The Social Network

The Social Network is hitting movie theaters on October 1st.  If you are unfamiliar with The Social Network, it’s a film inspired by the creation of Facebook.  The stars of the movie include Jesse Eisenberg who plays Zuck, Justin Timberlake who plays Sean Parker (former President of Facebook), and Andrew Garfield who plays Zuck’s best friend, Eduardo Saverin.

So far I’ve seen a lot of discussion surrounding the way the movie portrays Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook).  Supposedly (I have yet to see the movie, since it isn’t out yet), the movie portrays Zuck as pompous and arrogant.  While this may be true, may I be the first to say, who cares?  This is a major production film by Columbia Pictures.  This isn’t some indie film.  Since when has Hollywood ever portrayed anything the way it actually was (or is)?

The answer is never.  They stretch and exaggerate the truth with everything.  That’s why everything is “based on a true story” or “inspired by.”  If you expect to go to the movie theater and see a documentary on Facebook, you totally missed the boat here.  As far as I can tell, this movie is just like any other film inspired by something and its sole purpose is to sell tickets.

Which is exactly why it’s surprising to see so many articles and comments that are critiquing the movie based on the way it portrays Zuck.  No one should care about that.  I don’t even care and I’m in the tech scene.  What you should care about is if you do go to see this movie that you are entertained and feel that you got your money’s worth.  After all, entertainment is what the major motion pictures are all about.

So when all of you techies go to see this movie, I would recommend that you aren’t overly critical in the ways they present the story or portray someone and remember the films purpose is to entertain – not inform.