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The Influence Of Masculinity In The Film Fight Club

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Two men circle each other in a dark musty cellar, ready to fight until one of them goes limp, calls stop, or taps out. Yet, these two men have no disagreements, hold no disdain for one another, and may not even know eachother. These men fight for reasons other than that, they fight to find a masculine way emotionally release. This is a scene from the 1999 film Fight Club, directed by David Fincher and based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, sends some strong messages about masculinity. This movie not only reflects the American ideals on what a man should be, but also promotes a toxic behavior among men. This toxic and violent behavior among men is promoted as how the ideal man should be as well as how it should be used as an emotional aid. This movie is about a insomniac office worker, Jack, who feels he was became a slave to consumer culture by working for the purpose of buying material possessions for his appartment. Jack, looking for a way to regain his sleep and get rid of the pain he feels, begins attending support groups for diseases he doesn’t have to subdue his emotional state. At these groups he can cry among people with no judgment and finds emotional stability and he begins to sleep again. He meets Marla Singer, another fake attendee of support groups. Marla is an incredibly mysterious woman who is obviously a bit crazy, yet there is a mutual attraction between her and Jack. On a flight for his job, Jack meets the character Tyler Durden, a hip, stylish man who

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