FIGHT CLUB - IMPRESSIONS
You know, I watched this movie yesterday and I dont feel powerful enough to write a whole thoughtful analysis. I woke up today thinking that something very fucked up was going on in this world and I kept remembering parts of the movie. This film is not about fighting, masculinity, anarchy. This movie is a metaphor about the freedom we all would love to have -mostly in an American society- and we can never reach. Here are the elements I need to point out in order to understand this thesis:
- Everything about the narrator (Edward Norton) is perfectly built. In a lineal analysis we see an ordinary guy that has nothing special. He is a pathetic everyday man (as the same director Fincher describes), with no name and no real drive to live. His apartment is full of IKEA furniture he details in his first description, what could be considered as a fake illusion of happiness (do we know anything else that we could use to be happy in our homes? Dont you think IKEA and other big furniture corporations are the most accessible answer? Yes, of course, advertising has made a good campaign here). And then the support groups Elise has commented. We are not talking about something that makes him happy, but about a comfort zone that liberates all his tension in real life AND keeps him from thinking about his problems. Then he meets Tyler and everything changes. After the introduction of this ordinary guy, Tylers effect will make perfect sense.
- Tyler. Tyler turns up to be the character projected in the narrators mind. While we see a different actor interpreting the role of Tyler, we find out in the twist at the end of the movie that he is just another part of his personality trapped in the same body. Tyler is a very attractive, funny, self-confident guy that feels complete freedom in every area of his life. He lives in an abandoned gigantic house he doesnt own and keeps it the way he wants. He has no sense of social conventions at all, which distracts the narrator at the beginning. Hes never thought of living like that, in such a non-traditional way -and also illegal. Tyler will be everything what the protagonist is scared of being.
- So, the idea of freedom is introduced with Tyler. Itll be settled and finally misunderstood/overused by their new activity/organization: Fight Club. Tyler and the narrator start an improvised fight in the street the first day they meet. At first the narrator thinks its a ridiculous idea, but then he realizes thats the first time hes felt alive. They start battling every once in a while until they get a big enough crowd to set up the rules for this non-conventional club. We need to realize, after the twist at the end, this whole scene changes -and its BRILLIANT. The people who decide to join them will have only seen a man beating himself up in the street and will be curious rather than freaked out about his action. They will decide to join his cause, all of those who feel like everymen too. Ah, this is amazing. Having introduced the reason for the name of the movie, Fight Club is not about the physical action of fighting. Fighting is a response to all this everyday life tension, a fuck you to their modern repression as people living in this kind of society. Its a way of liberating themselves, again, through the experience of pain. It might sound ridiculous, but it makes perfect sense. Not that I want everybody to do this now to feel freer about their own fears, but I think its a perfectly valid metaphor. The way I see it, everything whats related to pain and death in this world is automatically either banned or taboo: drugs, fight (fair fight), crazy adventure sports, etc., but the way Tyler puts it: we are only alive once. Fear is not an option for him. He is obviously an exaggeration of the freedom I think we should all be exposed to, we are all afraid to die, but that fear cant keep us from living. It doesnt make any sense, but we have all accepted it as the right thing to do, the more appropriate.
- Then, freedom becomes chaos, right? All these everymen who are now in the club with no names just following orders (BUT believing in what they are doing! in an over the top response to all what theyve never been able to do and to think) are all under Tylers leadership. They start practicing their new no-fear Philosophy outside the club, first just starting fights with total strangers -a lot of them wholl join the club too, including a catholic priest- then expanding their anger in low-scale terrorist actions. They start smashing well-known fancy cars and painting them. Tyler and the narrator get into a little chinese deli and threaten the owner with a gun, telling him that if he doesnt do what he really wants to do in his life -he wanted to become a vet before he gave up school- hell be dead. But right after this, when the group of followers becomes bigger and bigger -all over the country- and Tyler trains him to do major works including bombs and explosions to different chains and big corporations, the situation gets out of control from the narrators point of view. But thats exactly what had to happen. Once Tyler is no more a figure to admire at, a person to be jealous of, the narrator doesnt need him anymore. Tyler starts losing all power over him thanks to having acquired all these features that will make of the narrator a free -although conscious- man.
- And then one morning Tyler is gone. Just like that, Tyler has disappeared. Nobody seems to notice the fact, not even Marla -the only woman of real importance in this movie- who has been Tylers lover since they met in the support groups as fakers. And the reason is, the projection in his mind of who Tyler was is gone, but Tyler is still there, within him. Tyler doesnt have the need to split in two different bodies anymore, cause the narrator is not an ordinary everyman guy anymore. Now his name is Tyler, and everybody recognized him as Tyler. The crazy and awesome thing about this ending is that he doesnt feel overwhelmed about Tylers power over him anymore. He found the perfect balance of the two personalities and now he IS a free man. Again, this is not about fighting or the anarchist acts of the film. This is all about freedom, but a freedom that can be handled and that doesnt end up costing others fate. When the real Tyler starts feeling self-confident and feels no need for these new homework the other Tyler orders, thats when the narrator eventually gets what it is for him the meaning of life and of freedom. Thats exactly when he has no fear for death or life anymore. Now he is even capable of refusing the excesses of the actions that were taking place under his uncontrolled self.
As a note, I need to say this movie is beautifully done. Im impressed with the great succession of shots, all of them purposeful for every moment of the movie. Theres no over the shoulder shot, for example, every time the narrator talks to Tyler, which matches perfectly with the idea of dealing with a projection on his head. And Ill add an special mention to the final shot. OH MY GOD, that composition, a two shot or Marla and Tyler holding hands looking at the buildings of Ground Zero blowing up; the last sentence you met me in a very weird moment of my life -which implies his new and free beginning to his life-; the music Where is my Mind by Pixies ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! AAAAAH! Although Ive heard Fincher was thinking of Radiohead for the score first, which could have been much more interesting and unique.
However, no, I just cant get over this movie. I need to watch it again. This is the most intense feeling I had since since ??? I dont know, but this movie is nuts, controversial as hell, and an overall amazing experience -while watching it and after watching it. Oh man, I need to scream around the street naked and not feel self-conscious about it, damn it.
You know, I watched this movie yesterday and I dont feel powerful enough to write a whole thoughtful analysis. I woke up today thinking that something very fucked up was going on in this world and I kept remembering parts of the movie. This film is not about fighting, masculinity, anarchy. This movie is a metaphor about the freedom we all would love to have -mostly in an American society- and we can never reach. Here are the elements I need to point out in order to understand this thesis:
- Everything about the narrator (Edward Norton) is perfectly built. In a lineal analysis we see an ordinary guy that has nothing special. He is a pathetic everyday man (as the same director Fincher describes), with no name and no real drive to live. His apartment is full of IKEA furniture he details in his first description, what could be considered as a fake illusion of happiness (do we know anything else that we could use to be happy in our homes? Dont you think IKEA and other big furniture corporations are the most accessible answer? Yes, of course, advertising has made a good campaign here). And then the support groups Elise has commented. We are not talking about something that makes him happy, but about a comfort zone that liberates all his tension in real life AND keeps him from thinking about his problems. Then he meets Tyler and everything changes. After the introduction of this ordinary guy, Tylers effect will make perfect sense.
- Tyler. Tyler turns up to be the character projected in the narrators mind. While we see a different actor interpreting the role of Tyler, we find out in the twist at the end of the movie that he is just another part of his personality trapped in the same body. Tyler is a very attractive, funny, self-confident guy that feels complete freedom in every area of his life. He lives in an abandoned gigantic house he doesnt own and keeps it the way he wants. He has no sense of social conventions at all, which distracts the narrator at the beginning. Hes never thought of living like that, in such a non-traditional way -and also illegal. Tyler will be everything what the protagonist is scared of being.
- So, the idea of freedom is introduced with Tyler. Itll be settled and finally misunderstood/overused by their new activity/organization: Fight Club. Tyler and the narrator start an improvised fight in the street the first day they meet. At first the narrator thinks its a ridiculous idea, but then he realizes thats the first time hes felt alive. They start battling every once in a while until they get a big enough crowd to set up the rules for this non-conventional club. We need to realize, after the twist at the end, this whole scene changes -and its BRILLIANT. The people who decide to join them will have only seen a man beating himself up in the street and will be curious rather than freaked out about his action. They will decide to join his cause, all of those who feel like everymen too. Ah, this is amazing. Having introduced the reason for the name of the movie, Fight Club is not about the physical action of fighting. Fighting is a response to all this everyday life tension, a fuck you to their modern repression as people living in this kind of society. Its a way of liberating themselves, again, through the experience of pain. It might sound ridiculous, but it makes perfect sense. Not that I want everybody to do this now to feel freer about their own fears, but I think its a perfectly valid metaphor. The way I see it, everything whats related to pain and death in this world is automatically either banned or taboo: drugs, fight (fair fight), crazy adventure sports, etc., but the way Tyler puts it: we are only alive once. Fear is not an option for him. He is obviously an exaggeration of the freedom I think we should all be exposed to, we are all afraid to die, but that fear cant keep us from living. It doesnt make any sense, but we have all accepted it as the right thing to do, the more appropriate.
- Then, freedom becomes chaos, right? All these everymen who are now in the club with no names just following orders (BUT believing in what they are doing! in an over the top response to all what theyve never been able to do and to think) are all under Tylers leadership. They start practicing their new no-fear Philosophy outside the club, first just starting fights with total strangers -a lot of them wholl join the club too, including a catholic priest- then expanding their anger in low-scale terrorist actions. They start smashing well-known fancy cars and painting them. Tyler and the narrator get into a little chinese deli and threaten the owner with a gun, telling him that if he doesnt do what he really wants to do in his life -he wanted to become a vet before he gave up school- hell be dead. But right after this, when the group of followers becomes bigger and bigger -all over the country- and Tyler trains him to do major works including bombs and explosions to different chains and big corporations, the situation gets out of control from the narrators point of view. But thats exactly what had to happen. Once Tyler is no more a figure to admire at, a person to be jealous of, the narrator doesnt need him anymore. Tyler starts losing all power over him thanks to having acquired all these features that will make of the narrator a free -although conscious- man.
- And then one morning Tyler is gone. Just like that, Tyler has disappeared. Nobody seems to notice the fact, not even Marla -the only woman of real importance in this movie- who has been Tylers lover since they met in the support groups as fakers. And the reason is, the projection in his mind of who Tyler was is gone, but Tyler is still there, within him. Tyler doesnt have the need to split in two different bodies anymore, cause the narrator is not an ordinary everyman guy anymore. Now his name is Tyler, and everybody recognized him as Tyler. The crazy and awesome thing about this ending is that he doesnt feel overwhelmed about Tylers power over him anymore. He found the perfect balance of the two personalities and now he IS a free man. Again, this is not about fighting or the anarchist acts of the film. This is all about freedom, but a freedom that can be handled and that doesnt end up costing others fate. When the real Tyler starts feeling self-confident and feels no need for these new homework the other Tyler orders, thats when the narrator eventually gets what it is for him the meaning of life and of freedom. Thats exactly when he has no fear for death or life anymore. Now he is even capable of refusing the excesses of the actions that were taking place under his uncontrolled self.
As a note, I need to say this movie is beautifully done. Im impressed with the great succession of shots, all of them purposeful for every moment of the movie. Theres no over the shoulder shot, for example, every time the narrator talks to Tyler, which matches perfectly with the idea of dealing with a projection on his head. And Ill add an special mention to the final shot. OH MY GOD, that composition, a two shot or Marla and Tyler holding hands looking at the buildings of Ground Zero blowing up; the last sentence you met me in a very weird moment of my life -which implies his new and free beginning to his life-; the music Where is my Mind by Pixies ITS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! AAAAAH! Although Ive heard Fincher was thinking of Radiohead for the score first, which could have been much more interesting and unique.
However, no, I just cant get over this movie. I need to watch it again. This is the most intense feeling I had since since ??? I dont know, but this movie is nuts, controversial as hell, and an overall amazing experience -while watching it and after watching it. Oh man, I need to scream around the street naked and not feel self-conscious about it, damn it.
VIEW 6 of 6 COMMENTS
pues me apunto para hacer una de cine europeo del siglo 21 jaja o de cine latinoamericano tambien.