Fight club

I thought this was a horrible stupid movie

Fight Club is based on the primal struggle between the superego and the id. The Narrator functions as the superego. Terrified of behaving outside of cultural norms, he lives as consumerist a lifestyle as possible, as this is the safest, most inconspicuous way to live in a capitalist society. Due to this strict adherence to cultural rules, the self serving identity of Tyler Durden is created. Tyler embodies the functions of the id: instinctual, ruled by sexual and primitive urges.

This split between the two embodiments of psychological functions is visually presented as well, as The Narrator will typically dress neatly, in business attire (even when bloodied from a night of fighting) while Tyler will dress what can only be called glamorously (shirtless, with a feather boa, and flashy sunglasses in one scene).

Through their interactions a mounting tension develops, until finally the superego must take control over the id before its plans for destruction carry too far. The Narrator must confront Tyler, and this culminates with the beautiful scene of a man in control of his urges for both order and chaos as the old world crumbles around him.

The plot of Fight Club could be argued as simply a modernized version of Joseph Conrad's The Secret Sharer. In this short novel, a sheepish sea captain is unable to command his crew and fails to earn their respect. While performing a night watch he notices a body in the ocean. After pulling the figure onto the ship, he discovers that the man he saved is a convict awaiting trial, and he goes to great lengths to protect the man from others. Through his actions to shield his secret sharer, the captain becomes a more dominating force on the ship. The story climaxes with the merging of the superego and the id as he commands his crew to navigate closer to land, defying all logic and bewildering them with his orders.

While some may argue that the primary message of the film is a scathing portrayal of the aftermath of the feminist movement, this theory crumbles when one considers the role of Marla Singer in relation to The Narrator as well as Tyler Durden. She functions as their motivation, a self reliant symbol of strength that the character tries to emulate. Only when The Narrator defeats the compulsive urges of conformity as well as hedonism is he able to take control of his mind. With that complete, he is able to stand with her as an equal while the world collapses around them. The message of Fight Club is not anti feminist, but is rather pro-individualist.

This is not to say that there are not themes of gender mixing or androgyny amongst the characters. The curvaceous Bob is the obvious example of this. However, the characters' presences in support groups and one male character having breasts is hardly a direct reference to the feminist movement. It seems to strongly allude to the need for human connection that a capitalist society does not fulfill.

Another thought is to question what the function of Bob having breasts served. His chest was given air time in the movie, and one must assume that they were showcased for a reason. Due to excessive steroid use Bob's body began to produce estrogen, which resulted in the formation of large breasts. In other words, he began to involuntarily develop female characteristics in response to his hyper-masculine behavior. This mirrors The Narrator's development of a schismed id due to his overly regulated way of living. Characters in fight club become imbalanced and exaggerated when they focus too much on masculinity verses femininity, and only through self control and moderation are the characters truly liberated.

When it comes to learning lessons from biology, the feminist movement has a very poor track record. In the 90's, it was claiming that men are violent because some mythical force known as the "Patriarchy" encouraged them to be violent. In order to counter this corrupting force, feminists pushed schools to encourage boys to be more feminine, and to move away from society's harmful influences.

"Fight Club" debunks all that nonsense. The narrator, whose real name we never learn, begins his story at a therapy group, being hugged by a man with very large breasts. This is a support seminar for men with testicular cancer. Here is a powerful metaphor--these men have lost their organs for producing testosterone. They are weak and flabby, powerless against feminism's third wave. The man with breasts was once a champion bodybuilder, and even he has been castrated.

We then learn more about the narrator. When he is immersed in society, he feels like he has no soul. He suffers from terrible insomnia. He orders tons of furniture from IKEA--hardly a manly endeavor. Then, one day, he is on a business trip and on the plane he sits next to a sociopath named Tyler Durden. Tyler Durden manufactures and sells soap for a living, which he makes out of human fat that he steals from liposuction clinics. His house looks like it could fall apart at any minute. When the narrator's house burns down (destroying all his IKEA products), Tyler Durden allows him to move in on one condition--"Hit me as hard as you can". He reveals that he has never been in a fight in his entire life (as is the case with the narrator), and the two men break out into a fight. They feel good afterward, and attract the attention of other men who, like Durden, work lower-class jobs. All of the men were raised by single mothers, far from any masculine influence. They have a lot of primal, pent-up rage. To help the men unleash their rage and feel complete, Durden and the narrator start a therapy group known as Fight Club. The men in the group meet a few times a week and fight one another.

Once Fight Club becomes a way of life for the lower class men, they launch a front known as "Project Mayhem", which becomes a revolutionary force. They seek to destroy the corporations that had once enslaved them, to overthrow society. In the end, they succeed.

The lessons of this movie are powerful--do not forbid men from expressing themselves, and make sure that young boys are properly socialized to be decent human beings. If you don't, there will be a Tyler Durden on every block.