‘Fight Club Uses Cinematic Means to Produce a Fantasy Which Is Also a Serious Exploration of Masculinity.’ How Far Does This Statement Capture Your Own Response?
‘Fight Club uses cinematic means to produce a fantasy which is also a serious exploration of masculinity.’ How far does this statement capture your own response?
Critics have said that Fight Club ‘rages against the hypocrisy of society’ showing ‘a take on changes in masculinity’. The film uses cinematic means which produce a fantasy which explores the idea of masculinity and goes against a society where real men are defined by the materials they own.
Fight Club uses a de-saturation of colour which gives it a gloomy and gritty atmosphere. This challenges the traditional fantasy conventions, however is similar to fairytale remakes such as Snow White and the Huntsman. The film develops a ‘neo’ fantasy sub-genre which is more aimed at an adult audience. That being said, Fight Club establishes this type of style.
Just like the rest of society, Jack (The Narrator) suffers from the consumerism of society which we see in the IKEA sequence, which helps define the manner in that consumerism is questioned throughout the film. The IKEA sequence, which uses graphic imagery of the IKEA catalogue to define the meaning, is quite abstract and very different to other moments in the film. These pieces of furniture help define Jack’s life. However, later in the film, Tyler Durden states that ‘things you own start owning you’ which links to the idea of men being defined by the thing they own. The focus on materialism in this sequence suggests masculinity becoming more feminine and taking the feminine approach of loving to shop.
Fight Club has been seen as a film which embodies the idea of Nietzsche, meaning the idea of a superhuman self, which can be shown through subliminal flickers of Tyler Durden at the start of the film. Before the narrator meets Tyler Durden, we see flickers of Tyler in random scenes at the start of the film. Tyler is able to take control and dominates over the narrator which reinforces his masculinity from the start.
The fighting in Fight Club
Critics have said that Fight Club ‘rages against the hypocrisy of society’ showing ‘a take on changes in masculinity’. The film uses cinematic means which produce a fantasy which explores the idea of masculinity and goes against a society where real men are defined by the materials they own.
Fight Club uses a de-saturation of colour which gives it a gloomy and gritty atmosphere. This challenges the traditional fantasy conventions, however is similar to fairytale remakes such as Snow White and the Huntsman. The film develops a ‘neo’ fantasy sub-genre which is more aimed at an adult audience. That being said, Fight Club establishes this type of style.
Just like the rest of society, Jack (The Narrator) suffers from the consumerism of society which we see in the IKEA sequence, which helps define the manner in that consumerism is questioned throughout the film. The IKEA sequence, which uses graphic imagery of the IKEA catalogue to define the meaning, is quite abstract and very different to other moments in the film. These pieces of furniture help define Jack’s life. However, later in the film, Tyler Durden states that ‘things you own start owning you’ which links to the idea of men being defined by the thing they own. The focus on materialism in this sequence suggests masculinity becoming more feminine and taking the feminine approach of loving to shop.
Fight Club has been seen as a film which embodies the idea of Nietzsche, meaning the idea of a superhuman self, which can be shown through subliminal flickers of Tyler Durden at the start of the film. Before the narrator meets Tyler Durden, we see flickers of Tyler in random scenes at the start of the film. Tyler is able to take control and dominates over the narrator which reinforces his masculinity from the start.
The fighting in Fight Club