There are 2 general questions to choose from.
What does your chosen film reveal about the usefulness of one or more critical approaches you have applied?
Consider debates that have arisen in the critical reception of your chosen film, either at the time of its initial release or now or both.
There is 1 question specifically discussing Fight Club:
'Despite the gesture of destroying symbols of corporate power at the end, Fight Club is a film about power and control, not liberation.' How far do you agree?
You will have 45 minutes to answer the question in the exam and it is worth 30 marks (30% of overall exam).
Topic Overview
As you can see from the examples of exam questions, you will require a knowledge of critical theory related to this film.
You will also need to develop your own thoughts, opinions and critical response to this text. This must be informed by a variety of academic and critical opinions.
The highest grades require a STRONG PERSONAL ENGAGEMENT with the text.
Film Information
Fight Club (David Fincher 1999)
Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Starring:
Edward Norton: The Narrator
Brad Pitt: Tyler Durden
Helena Bonham Carter: Marla Singer
Meat Loaf: Bob
Reviews
EMPIRE:
Fincher’s film is described as a “molasses-black comedy, shot through with his blistering, hyper-kinetic style, a score that punches you into the chest.”
Norton’s character is described a “directionless everyday bloke who, when not weathering humiliating chewing’s-out at work, exists an inadequate nighthawk, trying to cure his chronic insomnia by fixing on the synthetic sympathy of assorted nocturnal self-help groups.”
There are so many ways to read fight club that it’s impossible to know where to start. Is it a fascistic call to action for a generation of dickless wonders? A homoerotic love story in which Jack is reintroduced to his nads before being carried off in Tyler's pneumatic arms? A satire on modern feminism's cartoonish views of what men are like, or...? Well, have a go yourself. It's half the fun.
"It's a howling monster of a movie that virtually sticks its ravening snout out of the screen and bites you.’’
LINK: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=6365
TIME OUT:
Cerebral comedy- an ideas movie.
“Startling, provocative, transgressive, even subversive”
Tyler’s character is described as “an id kind of guy: living on the edge is the only way he knows how to feel alive.”
Shot in a convulsive, stream-of-unconsciousness style, with disruptive subliminals, freeze frames and fantasy cutaways.”
LINK: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/66618/Fight_Club.html
Chicago Sun-Times
By Roger Ebert/ October 15, 1999
"Fight Club" is the most frankly and cheerfully fascist big-star movie since "Death Wish," a celebration of violence in which the heroes write themselves a license to drink, smoke, screw and beat one another up. Sometimes, for variety, they beat up themselves. The film explores macho male characters in which eroticism between the sexes is replaced by all-guy locker-room fights. Women, who have had a lifetime of practice at dealing with little-boy posturing, will instinctively see through it; men may get off on the testosterone rush. The fact that it is very well made and has a great first act certainly clouds the issue.
LINK: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991015/REVIEWS/910150302
The Guardian
This review was written a year after the release of fight club, and takes a negative angle on the film. Below is a summary of the main points of this review.
· The trajectory of Fight Club is baffling. In the first hour it is about the crisis of masculinity which is shown by the ‘self-pitying guys hugging in groups and claiming victim status’ Whereas, towards the end of the film the storyline has catastrophically unravelled into a ‘strident, shallow, pretentious bore with a twist that doesn’t work’. (– no substance or depth to the film)
· It touches on aspects of fascism; however it doesn’t back this idea up.
· It is Pathetic and metaphorical that in the support group they have given the character ‘tits after his balls have been cut off’
· Tyler Durden is a charismatic and ghastly person. He introduces Ed to the Fight Club, which is where nerdy wimps get to reconnect life changingly with their inner macho men.
· The film falls apart when Tyler tries to use the fight club as the basis for a kind of anarcho-terrorist gang undermining and blowing up the symbols of ‘ bullshit corporate America which have taken their testicles away’
· After 60 minutes, the humour within Fight Club plummets.
· The film endorses the crisis of masculinity as Tyler is presented as a deeply interesting Zeitgeist anti-hero.
Themes
What is theme?
Theme is the unifying subject or idea of the film.
It could be thought of as the broad message or moral of the story.
It is not the story or the narrative – it is what lies beneath the story and what drives the narrative.
The main themes in the film therefore are:
Masculinity in Crisis
Fractured Identity
Anti-consumerism/ anti-capitalism
Homo-eroticism/misogyny?
Follow this link to read some excellent student essays on the themes of Fight Club.
Critical Theory - Tedium and Torture: Fight Club, globalization and professionals in crisis. (John McCullogh)
He mentions how the American Dream has broken down; people have now realized that there is not as much opportunity in America due to the class system.
“The anger and distrust expressed in such culture is directed at economic disparity, lack of effective leadership, various forms of alienation and oppression, broken homes, the increased role of consumption and shopping, the loss of communities and social networks, ecological devastation, and the general sense of dystopia and collapse on both personal and social levels.”
He says that despite professionals being privileged by being high up in the class system, they are victims to work.
“But typically professionals are understood to be “organisation people” and “team players” who like Smithers in The Simpsons, conform to establish the power relations in society.”
At the same time, the lower working classes are finding their freedom from the social disparity of Capitalism through urban resistance.
“Golfing in deindustrtialised urban zones, recycling fat as soap and explosives, manipulating workplace rules for personal gain and vandalism.”
He goes on to say that Norton’s character feels dehumanized by his job, this relates to the theme of professionals in crisis.
“The “formula” is a measure of dehumanization, and objectification and abstraction of the modern world.”
He believes the film is all set in The Narrator’s fragmented imagination. All of the characters are in fact himself.
“The film literally begins in his head, amongst the synapses of his brain, signaling to us that the “internal life” of the central character will be significant to the story. We are introduced to Marla and Bob, both of whom are parodies of what Ed Norton’s character understands as feminised gender behaviour.”
The conflicting characters of Tyler and Marla highlight Norton’s masculine side trying to repress his feminine side, this relates to the theme of masculinity in crisis.
“Other tips that Norton’s life is fractured by unconscious desire and repressed memories include the subterranean “orders” which he receives from Tyler in the house; as well as his own observation that Tyler and Marla remind him of his parents (never in the same room together).”
Human lives have been reduced to mere statistics according to McCullough; this feeds into Norton’s alienation, dissatisfaction, and anger.
“The “formula” which he applies to car crashes is a part of his special skill, and this gives him access to a privileged lifestyle, but it is also an example of instrumentalised knowledge.”
Key Sequences
You will need to analyse the following sequences and have a thorough knowledge of them and how they relate to the main themes and arguments in Fight Club as well as how they relate to the critical theories you have studied.
Key Sequence 1: The opening 10 minutes of the film.
Key Sequence 2: Tyler's speech and Lou's attack on Tyler, Jack and his boss.
Key Sequence 3: The closing sequence.
Revision Resources
Please click here to go to the student-taught lessons on the key aspects of the film.
Please click here to go to summaries of the key areas of the film.
Past Questions
How useful has a particular critical approach been in gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of your chosen film?
'Marla is at the root of it', says Jack in Fight Club. Discuss what this statement reveals about the film as a whole.
Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Starring:
Edward Norton: The Narrator
Brad Pitt: Tyler Durden
Helena Bonham Carter: Marla Singer
Meat Loaf: Bob
Reviews
 |
Fincher’s film is described as a “molasses-black comedy, shot through with his blistering, hyper-kinetic style, a score that punches you into the chest.”
Norton’s character is described a “directionless everyday bloke who, when not weathering humiliating chewing’s-out at work, exists an inadequate nighthawk, trying to cure his chronic insomnia by fixing on the synthetic sympathy of assorted nocturnal self-help groups.”
There are so many ways to read fight club that it’s impossible to know where to start. Is it a fascistic call to action for a generation of dickless wonders? A homoerotic love story in which Jack is reintroduced to his nads before being carried off in Tyler's pneumatic arms? A satire on modern feminism's cartoonish views of what men are like, or...? Well, have a go yourself. It's half the fun.
"It's a howling monster of a movie that virtually sticks its ravening snout out of the screen and bites you.’’
LINK: http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=6365
TIME OUT: Cerebral comedy- an ideas movie.
“Startling, provocative, transgressive, even subversive”
Tyler’s character is described as “an id kind of guy: living on the edge is the only way he knows how to feel alive.”
Shot in a convulsive, stream-of-unconsciousness style, with disruptive subliminals, freeze frames and fantasy cutaways.”
LINK: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/66618/Fight_Club.html
Chicago Sun-Times
By Roger Ebert/ October 15, 1999
"Fight Club" is the most frankly and cheerfully fascist big-star movie since "Death Wish," a celebration of violence in which the heroes write themselves a license to drink, smoke, screw and beat one another up. Sometimes, for variety, they beat up themselves. The film explores macho male characters in which eroticism between the sexes is replaced by all-guy locker-room fights. Women, who have had a lifetime of practice at dealing with little-boy posturing, will instinctively see through it; men may get off on the testosterone rush. The fact that it is very well made and has a great first act certainly clouds the issue. LINK: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19991015/REVIEWS/910150302
The Guardian
This review was written a year after the release of fight club, and takes a negative angle on the film. Below is a summary of the main points of this review. · The trajectory of Fight Club is baffling. In the first hour it is about the crisis of masculinity which is shown by the ‘self-pitying guys hugging in groups and claiming victim status’ Whereas, towards the end of the film the storyline has catastrophically unravelled into a ‘strident, shallow, pretentious bore with a twist that doesn’t work’. (– no substance or depth to the film)
· It touches on aspects of fascism; however it doesn’t back this idea up.
· It is Pathetic and metaphorical that in the support group they have given the character ‘tits after his balls have been cut off’
· Tyler Durden is a charismatic and ghastly person. He introduces Ed to the Fight Club, which is where nerdy wimps get to reconnect life changingly with their inner macho men.
· The film falls apart when Tyler tries to use the fight club as the basis for a kind of anarcho-terrorist gang undermining and blowing up the symbols of ‘ bullshit corporate America which have taken their testicles away’
· After 60 minutes, the humour within Fight Club plummets.
· The film endorses the crisis of masculinity as Tyler is presented as a deeply interesting Zeitgeist anti-hero.
LINK: http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,4267,102483,00.html
Background and Context
The film is inspired by the UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship) because of its bloody violence it has been described as “bloodiest most barbaric show in history” (source: http://wehatetomq.blogspot.com/2011/05/fight-club-social-context-and-david.html )
· The underlying rage of the working class men resorts in the violence as a way of escapism.
· After finishing the film they were unsure of how to market it because of the themes the violence explored.
· The studio advertised Fight Club on cable during World Wrestling Federation broadcasts, which Fincher protested, believing that the placement created the wrong context for the film
· Studio executives did not like the film and they restructured Fincher's intended marketing campaign to try to reduce anticipated losses.
· Fight Club failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics.
· The DVD of the film gained a commercial success and reviews have since become more positive towards the film.
· Fincher wanted to advertise the anti-commercialism within the film; Fox however refused to use Fincher’s ideas of this in the content.
· The film was criticized for encouraging male violence however Fincher’s intention was to portray the narrator’s resolution to violence. The comedic themes and deeper meaning of professionals in crisis were overlooked and the film was judged as a film of male violence.
· Some critics felt that the film would encourage copycat behavior, such as that seen after A Clockwork Orange debuted in Britain nearly three decades previously.
Background and Context
The film is inspired by the UFC (the Ultimate Fighting Championship) because of its bloody violence it has been described as “bloodiest most barbaric show in history” (source: http://wehatetomq.blogspot.com/2011/05/fight-club-social-context-and-david.html ) · The underlying rage of the working class men resorts in the violence as a way of escapism.
· After finishing the film they were unsure of how to market it because of the themes the violence explored.
· The studio advertised Fight Club on cable during World Wrestling Federation broadcasts, which Fincher protested, believing that the placement created the wrong context for the film
· Studio executives did not like the film and they restructured Fincher's intended marketing campaign to try to reduce anticipated losses.
· Fight Club failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics.
· The DVD of the film gained a commercial success and reviews have since become more positive towards the film.
· Fincher wanted to advertise the anti-commercialism within the film; Fox however refused to use Fincher’s ideas of this in the content.
· The film was criticized for encouraging male violence however Fincher’s intention was to portray the narrator’s resolution to violence. The comedic themes and deeper meaning of professionals in crisis were overlooked and the film was judged as a film of male violence.
· Some critics felt that the film would encourage copycat behavior, such as that seen after A Clockwork Orange debuted in Britain nearly three decades previously.
·
Themes
What is theme?
Theme is the unifying subject or idea of the film. It could be thought of as the broad message or moral of the story. It is not the story or the narrative – it is what lies beneath the story and what drives the narrative. The main themes in the film therefore are:
Masculinity in Crisis
Fractured Identity
Anti-consumerism/ anti-capitalism
Homo-eroticism/misogyny?
Follow this link to read some excellent student essays on the themes of Fight Club.
Critical Theory - Tedium and Torture: Fight Club, globalization and professionals in crisis. (John McCullogh)
He mentions how the American Dream has broken down; people have now realized that there is not as much opportunity in America due to the class system.
“The anger and distrust expressed in such culture is directed at economic disparity, lack of effective leadership, various forms of alienation and oppression, broken homes, the increased role of consumption and shopping, the loss of communities and social networks, ecological devastation, and the general sense of dystopia and collapse on both personal and social levels.”
He says that despite professionals being privileged by being high up in the class system, they are victims to work.
“But typically professionals are understood to be “organisation people” and “team players” who like Smithers in The Simpsons, conform to establish the power relations in society.”
At the same time, the lower working classes are finding their freedom from the social disparity of Capitalism through urban resistance.
“Golfing in deindustrtialised urban zones, recycling fat as soap and explosives, manipulating workplace rules for personal gain and vandalism.”
He goes on to say that Norton’s character feels dehumanized by his job, this relates to the theme of professionals in crisis.
“The “formula” is a measure of dehumanization, and objectification and abstraction of the modern world.”
He believes the film is all set in The Narrator’s fragmented imagination. All of the characters are in fact himself.
The conflicting characters of Tyler and Marla highlight Norton’s masculine side trying to repress his feminine side, this relates to the theme of masculinity in crisis.
“Other tips that Norton’s life is fractured by unconscious desire and repressed memories include the subterranean “orders” which he receives from Tyler in the house; as well as his own observation that Tyler and Marla remind him of his parents (never in the same room together).”
Human lives have been reduced to mere statistics according to McCullough; this feeds into Norton’s alienation, dissatisfaction, and anger.
“The “formula” which he applies to car crashes is a part of his special skill, and this gives him access to a privileged lifestyle, but it is also an example of instrumentalised knowledge.”
Critical Theory 2 - You Do Not Talk About Fight Club (Ed. Read Mercer Schuchardt)
He suggests that Fight Club is actually about Jack finding solace and 'peace' through Marla, his love interest rather than through violence and Tyler Durden. Tyler is merely a hallucination and though he is charismatic and seductive, he is a destructive influence and his path is not a positive one. Schuchardt says that we have to look past Tyler Durden to see the truth of the text and that many people (both critics and fans) take the character and his philosophies at face value and assume that this is what the film is actually saying..
“Durden is not a generational spokesperson; even within the fiction of Fight Club he is a fictional character, a hallucination, another kind of copy of a copy of a copy, his own simulacrum.”
He says that much of the film is concerned with a struggle within Jack between the masculine and feminine. He rejects the feminine in favour of Tyler - the ultimate male figure- and the violence and self destruction of fight club.
“Like a mother, Bob uses his enormous breasts, hugs, and love to give the narrator his release, allowing him first to cry and then to sleep, which are both infantile needs. 'Babies', the narrator tells us, 'don't sleep this well.' ”
"When the narrator meets Bob again in Fight Club, Bob's breasts become the source of his suffocation rather than his succor and instead of falling blissfully to sleep, the narrator passes out."
He says that many critics have noted how ridiculous it is to have a rich attractive movie star such as Brad Pitt lecture about how we won't all be movie stars and rich. He mentions Henry Giroux who has criticised this film at length and calls this aspect of it,
"a contradiction that cannot be overstated"
He goes on to state that Giroux and other critics are taking the film at face value and that Fincher has cast Brad Pitt in that role as comic irony. Tyler Durden is supposed to be the fantasy version of a male. He is supposed to be attractive and his politics are supposed to seem appealing until they go too far with Bob's shooting. Giroux, he claims, doesn't look past Tyler Durden and sees him as the movie's mouthpiece. Giroux calls the film,
"a morally bankrupt and politically reactionary film."
"When the narrator meets Bob again in Fight Club, Bob's breasts become the source of his suffocation rather than his succor and instead of falling blissfully to sleep, the narrator passes out."
He says that many critics have noted how ridiculous it is to have a rich attractive movie star such as Brad Pitt lecture about how we won't all be movie stars and rich. He mentions Henry Giroux who has criticised this film at length and calls this aspect of it,
"a contradiction that cannot be overstated"
He goes on to state that Giroux and other critics are taking the film at face value and that Fincher has cast Brad Pitt in that role as comic irony. Tyler Durden is supposed to be the fantasy version of a male. He is supposed to be attractive and his politics are supposed to seem appealing until they go too far with Bob's shooting. Giroux, he claims, doesn't look past Tyler Durden and sees him as the movie's mouthpiece. Giroux calls the film,
"a morally bankrupt and politically reactionary film."
Key Sequences
You will need to analyse the following sequences and have a thorough knowledge of them and how they relate to the main themes and arguments in Fight Club as well as how they relate to the critical theories you have studied.
Key Sequence 1: The opening 10 minutes of the film.
Key Sequence 2: Tyler's speech and Lou's attack on Tyler, Jack and his boss.
Key Sequence 3: The closing sequence.
Revision Resources
Please click here to go to the student-taught lessons on the key aspects of the film.
Please click here to go to summaries of the key areas of the film.
Past Questions
What does your chosen film reveal about the usefulness of one or more critical approaches you have applied?
Consider debates that have arisen in the critical reception of your chosen film, either at the time of its initial release or now or both.
Consider debates that have arisen in the critical reception of your chosen film, either at the time of its initial release or now or both.
How useful has a particular critical approach been in gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of your chosen film?
Explain how your understanding of your chosen film has been influenced by critical debates.
‘Despite the gesture of destroying symbols of corporate power at the end, Fight Club is a film about power and control, not liberation’. How far do you agree?
‘Despite the gesture of destroying symbols of corporate power at the end, Fight Club is a film about power and control, not liberation’. How far do you agree?
'Marla is at the root of it', says Jack in Fight Club. Discuss what this statement reveals about the film as a whole.
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