Fight Club Identity Essay

The issue at the heart of the David Fincher film, Fight Club, is not that of man’s rebellion against a society of “men raised by women”. This is a film that outwardly exhibits itself as promoting the resurrection of the ‘ultra-male’, surreptitiously holding women accountable for the decay of manhood. However, the underlying truth of the film is not of resisting the force of destruction that is ‘woman’, or of resisting the corruption of manhood at her hand, but of penetrating the apathy needed to survive in an environment ruled by commercial desire, not need. In reality, Fight Club is a careful examination, through parody, of what it means to be a man; carefully examining the role of women in a society busy rushing towards sexual

Most people, unless they choose to be an outsider, want to be considered “cool.” Whether it’s to fit in with a peer group, or clique, or to impress someone in particular, like a member of the opposite sex, or a potential mate. Or possibly to gain something from an individual for financial or social gain (see “Scamming”).

Perhaps it is a case of minority influence, when a few influence the many. Tyler and the Narrator have held the same viewpoint for a while now, months even, that they do not care about clever art or Swedish furniture, and they are comfortable admitting that they have scars from fighting. With this unwavering view, others start to take notice, and even begin to respect their ideology. They join fight club to become loyal members. After a while, Tyler decides that they have to expand or “move out of the basement,” and hence creates Project Mayhem.

After the narrator has met Tyler Durden, this is when the chaos and destruction has begun. Tyler was always telling the narrator how to make dynamite, napalm, and other gases that could blow up. Tyler had created a fighting club and a working club that would help him break down civilization. At first, the narrator did not know how to handle it but then started to become involved. The narrator’s apartment blew up from the home made dynamite that Tyler had made. Soon after, the narrator had asked Tyler if he could move in with him. Men were always having bruises or scars on their faces from “Fight Club” and later on, men would show up at their front door wanting to come in to be apart of Project Mayhem. The narrator always had to deal the dirty work, meaning telling the guys if they were not the right fit. Tyler had handed out proposals to each member, which involved in human scarifies, stealing identify cards, or destroying private property. After being around Tyler so much, the narrator had started to agree with Tyler about destroying civilization, “I wanted the whole world to hit bottom” (Palahniuk 123). The narrator finally realized that there has been way too much chaos when he notices Tyler has been gone. The narrator starts questioning every man he sees and tries to chase after Tyler. Towards the end of the novel after the

Identity is what defines us as a person. Everyone one on earth has their own unique identity. To showcase my identity, I created a collage of images and descriptive words, called an identi-kit. This identi-kit shows what I feel like is my identity to myself and the others. My identi-kit identifies me as a mixed martial artist. The identi-kit has images of a deadly shark with mixed martial arts gloves on that say mixed martial arts on the front and fight shorts with the words competitor and warrior on them. It also has descriptive words like “killer instinct” and “fight” which describe my spirit. There are three assumptions that come to question when asking about one’s identity. The first is if you were born with this

As an audience, throughout the film it is evident that there is a significant contrast between the narrator and Tyler as they view many things differently. Just like the Fight Club and the IKEA furniture, the narrator becomes obsessed with Tyler and the life he leads. When Tyler is first introduced as a passenger on the airplane, the narrator is immediately drawn to him in a way that is different than any other person he has met. He feels a connection with him that he has not felt before, which is why he calls him when his apartment burns and he loses all of his important IKEA furniture. Tyler tells him it’s “just stuff” (Fight Club) and “the things you own end up owning you” (Fight Club), which completely contradicts everything the narrator had previously believed about his home and the furniture. Through Tyler, the narrator starts to lose his need for material objects when Tyler tells him “Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let... let’s evolve, let the chips fall where they may” (Fight Club), instead he focuses on the fighting and his friendship with Tyler since he has finally found something that fills the void in his life and gives it meaning. Though it may seem abstract that Tyler would fit into this argument, it all comes together at the end of the film when the audience finds

185). The conflict arises when his persona undergoes a change and loses its strength since he becomes an immigrant in a country that does not value him as much as he expects. At this point, other three parts of his psyche starts to reveal his unrevealed emotions such as fear, violence and depression.

David Flincher's movie, Fight Club, shows how consumerism has caused the emasculation of the modern male and reveals a tale of liberation from a corporate controlled society. Society's most common model of typical man is filthy, violent, unintelligent, immature, sexist, sex hungry, and fundamentally a caveman. In essence Tyler Durden, is the symbolic model for a man. He is strong enough to withstand from society's influences and his beliefs to remain in tact. Jack, the narrator, on the other hand is the opposite. He is a weak, squeamish, skinny man who has not been able to withstand society's influence; therefore, he is the Ikea fetish. Unlike Tyler, Jack is weak minded. Both Jack and Tyler are polar opposite models of

My identity is something that that no one can take away from me. As I am still growing and learning, I can say that I have found many things that appeal to me. My interests will help define my personality and express myself in ways that I can’t express through words. I enjoy finding new things to do and doing my best in aiming towards my goals. I have many goals, but I know that I can only accomplish them through patience and perseverance.

The plot sequence is enacted in a way that the viewer would perceive the two personas as completely different people. Through various scenes, the narrator comes to realize that he had fabricated his second persona. Upon this realization, the narrator must accept the fact that he is the force behind the complex plans of destruction. He quickly focuses his efforts on the reversal of his alter ego’s plans that turned the fight club into the disparaging “Project Mayhem.” The ideas behind this project were based off of the principles of equality, minimalism, and anti-corporate America. The targets of the destruction were all of the major credit card company headquarters. The reason behind these plans was to eliminate the debt records, thus allowing everyone to “start at zero.” Tyler thought that with no debt record, problems surrounding materialism would vanish. The reversal process would take the narrator on an arduous journey across the country. He follows Tyler’s paper trail, uncovering the plans little by little; all while realizing what was upon him.

“The first rule about fight club is that you don’t talk about fight club” (Palahniuk 87). The story of Fight Club was very nail biting; you never knew what was going to happen next. There were so many things that led up to a complete plot twist. It was amazing how closely directed and written Chuck Palahniuk and David Fincher’s versions were. However, the role in both that stood out to me the most was the role of Marla. Marla was the biggest influence in discovering the narrator (or Jack’s) identity.

The classic 1996 film Fight Club is a social commentary about our generation, which is in many ways devoid of spirit and marked by consumerism. It is the story of a man's spiritual journey towards enlightenment in modern society and his attempt to find his place in the world. It stresses a post-modern consumer society, reveals the loss of masculine identity amongst gray-collar workers, and examines the social stratification marked by our developing society. It follows the life of the narrator, who is referred to as Jack, (Edward Norton) as he struggles with insomnia and feelings of inadequacy in his desperate search to find meaning in his own life. The film, although

Belittled by their absent fathers, broken homes, and a feminine-centered society, the men in Fight Club present an incisive notion of the lives of modern

For years David Fincher has directed some of the most stylish and creative thrillers in American movies. His works include: Aliens 3, Seven, The Game and Fight Club. Each of these films has been not only pleasing and fun to watch but each has commented on society, making the viewers think outside the normal and analyze their world. Fight Club is no exception, it is a multi-layered film with many subplots and themes, but primarily it is a surrealistic description of the status of the American male at the end of the 20th century. David Flincher’s movie, Fight Club, shows how consumerism has caused the emasculation of the modern male and tells a tale of liberation from a corporate controlled society.

Initially, the narrator is finding an outlet for the daily pressure and to improve insomnia, and Tyler Durden to him represents this authority-figure who could make everything possible for him and someone who has everything under control. Overtime, the narrator’s reliance on Tyler Durden has only grown stronger. Therefore, it is during the sudden disappearance of Tyler Durden that the narrator is able to get a clear picture of the chaos and disaster they have caused. Together with the narrator, Tyler Durden has created Project Mayhem, a countrywide criminal organization, which prompts anti-consumerism through carrying out vandalism, making mischief, and attempting to reform others through violence. The narrator has lost his job, his boss is dead, police are looking for him, and now Tyler Durden is pushing a gun in his mouth while waiting for the financial centers to blow up. To the narrator, the biggest disaster isn’t the destruction that they have done, but rather, it is the internal conflict with the other personality, Tyler Durden. Therefore, with nothing to lose, he pulls the trigger and shoots himself, with the intention to kill Tyler, to bring an end to this chaos and disaster. “’It’s only after you’ve lost everything,’ Tyler says, ‘that you’re free to do