Fight club stands nose-to-nose with modern consumerism, spits on its shoes then pummels it to the ground with a swagger. Its single-minded detractors claim that the film is hollow excuses for brutal violence however, I can assure you, scratch the surface ever so slightly and there you too discover and embrace one of the most influential pieces of film. Fight Club delves into the modern interpretation of masculinity and how consumer culture has a stranglehold on the world.
We follow the story with the guidance of the narrator (Edward Norton). Norton’s character remains nameless, he is the blank slate. The narrator is simply the modern layman, the type of guy who is targeted by institutions who feed like a parasite off the population by feeding the brain with aspirations to have “things” in order to live. The narrator meets soap salesman Tyler Durden(Brad Pitt), who is the complete juxtaposition of himself. The two collaborate and found a fight club that takes place in the basement of a club. The club evolves into “project mayhem” in which Tyler moulds the members of fight club into an army that abide by his every word.
Durden: “You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis. You’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world. “
Violence is not glorified by Fight club, but is used as a medium in which the men release their tribal emotions. The club uphold strict rules which are respected and its members are released from their glass cages that society has placed around them. Cancer patient Robert “Bob” Paulson (Meatloaf) becomes a member of fight club, defeating the narrator in a bout. However early in the narrative Bob is shown weeping at a male support group. Paulson is provided a new lease of life after being released by the shackles of sympathy and self-pity. It is Paulson’s death whilst working for “Project Mayhem” that tips the narrator over the edge.
Durden “Working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re … You’re not how much money you have in the bank.”
The message of Fight Club is that the public have become lost in the web that is consumerism. Durden has an array of sceptical theories spanning from why there is oxygen on planes to the best way to create soap. The narrator prides himself on purchasing furniture from IKEA catalogues using the money he earns from his corporate career, fight club focuses on the plight and the boredom of the modern man. “The things you own end up owning you” states Durden.
With the plot ticking over at a brisk tempo you will need to watch the film a few times to fully absorb it to form your own interpretation. Don’t be fooled by the denotations of the title, Fight Club is a film that will stick with you physiologically. The next time you see an advert for Calvin Klein, ask yourself. “Is that what a real man looks like?”
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