FM4 Section C: 'Fight Club' (1999)

For the Single Film Study - Critical Study: 'Fight Club' you will need to apply
your own interpretation of the film (close analysis) with the critical approaches
that have been used to understand the deeper meanings at work in the film:
sometimes negatively or positively (reviews/debates).
As the film can be read in many different ways you will be required to
construct an argument for validating your understanding; referring to theory
and how it informs meaning/understanding is therefore a requirement of your
answer.
Approaches will need to understand the complexity of 'Fight Club' in light of
these differing readings and you will need to argue a case for your own
personal opinions.
Content & Structure for Close Study Analysis
Basic Analysis
Jack /Tyler -Managing the spectators identification and sympathies
(Spectatorship)
Distinctive stylistic features and the look of the film
(Colour/Editing/Camera/Performance)
Motifs and their function (Mise-en-scene/Sound etc)
Theoretical Concepts
The representation of modern urban and corporate life
(Philosophy/Marxism?)
The representation of masculinity and its threats (Gender/Postmodern
Identities)
Marla: women as object of scorn? Misogynistic? (Gender/The Male Gaze?)
A psychological representation of Freud's concept of Id,Ego and Superego?
(Psychological)
Social Contexts
A progressive film or a deeply reactionary one? (Opinions)
The social and cultural context of production (Production)
Critical and popular responses to the film (Reviews)

FM4 - Single Film Critical Study: Fight

Club

'A' Grade Exam Response

Section C Single Film: Close Critical Study.
Fight Club uses cinematic means to produce a fantasy which is also a
serious exploration of masculinity. How far does this statement capture
your own response to the film?
The cinematic and thematic exploration of the undervalued blue-collar
workers of America in Fight Club is an expression of the results of the
suppression of masculine, animalistic and natural elements within
modern society. While viewing the film the consideration the audience
makes alongside the protagonist Jack (whose identity is questionable)
appears to be questioning whether it is right to fight against this society
of anti-masculine individuals who strive for materialism is really an
emotional struggle.
We see that Jack experiences the consumerism of society while he is
struggling with insomnia (created by the addiction to materialistic items
in his apartment) through the sequence are fast-paced close-ups of
popular items such as Starbucks cups, Crispy Creme Doughnuts and
moreover a shot of his American dollars. These are noticeably crumpled
and not at all patriotic with the logos not facing the framing. This focus
upon materialism suggests a masculinity dealing with the feminine love
of shopping coupled with the anonymity that American city dwelling
brings. The idea that this could be anywhere in America is suggested
with a memorable close up of stickers bearing Hello. My name is
_____ that evoke a response of loss of direction and identity within the
audience. The anonymity and IKEA-catalogue based sequences we see
Jack experience in his hallucinations are also a possible schizophrenic

embodiment of this lack of any true identity or even his individuality

hinting that arguably his importance as a man is being tested.

Fight Club embodies the idea of Nietzsche: the idea of a superman

being possible is alluded to in the ever-repetitive doppelganger/splitpersona of Tyler appearing in a subliminal flicker at the side of the
frame throughout the first few scenes. This demonstrates the power that
Tyler has over Jacks mind, and it gets ever more present as the film
progresses. It becomes more apparent when we see him in a tracking
shot at the airport on an escalator, almost as if the camera shows a
preference to following his movements rather than Jack's. This is
because we see this side of the masculinity of the main characters split
personality being the alpha male, also displayed when the camera
tracks his movements from behind and in front as he is surrounded by a
crowd in the basement. Project Mayhem, the needless fight of
violence and terror, is powered by this dominant figure, giving the
audience clues that this individual does not let himself be owned by
possessions unlike Jack, and regards himself as his own.
Also seen in the masculinity of the postmodern traits of the film is the
reference to a rape scene in A Clockwork Orange, as the eerily
similar, exaggerated disorientation of angle of Tyler after beating up
government officials is reminiscent of a more sinister, evil scene from a
film about anarchy. This instils a sense of fear in the spectator, as the
masculinity of this man appears to be turning into something more
power-hungry and fascist. The intertextual reference to 'A Clockwork
Orange' also confirms the postmodern significance of this film as it
generates so many questions but ultimately and superficially fails to
answer them.
The film also displays a radical array of misogynistic traits through the
character of Marla, an anagram of the word alarm and met with the
sound of sirens and non-diegetic influences of danger. This gives us the

idea that the main character Jack is so terrified by this femme-fatale and
disturbed by her appearance that his masculinity is challenged. In a
neo-noir style, we see the framing of Marla introduced sinisterly via
shadow and with her hat obscuring half of her face dominating the
screen, she also gives the impression of power as it convinces us
through the low-angle. Her character is also, while present during a
scene in which the self-help group has to reflect and meditate, blurred in
the background, while Jack thinks when we are catapulted into the
frantic hallucination of Jack in a cool-blue icy cave, in his head, is
interrupted by Marla smoking (that demonstrates further the hybrid of
noir genre incorporated), she is clearly more dominant. It's as if she is
the masculine one, she uses the word slide and this dialogue perhaps
provokes the idea of Jacks deterioration leading from here into the
audiences mind. When we next see her in the crosscut back to the
church-style environment, it is Jack who is blurred and unimportant.

The narrative also relies on its use of cinematography to relay certain

ideas through stylistic and mise-en-scene elements. Almost
pornographically shot in a grotesque way is the footage of Jack turning
up to his office beaten and bloody, with close-ups of his bruises after his
decline into fighting that suggests that the main character has traded his
addiction of self-help groups and materialism for the exhilaration of
fighting as a form of release. The film also closely explores elements of
homosexuality by referencing the experimental style of directors like
Kenneth Anger, as we see that the fetishising of objects and improving
the body of the men has elements that arise in Fight Club. It could be
suggested that Jack is in love with the idea of Tyler, and therefore we
are greeted with the notion that he is in fact homosexual or may have
deep emotional struggles with such tendencies.
Furthermore, the response at the Viennese Film Festival to the film was

an angry one of shock and concern over the films fascist, Nazi style
links. The sequence in which we see Tyler and Jack stealing a
liposuction factorys human fat and processing it into soap to sell to the
rich delivers a haunting message that there are still Nazi-style thoughts
born of a generation in need of a disciplinary style of life to stop their
masculinity going downhill. The cinematic means used to portray Jacks
early obsession with self-help groups, such as shot-reverse-shot from
his close up face centred in the middle of the frame looking solemn, and
then to a list of self-help groups not unlike a religious scroll, back to his
face, and paired with organ, church style non-diegetic sound express
the vulnerability of his addictive nature. This foreshadows his steady
decline into being open to fighting and causing mayhem because of his
easy transfixions with things.

Furthermore, the theme of gender confusion is embodied in the role of

Bob, an ex-fighter who was once an alpha male, now resorting to crying
at a self-help group and suffering from testicular cancer that physically
and mentally feminises him. The viewers response is an automatic pity
when Jack uses ironic dialogue that injects a hybrid of comedy into the
film and we feel sorry for Bob. This emotive response is also strong in
our fear that Jack will continue to gradually deteriorate as we see him
jeering and fighting alongside the Project Mayhem gang the division
between Tyler, the alpha male, and Jack, the less superior character by
means such as a phone booth window, trees, furniture and other
characters suggest a fighting battle between Jack and his other
persona. Because we see this vulnerability in Jack that lacks the usual
American ego of a masculine male, we see that the masculinity he
craves and worships is in fact slightly evil.

'A' Grade Exam Response

Section C Single Film: Close Critical Study.

Fight Club uses cinematic means to produce a fantasy which is also a
serious exploration of masculinity. How far does this statement capture
your own response to the film?
The cinematic and thematic exploration of the undervalued blue-collar
workers of America in Fight Club is an expression of the results of the
suppression of masculine, animalistic and natural elements within
modern society. While viewing the film the consideration the audience
makes alongside the protagonist Jack (whose identity is questionable)
appears to be questioning whether it is right to fight against this society
of anti-masculine individuals who strive for materialism is really an
emotional struggle.
We see that Jack experiences the consumerism of society while he is
struggling with insomnia (created by the addiction to materialistic items
in his apartment) through the sequence are fast-paced close-ups of
popular items such as Starbucks cups, Crispy Creme Doughnuts and
moreover a shot of his American dollars. These are noticeably crumpled
and not at all patriotic with the logos not facing the framing. This focus
upon materialism suggests a masculinity dealing with the feminine love
of shopping coupled with the anonymity that American city dwelling
brings. The idea that this could be anywhere in America is suggested
with a memorable close up of stickers bearing Hello. My name is
_____ that evoke a response of loss of direction and identity within the
audience. The anonymity and IKEA-catalogue based sequences we see
Jack experience in his hallucinations are also a possible schizophrenic
embodiment of this lack of any true identity or even his individuality
hinting that arguably his importance as a man is being tested.

Fight Club embodies the idea of Nietzsche: the idea of a superman

being possible is alluded to in the ever-repetitive doppelganger/split-

persona of Tyler appearing in a subliminal flicker at the side of the

frame throughout the first few scenes. This demonstrates the power that
Tyler has over Jacks mind, and it gets ever more present as the film
progresses. It becomes more apparent when we see him in a tracking
shot at the airport on an escalator, almost as if the camera shows a
preference to following his movements rather than Jack's. This is
because we see this side of the masculinity of the main characters split
personality being the alpha male, also displayed when the camera
tracks his movements from behind and in front as he is surrounded by a
crowd in the basement. Project Mayhem, the needless fight of
violence and terror, is powered by this dominant figure, giving the
audience clues that this individual does not let himself be owned by
possessions unlike Jack, and regards himself as his own.
Also seen in the masculinity of the postmodern traits of the film is the
reference to a rape scene in A Clockwork Orange, as the eerily
similar, exaggerated disorientation of angle of Tyler after beating up
government officials is reminiscent of a more sinister, evil scene from a
film about anarchy. This instils a sense of fear in the spectator, as the
masculinity of this man appears to be turning into something more
power-hungry and fascist. The intertextual reference to 'A Clockwork
Orange' also confirms the postmodern significance of this film as it
generates so many questions but ultimately and superficially fails to
answer them.
The film also displays a radical array of misogynistic traits through the
character of Marla, an anagram of the word alarm and met with the
sound of sirens and non-diegetic influences of danger. This gives us the
idea that the main character Jack is so terrified by this femme-fatale and
disturbed by her appearance that his masculinity is challenged. In a
neo-noir style, we see the framing of Marla introduced sinisterly via
shadow and with her hat obscuring half of her face dominating the
screen, she also gives the impression of power as it convinces us
through the low-angle. Her character is also, while present during a
scene in which the self-help group has to reflect and meditate, blurred in
the background, while Jack thinks when we are catapulted into the
frantic hallucination of Jack in a cool-blue icy cave, in his head, is
interrupted by Marla smoking (that demonstrates further the hybrid of
noir genre incorporated), she is clearly more dominant. It's as if she is
the masculine one, she uses the word slide and this dialogue perhaps
provokes the idea of Jacks deterioration leading from here into the
audiences mind. When we next see her in the crosscut back to the
church-style environment, it is Jack who is blurred and unimportant.

The narrative also relies on its use of cinematography to relay certain

ideas through stylistic and mise-en-scene elements. Almost
pornographically shot in a grotesque way is the footage of Jack turning
up to his office beaten and bloody, with close-ups of his bruises after his
decline into fighting that suggests that the main character has traded his
addiction of self-help groups and materialism for the exhilaration of
fighting as a form of release. The film also closely explores elements of
homosexuality by referencing the experimental style of directors like
Kenneth Anger, as we see that the fetishising of objects and improving
the body of the men has elements that arise in Fight Club. It could be
suggested that Jack is in love with the idea of Tyler, and therefore we
are greeted with the notion that he is in fact homosexual or may have
deep emotional struggles with such tendencies.
Furthermore, the response at the Viennese Film Festival to the film was
an angry one of shock and concern over the films fascist, Nazi style
links. The sequence in which we see Tyler and Jack stealing a
liposuction factorys human fat and processing it into soap to sell to the
rich delivers a haunting message that there are still Nazi-style thoughts
born of a generation in need of a disciplinary style of life to stop their
masculinity going downhill. The cinematic means used to portray Jacks
early obsession with self-help groups, such as shot-reverse-shot from
his close up face centred in the middle of the frame looking solemn, and
then to a list of self-help groups not unlike a religious scroll, back to his
face, and paired with organ, church style non-diegetic sound express
the vulnerability of his addictive nature. This foreshadows his steady
decline into being open to fighting and causing mayhem because of his
easy transfixions with things.

Furthermore, the theme of gender confusion is embodied in the role of

Bob, an ex-fighter who was once an alpha male, now resorting to crying
at a self-help group and suffering from testicular cancer that physically
and mentally feminises him. The viewers response is an automatic pity
when Jack uses ironic dialogue that injects a hybrid of comedy into the
film and we feel sorry for Bob. This emotive response is also strong in
our fear that Jack will continue to gradually deteriorate as we see him
jeering and fighting alongside the Project Mayhem gang the division
between Tyler, the alpha male, and Jack, the less superior character by
means such as a phone booth window, trees, furniture and other
characters suggest a fighting battle between Jack and his other
persona. Because we see this vulnerability in Jack that lacks the usual
American ego of a masculine male, we see that the masculinity he
craves and worships is in fact slightly evil.