Fight Club 10/10

So this being my first post, I decided to dedicate this monumental occasion to one of my most-loved films; Fight Club.

Before I begin with my blow by blow opinion of this marvelous film we better get through with crediting the people who are responsible for this work of art:
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Jim Ulhs (screenplay)
Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter

For anymore tedious facts you can jump to this link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/.

So now for the fun stuff; Fight Club, in its essence, is about the results of living in a modern society. The effects are shown with an insomniac pessimist (who remains nameless and is simply referred to as 'The Narrator' which raises a few interesting points which we will discuss later). He seems to be a byproduct of a society which focuses on materialism and consumerism. He meets a character called Tyler Durden (played by Brad Pitt) who makes soap and together they set up a Fight Club.

Tyler Durden, by means of character analysis, is one of the most carefree characters ever played on screen. He uses every opportunity to push boundaries and reveal the indifference of society. He is dangerous and reckless. But he is also idolized as someone we all hope to be, someone who does not care for rules and restrictions. Someone who will do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants to.

Throughout the movie Tyler proves how unnecessary modern goals are (i.e having the perfect life by means of buying the perfect car and house and clothes etc.) and it is clear that he is free of this modern obsession with buying.

The most interesting thing about Tyler Durden as a character is that he is actually not a character at all, but was imagined up by the Narrator. This has been debated and the director used clues to show that Tyler is a figment of the Narrator's imagination throughout the movie (having Tyler flash into scenes when he is not really there, having Tyler phone on a phone that does not receive incoming calls). He links the two characters together until finally, the Narrator reaches the realization that Tyler never really existed (in the hotel room).

The Narrator emphasizes anonymity. He is a white-collar worker and finds no satisfaction from his work or his life. He just does the same thing over and over again. This unhappiness results in insomnia and the only relief he finds is hearing about others problems  (as shown by his trips to counseling groups for the sick) which seems to imply that in a world that thrives off competition we can only find happiness in others pain?

The facts that the Narrator has no name may imply that he symbolizes all of us and the fact that Tyler Durden manages to cause so much damage in this 'perfect society' shows that each of us have the capability to do the same and simply let go.

So, essentially, the Narrator seeks individuality and to be someone and not a number or statistic (which is something that the Narrator is obsessed with). And yet, interestingly enough, throughout Project Mayhem Tyler refuses to give the people who are part of it, an identity. They have no names and this may highlight the need for a sense of community even if it means the loss of individuality.

Another very important theme of fight club is masculinity. The reason why the clubs become so popular in the movie is because Tyler, or the Narrator managed to have figured out what men of today 'need'. A way to feel like men and that society has stripped men of their most basic instinct, to fight and protect what is important to them.

An interesting point is that one of the counseling groups that the Narrator goes to is for men dealing with testicular cancer (which in itself is a believed loss of masculinity) then the fights start and it begins to create a sense of unity because; the first rule of fight club is; you do not talk about fight club. For the first time, the narrator and the men who are part of this 'elite' fighting club feel that there is something more important than the items they spend their lives working for to get and then be told that it is not good enough and they need to buy more.

Marla is a very complex and the importance of her character is often ignored. The best description of her is probably destruction. She is a very interesting character and while the Narrator tries to live up to societies view of having the perfect life (with all the perfect household appliances) Marla prides herself in being an outcast of this society. Whenever she comes into the Narrators life she seems to cause some destruction whether intentionally or unintentionally it cannot be decided but she ruins his short-found peace in the  counseling groups and I believe the Narrator falls in love with her possibly because she resembles Tyler in the way that she has not given in to societies rules of conforming.

However he does not seem to be able to act on his feelings for her and this is shown when she has sex with him, the Narrator seems to believe she is having sex with Tyler (showing his inability to love someone possibly because of his unhappiness and inability to love himself)

Fight Club will always be one of my favorite films and it is a movie you can watch over and over and over again whilst realizing new information every time. Its cynical view of life is eye-opening and mocks the need for material goods in order for us to try fill a void of unhappiness within ourselves. This film, though filmed in 1999 is still completely valid in this day and age. It is truly dark and twisted.