AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NEW FACEBOOK MOVIE

Dear Hollywood,

So we heard that you’ve decided to make a movie about Facebook. Specifically, about how the social networking site grew from a little project hatched by a vindictive, fame-whoring computer genius into a global phenomenon with over 300 million active users.

(Special note to Mark E. Zuckerberg ’06-’07: Relax, Zuckerberg! We don’t actually think you’re the asshole that the script makes you out to be. Please don’t hack into our computer systems and/or steal our business venture ideas.)

Now, we at FlyBy are going to assume that you think this movie—which you’ve blandly titled The Social Network—is going to be a big hit. After all, you got Aaron Sorkin to write it. Insiders are apparently raving about it. You’re talking to Justin Timberlake about playing Napster founder Sean Parker.  But we at FlyBy just got a hold of the script, and frankly…well, we’ll tell you what we thought after the jump.

First, we understand that you’re in the moviemaking, not fact-checking, business, so we’ll let our quibbles about realism slide. But here’s one scene—a conversation between Mark and the undergrads who accused him of stealing the idea of Facebook from them—that made us wince:

Mark: Yeah. How’s this different from MySpace or Friendster?

Tyler: How?

Mark: Yeah.

Tyler: Harvard-dot-EDU.

Cameron: Harvard.edu. The most prestigious email address in the country.

Tyler: This site would be based on the idea that girls want to meet guys who go to Harvard. The difference between what we’re talking about and MySpace, Friendster—

Mark: —is exclusivity.

Ouch, way to make us all seem like elitist jerks! As if we didn’t do a good enough job of that ourselves. (By the way, we think you mean fas.harvard.edu.)

But okay. We’ll take criticism humbly, even when it comes in the form of tiresome stereotypes. Although, really, we swear we’re not all A) blazer-wearing rowers, B) Indians, C) slutty Asian girls, or D) computer geeks.