Here's how I get it, The Narrator is a Schizophrenic Insominac with Dissociative Identity Disorder who has slowly created Tyler Durden in his mind. Tyler is what The Narrator has always wanted to be/wanted to do with his life. Fight Club isn't about revolutionizing life even though Tyler Durden claimed that's what he was doing. Tyler Durden saw something he could take advantage of as he said in the movie "our great depression, is our lives". He recruited hundreds of people and made Fight Clubs all over the country. He basically did what cult leaders and terrorists do all the time. The way I see it Fight Club is simply about one guy who has Schizophrenia, a split personality, and is sick of his life. He was tenacious enough to change his life by creating an alter-ego and attempt to change society. What do ya'll think?
I don't think he has schizophrenia, but I agree with the dissociative part, that and a insomnia induced psychosis. Fight Club is about more than just one guy recruiting those that are unhappy. To me its an existentialistic tale about consumption and stuff.
Contemporary Buddhism spliced with disgust and angst against society. Instead of letting his human weakness be used by the machine, he exploited it in others to lash out against that very device. I say buddhism because it's theme on death was prominate throughout that movie, alone with it's ideals of possession in various forms; material and emotional.
I also saw Buddhist themes of detachment, impermenance, and dissatisfaction. Breaking through illusion that man has created that our materialism will make us happy when we really just end up in a stylish cell. The other theme I read into it before I hear the author speak about it is I saw Helena Bonham Carter's character as being a part of Edward Nortons fractured personality. Almost like her and Tyler being the yin and yang. The Masculine and femine aspects of Edward Nortons personality. Also I saw it as an early expression of what is now being called the Quarter Life Crisis. Where a young man graduates from college hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and knows that he may not even pay that off in this lifetime. Also I see in it a commentary on the emasculation of our society. Don't believe me. Look at the standards of beauty for men now compared to 30 years ago. We joke now about the Hairy chests and gold chains. But that is what was considered attractive then. Now look at the men we tell our welves are attractive. Zac Effron, The Jonas Brothers, The guys from Twilight. If you are a man in our modern society if you have chest hair you are considered a Mutant. Also talking about how our modern society lacks rites of passage. Aside from rituals that whatever religion you happen to be involved with we have very few rituals and celebrations to prove your manhood. We don't have first hunts, firewalks, sundances, visionquests, fasts. But we also don't have the other side. Feasts, dances, celebrations etc. Various Pagan and some Judeo Christian religions had celebrations and ceremonys to aknowledge and celebrate the beginning of life, the phases of the moon, the passing of the seasons, the ends of lives etc. I know I went off on a rant and got off topic a little. But I think that what you get out of movies like Fight Club has a lot to do with your background, experiences and your observations about society and culture. Peace Out, Rev J
Just want to clear up a common misconception. He is not schizophrenic, he has narcolepsy and a split personality. Keep in mind his disease is very dramatized in this movie. Schizophrenia involves voices talking to the person but they never BECOME that person..what Edward Norton has in this movie is more like multiple personality disorder, however in real life it would be extraordinarily rare for him to have only one alternate personality, and more rare that this personality would be able to talk with him. SPOLIER* The only part that I don't like about this movie is I find it hard to believe that in the beginning, the people at the bars joined Tyler after watching him beat the shit out of himself in the parking lot...........In that situation I think I would have him committed not follow him into a basement to join his fight club...ya dig?
I think chuck palahniuk in general is over rated. But the movie fight club taken in the context of a solo work is brilliant.
movies like fight club ask the viewer to suspend reality for them to work. for example, in one scene policemen are involved in fight club - whereas in reality they would be infiltrators already brainwashed by another type of fight club. fight club is a gang of sorts. the main character has his reality suspended whilst his alter ego busies himself sowing chaos against the machine. it is a modern take on jekyll and hyde on one level you have a respectable employee of a large firm on the other level you have hard bitten creation of the outcome of the system. the respecatble company pays the main character to report on their mistakes that kill people (the faulty cars). somethings gotta give.. whats worse? tyler durban or the outcomes of the company that eventually starts funding tyler durban? i don't think fight club is about the main character disassociating from society, he actively seeks contact and meaning in life by attending the self help groups. both the concious and unconcious characters cry out for contact, tylers interaction is sowing mischief to get back at the system. what works for the film is the seamless flow of introduction to conclusion. the script is rock solid.
It addresses a lot of issues in a way that I like: a) masculinity --- I feel the media is filled with open-ended discussions of women needs, but not of masculinity which doesn't fit the mold of the typical chump who takes women on dates, and strives to be seen as a "gentleman" who marries into a codependent relationship and becomes fat from a nagging wife. I also like that Tyler's girlfriend in the movie is required to put in her 50 cents, rather than being passively wined and dined; The idea of masculinity in the movie agrees with my idea of myself, as a man. Edit: ***the idea of masculinity is only important for me here because it is connected with the issue of work. Masculinity is under assault because men are no longer producers. Men are treated in the movie like a socio-economic class, and not simply an arbitrary politics of identity category. b) consumerism - I find the topic was discussed inadequately since the movie is still a capitalist production...it doesn't go into structural causes. Although, of course, I'm happy economy is addressed at all...rather than the usual good/bad individual dichotomy of Hollywood movies; c) I like the role of the body in self-realization and daily practice in the movie; d) The idea of detachment, etc., though accurate...waxes more philosophical than I'm willing to let it in my mind today; e) I like the reversal of bourgeois values in the movie, though the revolutionary practice upheld in the movie does not address the fundamental issue of social labor and who owns what; f) The duplicity in personality, I feel is an allusion to dialectics. I don't think the movie is adept in realism, that is, it's not supposed to simply portray a real-life dissociative personality...rather, it's supposed to hint at the fact that the individual is torn by contradictory needs beyond his control...and that only non-conceptual, material practice can bring synthesis to that contradiction. g) Finally, the movie is laden with hilarious quotes...so, the ironic aspect of it also agrees with me and dialectics in general. I'd give the movie a 7/8.
Oh, this movie was great, when I saw it in theaters back when it was first released, everyone was really into it big time, and the fight scenes rocked! Well, and in this short movie trailer, you have cool little girl fights as well!! Yeah, she looks crazy in it, real crazy!! Hhaha, but have you ever seen a Drama Horror quite like this?? Ha, this is cool! High great Drama, good stoy, and girl fights, Well, really what else do you need! A Drink to Savor (short film Trailer) YOU GOTTA CHECK THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW SHORT FILM Trailer":cheers2::cheers2: <DIV style="DISPLAY: none" id=ame_noshow_post_1268170455_1>
Yes I have, and it's a great film, but the sequal is pretty good to in some ways, but not in others, but Halloween 2007 rocked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hhaha, but have you ever seen a Drama Horror quite like this?? Ha, this is cool! High great Drama, good stoy, and girl fights, Well, really what else do you need! A Drink to Savor (short film Trailer) YOU GOTTA CHECK THE LINK BELOW TO VIEW SHORT FILM Trailer":cheers2::cheers2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pNrgS6p1fM"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pNrgS6p1fM <DIV style="DISPLAY: none" id=ame_noshow_post_1268170455_1>
am i the only one aware that there is a book? it is a quite fantastic book, by a quite fantastic author. either way, he is schizophrenic, and what he did in the end of the film was to "kill" tyler by shooting himself. in his mind, he has taken him out and that is just good enough for him to really believe that he actually got rid of him. however, in the book, he has become tyler and has all along been tyler. he wanted nothing more than a simple life that Narrator lived. and. you are overthinking it. all of you are. the author said it was just his male version of "the ya ya sisterhood."
