Fight Club Analysis

Fight Club At the risk of breaking the first two rules of Fight club, in this scene analysis I will be discussing a scene from Fight Club (David Fincher 1999). Using mise en scene I will be analyzing the particular scene at about minute 93 when Tyler (Brad Pitt), Jack (Edward Norton) and two others from the fight club, get into a car together. Jack climbs into the passenger's seat and Tyler drives. Tyler and Jack begin and have an argument that reaffirms a main theme: letting go of control. Throughout this entire movie, Jack watches the world move around him. He feels he is unable to control anything around him, though he constantly tries. The drive and ensuing crash in this scene parallels this theme. Mise en scene includes four main parts which then have sub parts. The four main parts are setting, the human figure, lighting, and composition. However, I will only be using the first three. First is the setting. This scene takes place in a car driving on a highway at night and in the rain. Setting in most cases is used to set the tone or mood of a scene and for this one it sets a dreary tone. The car is almost full and although they do have room to move they are trapped inside a small area. This is showing how Jack is stuck in his small way of thinking. With Tyler driving, Jack no longer has control and at the end of the scene, through a crash, is helped out of the car and his way of thinking by Tyler. The car is also a tool that is for forward progression. In this scene, while Tyler and Jack are in the car, Jack is able to move forward by letting go of control. Setting alone however, is not enough. The second element is the human figure. The human figure contains many different sub parts such as, actors, casting, acting style, figure placement and movement, costumes, props and makeup. The figure placement is very key in this scene. It shows Tyler as the driver and Jack as the passenger. By this single act, the director is slowly relinquishing Jack's