An analysis of the film Fight Club
For years, David Fincher has been turning out some of the most stylish and inventive thrillers to ever hit the American screens. In spite of critical and public backlash, his Alien 3 remains the most technically interesting of that series, and Seven stands as the suspense film upon which all other modern suspense films are based. With The Game, he proved himself more than a one-movie wonder and emerged as one of the most original filmmakers working in Hollywood. His new film, Fight Club, however, is his most challenging piece of work. It is a film that demands that its viewers look past what's on the surface and find something deeper. Fight Club is a multi-layered film with many subplots and multiple themes. Fincher delves into such topics as consumerism, the feminization of society, manipulation, cultism, fascism, and even the psychosemantics of the human id and ego. Primarily, it is a film that surrealistically describes the status of the American male at the end of the 20th century: disenchanted, unfulfilled, castrated and looking for a way out. It depicts how consumerist males have been emasculated by their modern life styles, by a feminized consumer culture that places more worth on ni
Crucial to the film's success is the Narrator's voice-over, a device that often does not work in movies. In Fight Club it is essential, not only to comment ironically on the action, but also to raise the idea that our narrator may indeed be completely unreliable. Also, before Tyler enters the film, he appears several times, flashing into scenes subliminally for one frame at pivotal points where the Narrator moves a step closer to his change of life. This element was already used by Fincher at the climax of Seven, where he flashed a quick frame of Gwyneth Paltrow's head. It is through the depiction of the Narrator's support groups that the feminization of men in society is most effectively described--through the one for men suffering from testicular cancer in particular. These are full of men opening up, crying, exploring feelings... doing all those things women are supposed to do. One of the testicular-cancer patients, Bob (Meat Loaf) has, as a result of his hormone treatments for the disease, developed huge breasts. The representation of this man--a former champion body builder--weeping openly, clasping Jack to his ample bosom during a session, is the prefect image of the emasculated man. Fincher works in the nether regions of the color spectrum, preferring blacks, grays and other muted colors. The only truly lively color used is red, which is Tyler's color and symbolizes fire, blood, rage, passion, etc. When he arrives back at his apartment building, he discovers his apartment on fire. His precious Ikea furniture and all his belongings have been destroyed in a mysterious explosion. With noone to call, he turns to Tyler and the two bond immediately. Tyler identifies the cause for the Narrator's desperation: he is a victim of a feminized consumer culture. Tyler's therapy is simple, he helps the Narrator remedy the imbalance in his own life by making him feel like a real man by fighting, actually beating each other to bloody pulp. Together they establish a fight club for men, as an underground way to express rage and living on the edge, to feel alive by approaching death. Soon, the narrator's world is invaded by another emotional tourist, Marla Singer, a suicidal waif living on the edge of society. The Narrator is both repelled and intrigued by thi
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Approximate Word count = 1533
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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