Fight Club: A Look at Societal Taboos and Issues
The movie begins centered around one man and his struggle with insomnia. After attending some support groups for various ailments that the Narrator does not have, he meets Tyler. Tyler is a soap salesman and seems to be much of what the narrator is not. After a while, Tyler and the Narrator get into a fight outside of a bar. This leads to the development of a fight club in the basement of said bar. After some more time, the members of the club and the Narrator move into Tyler’s house and start fixing it up since it is in shambles. Throughout this, there is also another character named Marla who was also attending the support groups under false pretenses. She is in quite a tumultuous relationship with Tyler throughout the movie. Eventually, the Narrator finds out that Tyler and the club members have changed their group into an anti-societal group. They are against corporations and material things, and they go by the name Project Mayhem. In the end, the Narrator confronts Tyler only to realize that Tyler is a manifestation in his mind that controlled his body when he thought he was asleep. He shoots himself through the cheek to avoid death, but manages to “get rid” of Tyler. Marla finds him and, together, they watch the world burn.
Burning. Dying. Being reborn. This utter and complete chaos is a direct result of the societal impacts on the people of the movie’s realm. But there can be significant impacts on the movie watchers realm (life) as well. I think the the societal impact of Fight club would be awareness and its devastation. In the beginning, the rule was to not talk about Fight Club. To keep the chaos contained. If not in the narrator’s head then the anger and wrath could still be directed inward. This is highly similar to people’s preference of bottling up their emotions or other means at directing the hatred and pain of the world back inside. “Where it belongs.” In the end, the rule was to take down the evil and make the world aware of the corruption that comes with corporations and people’s obsession over material things. Or was it about learning that you can’t change the world. Learning that bad things happen? Learning that, sometimes, you can’t take back what you have said and done? After the narrator shoots himself to “stop” what has happened chaos ensues anyway. Once you have started something, and built up a belief in that movement; there is little you can do to stop it. The viewer and the movie-realm’s dwellers must learn and remember Newton’s law. Once in motion. . .
I enjoy this movie immensely. I think that it covers quite a bit of controversial or taboo things without seeming to be too packed or forceful. The first, and the one that hits me the most, is the doctor’s nonchalance about the Narrator's insomnia. Instead of thinking of it as an actual problem and trying to help as much as possible; the doctor recommends that he go so people who “have it worse”. Despicable. Then, with the initiation of the fight club, there is another taboo. Creating pain to deal with mental issues. To me, this is no different than cutting or scarring. One pain to obscure the rest. Fight Club taught, or showed, me that your suffering is warranted. No one needs another’s permission to feel bad, sad or numb. Emotions, or lack thereof, are all valid and should be acknowledged and respected. This movie, in my opinion, only has strengths. The issues and messages are just as prevalent today as they were when the movie first came out, and they will continue to be so for years to come.
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