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Fight Club (1999) David Fincher (MARXISM (The narrator is stuck in the…
Fight Club (1999) David Fincher
Marla
unconventional female lead
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Gothic like appearance and demeanor
Doesn't conform to the ideal beauty standards of society, dark attire and a sinister silhouette
Constantly smoking
No care for herself or her health
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simultaneous Marla answering the phone and the ignition of the narrators apartment emphasising the idea she is the trigger and ignition to the narrators deteriorating mental state
Marla is a catalyst for the progression of the films narrative
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Because of Marla, the narrator cannot cry at the support groups, which leads him to tap into his primitive need for violence
Quotes
Critics:
'Macho porn'- Roger Ebert
Men fighting, the fast paces raw and explicit violent scenes
'Fight club is a thrill ride masquerading as philosophy'- Roger Ebert
'Brilliantly realised series of sucker punches, a philosophical howl disguised as a muscular guy movie- Maitland McDonagh
'testosterone-fueled science of ''Fight Club'' touches a raw nerve'-Janet Maslin
fight club was released not long after the columbine high school shooting 'touching a raw nerve' could suggest the film is too hard hitting because of the tragedies that happened very closely to the films release
'Fight Club watches this form of escapism morph into something much more dangerous'-Janet Maslin
'If watched from afar, it might be mistaken for a dangerous endorsement of totalitarian tactics and super-violent nihilism in an all-out assault on society' Janet Maslin
Totalitarian:Totalitarianism is a political concept where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to control every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible.
"Deeply misogynistic!" — Susan Stark
"Morally repugnant! Socially irresponsible!" — Anita M. Busch
"A fascist rhapsody!" - David Denby
'Fight club is a gun to the head of consumerist America'- Robert Zimmer
Characters:
'We have no war, no great depression, our war is a spiritual one'- Tyler Durden
'And suddenly i realised, everything, the bombs the explosions, had something to do with a girl named Marla Singer'- Narrator
'It's only when we've lost everything that we're free to do anything'- Tyler Durden
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'copy of a copy of a copy'- Narrator
'She's infectious human waste'- Marla Singer
'How embarrassing...a house full of condements and no food'- Narrator
Could mirror how the condiments are a metaphor representing material possessions to define individuality but there's no substance to said personality, which would be the food
'A place to be somebody' -Pearson Towers condo block
'We're a generation raised by women, im starting to wonder whether another woman is what we need'
Ironically it's marla that helps the narrator break free from his domineering alter-ego
'on a long enough timeline, everyone's survival rate drops to 0'-narrator
could be longing for a simpler time or to go back in the past before a post-modern society of emasculated men who feel as though they have lost their identities
like a monkey ready to be shot into space'- tyler
goes from hating how everyones a clone, to creating his own
'you are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank, you're not the car you drive, not your fucking khakis, we're the all singing-all dancing crap of the world'-changeover to more sinister part of the film
i am jack's inflamed sense of rejection
the narrator doesn't feel a part of tylers plans anymore as they become more sadistic
Key Scenes
Ending
Marla and the narrator are depicted in low key lighting as if they are shadows portraying their characters as equal
also seen through the choice of clothing-very similar to eachother
Gives a false sense of resolvement: Tyler is dead, Marla and the narrator are together but surrounded by mass destruction suggested some things are resolved but at the same time the film is very open-ended
Fincher's iconic cold blue hues are seen along with heavy shadows and heavy CGI buildings
'Where is my mind' - Pixies reminiscent of the narrators mental state deteriorating throughout the film
Irony of everything being fine while the buildings are falling down
tylers fight switches to shots of CCTV o remind audience tyler isn't real
circular narrative goes back to the beginning of the ending
Nesting instinct
Fincher's Auteur style of iconic dirty white hues and murky greens makes the narrator's home look unsanitary and unhomley and cold despite him buying furniture made to make his house more comfortable, ironic
Panning shot of condo filling with overlays of items form the IKEA catalogue, no individuality, his house looks as though it's straight out of the mass produced furniture catalogue page
'We used to read pornography, now it's the Horchow collection'- Narrator
Shows the emasculation in the character
Narrator is portrayed sat down on the toilet, with phone tucked in his shoulder ordering furniture- feminine pose as shopping is seen as a feminine activity especially sat on the toilet, also links to his desperation to consume
The need to consume and define yourself through material possessions because of emasculation in an every-growing female society on third-wave feminism in the 90s
Remaining men together
Low key lighting, shadows, American flag suspended above the members
Could signify the crisis of masculinity in crisis in america as the lighting is focused on it
BOB
Human embodiment of the world moving from a very male dominant society to a more female-driven one
'Bob had bitch tits'- Narrator
Everyone looks the same, universal feeling of emasculation and a loss of identity
Chemical burn
recites a biblical story but changes animal sacrifices to human sacrifices
the kiss can be symbolic of baptism of a priest
chemical burn could be a form of baptism itself where the narrator is christened into this new like of project mayhem
'without pain, without sacrifice, we'd have nothing'
'don't deal with this the way those dead people do'
stay with the pain, pay attention to it-premature-enlightenment
god hates you etc, out fathers bailed, tyler's very nihilistic views of religion are portrayed very clearly
'WE DON'T NEED HIM'
low-key lighting contrast against the red shirt of tyler, is he the devil?-rejecting god, wearing red, making the narrator suffer?
Low angle shot of tyler showing he has overwhelming power of the narrator spiritually mentally and physically as he has the vinegar and can control the narrators pain by witholding the vinegar to neutralize his burn
slow motion of narrator beating angel face -extremely violent, isolated audio suggesting loss of faith in tyler's rules
SOAP
cleanliness and sacrifice
the chemical burn scene
consumerism
Tyler's anti-consumerist views create a sense of irony as he's selling his soap to consumers for profit
FINCHER'S AUTEUR STYLE
single frame inserts
Subliminal shots of Tyler
Mise en scene and colouring
excessive use of CGI
'unconventional-style' characters EG) Lisbeth Salander (the girl with the dragon tattoo)
CONTEXT 1999 - Fight Club as a zeitgeist movie
Y2K
Religion
Nihilism
'Is Tyler the devil? No, but he is the only possible alternative to the devil in a society without religion
emasculation
How masculinity is portrayed in fight club
Robert Brannon, 4 key elements of being a man
Third-wave feminism (late 90s)
Consumerism
Marxism
Consumerism in capitalist society
MARXISM
The narrator is stuck in the working class
Marxism is a structuralist theory
society is divided into the working class and the ruling class
Carl Marx and Engels believed in power stemming from wealth and status
Society is split into two classes: bourgeois (ruling class) and proletariat (weaker class)
a reaction against capitalism
Narrator works a white collar job but only when he meets tyler does he reject the capitalist society
paints a cynical view of capitalism like fight club
people want to break the financial institutions controlled by the bourgeois
fight club could be taking a more neo-marxist approach of developing society towards the end on the 20th century
an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. (capitalism)
post-modernism
the rejection of pre-existing social order and structure
people have a better understanding of the self and self-actualisation
offers more in consumerism and rejects the western capitalist system perceived as superficial
as people become more aware of themselves they begin to reject the social order of the capitalist consumerism society
Masculinity
Men are becoming more feminised as they have lost their traditional roles in society
fight to regain their masculinity and sense of identity
Nihilism: Belief that everything is pointless
Tyler rejecting the modern world , in fight club they can defend themselves and regain confidence
Tyler rejecting god in the chemical burn 'god does not like you' scene
Belief that god is dead
'we are god's unwanted children' Tyler is nihilist
fight club itself is a religious act
the 8 rules of fight club could link to the eightfold path that stems from zen buddhism
Also borrows from Buddhism as fighting is used as a way of enlightenment
'our great wars a spiritual one'
MADE $100MILLION WORLDWIDE FROM BUDGET OF $67MILLION
Gained a cult status
Fredrick Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, philologist and a Latin and Greek scholar whose work has exerted a profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history.
Nietzsche thinks that we shouldn’t be content with a state of mediocrity, but instead strive for perfection. Tyler’s character pushes Norton to become more than he is.
could link to the chemical burn scene
Tyler is the 'overman'
To Nietzsche, the next step of evolution is for man to become ubermensch
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Rejection of pity and must strive to better yourself
To free yourself like Tyler does to the narrator
Morality:
Nietzsche believes there are 2 types of morality
Slave morality: abused oppressed and those uncertain in themselves: The narrator
Master morality: Great noble and humble beings determining what is good and bad, don't follow set values and morals but create their own: Tyler
