Fight Club Consumerism

785 Words4 Pages
The film Fight Club (1999) based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, is replete with themes, Interpretations and underlying messages. Emasculation, Isolation, Violence, and even forms of Zen Buddhism. These themes all intertwine with one common aspect of the movie, and that is it’s ideals of a post-modern consumer society. Fight Club addresses the excessive consumerism as a sign of emotional desolation and as a form of self-distinction. While the title suggests that it is just another cliché action film, it is far from being shallow or so narrowly focused. It instead provides the viewer with a provocative view on American society and it raises valid questions about the values embraced by that society. As mentioned, the film frequently analyses the values espoused by advertising: beauty, youth, power, and wealth. None are more understanding of this than Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Tyler's philosophy contends that people work in jobs that they don't enjoy to keep up the appearance of a life that "has it all." In actuality, these people are deeply unhappy, not because this lifestyle does not sustain them in a spiritual sense, but because…show more content…
Jack, our narrator, attends a "Remaining Men Together" group, which supports testicular cancer survivors in an attempt to find closure for his insomnia. This support group is a representation of a cultural loss of masculinity in the film. One of the group's members, Bob, is a former fitness guru whose steroid use has caused him to lose his testicles and develop a condition described plainly described as "bitch-tits" as a result of hormone replacement therapy. While the narrator Jack feels emasculated because of his consumer driven and IKEA furnished life, the men in the support group represent the physical manifestation of emasculation. This is just one of the many ways the movie conveys the theme of masculinity both physically and
Open Document