The “Social Network’s” Unlikable Hero

I‘ve been catching up on some movie watching lately and finally went to see The Social Network. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that I thought the hype was justified. The writing was great.

The thing that really stuck with me was how much I liked Mark Zuckerberg, even though he’s never, not once, a nice guy.

I’m fascinated by anti-heroes. What makes us love them? After much thought, the best I can come up with is that he may not be likable, but he’s consistent, honest and so fucking smart (not to mention rich) that we, as the audience, want to be him. Agree? Disagree?

Who are other great unlikable heroes, and why do we love them? I’d love to hear some thoughts from all you out there in cyberspace…