Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, has reacted to The Social Network, a movie based on how he founded the site, saying the filmmakers don’t understand that someone may build something for enjoyment, rather than just to attract women.
The Social Network, a biopic of Zuckerberg, received critical acclaim, however, it received controversy over claims that the story was not accurate.
His response was seen on this YouTube video, where he was speaking at Y Combinator.
Zuckerberg was asked what one of the biggest differences was between himself and the representation of him in the movie.
He said he found in “interesting” that one of the biggest aspects they got thematically wrong was that his motivation to develop Facebook was to attract women.
“The whole framing of the movie is I’m with this girl – who doesn’t exist in real life – who dumps me,” he said, before adding, to the amusement of the crowd, “which has happened in real life, a lot.”
“And basically, the framing is that the whole reason for making Facebook and building something was because I wanted to get girls, or wanted to get into clubs.”
Zuckerberg then pointed out that he has been going out with the same girl since before he made Facebook, rendering the film’s version of Zuckerberg’s motivation for building the site to be untrue.
“It’s such a big disconnect from the way people who make movies think about what we do in Silicon Valley,” said Zuckerberg.
“They just can’t wrap their head around the idea that someone might build something because they like building things.”
However, he did admit that the film got one thing right – his fashion sense.
“It’s interesting the stuff that they focused on getting right – like every single shirt and fleece they had in that movie is actually a shirt or fleece that I own,” he said.
