‘Steve Jobs’ — Fiction vs. Reality

When Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, it wasn’t difficult to predict the flurry of cinematic activity that would follow.

For such a bigger-than-life figure, Jobs’ visible career in an industry that has come to dominate nearly every aspect of our lives was ripe for documentary and narrative storytellers alike.

In the past four years, we have seen no fewer than four different documentaries, including this year’s “The Man in the Machine.” In 2013, Ashton Kutcher starred in the feature film “Jobs,” and despite the fact that Kutcher looked exactly like the late Apple CEO, the movie proved to be a whitewashed dud.

[lz_ndn video= 29719259]

This weekend, “Steve Jobs” attempts to tell us, “What made the dude who made the iPhone tick?” one more time. Just how accurate is this latest Jobs yarn?

Note: some movie spoilers below.

Yes, Jobs was given up by his biological parents, a theme that plays heavily into the film’s psychological portrait of the title character. Yet the bigger “Jobs” narrative, about the guru’s personal life, is rife with fiction.

The film details how Jobs initially denied that an affair with Chrisann Brennan led to the birth of their daughter, Lisa. The fractured bond between father and child is a key through line in the film, and a chance to learn about Jobs the uncertain father. Yet the movie makes it seem like the two were estranged for some time. The real story? Lisa lived with Jobs during her teen years.

Yet the bigger “Jobs” narrative, about the guru’s personal life, is rife with fiction.

We’re also told nothing about Jobs’ other relationships in the film. Turns out he met and married Laurene Powell in the early 1990s. Together, they had three children. That massive part of his back story doesn’t get mentioned in “Steve Jobs.”

The movie does accurately show how the Apple II was, indeed, a financial cash cow that kept the company afloat in its early years. Yet much is made about how Jobs hid the fact that his 1980s innovation, the Macintosh computer, was part of a closed system, much to the surprise of some of his tech team mere minutes before its public debut. Turns out the team knew about this well in advance.

Yes, Oscar-winner Aaron Sorkin based the movie on the best-selling “Steve Jobs” biography by Walter Isaacson. Still, the Sorkin-script is basically a glorified three-act play packed with fabrications. And Sorkin has vigorously defended his approach to the material.

[lz_ndn video= 29800499]

So who was Steve Jobs, really?  The film digs into some of the well-documented flaws that Jobs apparently possessed, allowing its characters to air the criticisms levied at Jobs throughout his career. We still see why he was so admired by so many.

Few stop to consider the intense levels of pressure that someone in such a highly visible, competitive limelight must feel at every second of the day. Who among us would actually want the anxiety and stress associated with running a Fortune 500 company?

The guy was complex. So is his legacy. He’s no longer around to defend or clarify it for us. But there’s still no denying that the man led a fascinating life at a pivotal time in our culture, even if “Steve Jobs” takes significant liberties in reminding us.