this film covers over 14 years to request acknowledgement for the team that worked on the Apple II computer, whose contributions Jobs keep insisting are irrelevant to the direction of the future. It is highly unlikely that the real Woz actually kept this up, or that all the other same set of people in his life kept showing up 5 minutes before Jobs was about to take the stage. That improbability is part and parcel of the artfulness that visionary creators like Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle always strive to convey. In the case of Steve Jobs, that structure is not just style, which is especially evident in the Seth Rogen-portrayed version of Woz’s Sisyphean streak.
The question of whether or not Jobs will express gratitude to accomplishments that are (supposedly) irrelevant to his promises is at the heart of whether or not great figures with personal shortcomings are necessarily wired that way. Michael Fassbender’s performance lends itself to either interpretation: perhaps Jobs would not have been the influencer he was if he had made more interpersonal compromises, or maybe he would have accomplished even more. What is undoubtedly true is that he saw the world like no else did, and it will take someone with a similarly unprecedented mind to solve the brilliant/decent binary-or-not conundrum.
Jeff Malone is a voracious entertainment consumer and entertainment creator. He currently resides in New York City, where he received his Master’s in Media Studies at The New School. In addition to his pieces on TMRzoo.com and StarPulse.com, you can check out his blog (jmunney.wordpress.com), where he provides regular coverage of Community and Saturday Night Live, as well as other television, film, music, and the rest of pop culture.
