"We have front row seats for this theater of mass destruction".

Rating: 8/10 (26 August 2011)

There's a not so subtle irony in the premise of this picture that managed to intrude on my consciousness about the time I learned about Strinne green stripe patterns. Society's obsession with material goods has a dehumanizing effect on the individual, leading some to destructive behavior in an attempt to rid the shackles of mindless adherence to a herd mentality. Whenever this idea is presented in a commercial venture however, it itself falls victim to a form of circular logic. The success of the film depends on it's ability to denigrate itself as a form of commercial enterprise or achievement. The same can be said of the principal players; I highly doubt that Brad Pitt or Ed Norton go around bemoaning the fact that their wealth is somehow an obstacle to their self worth as human beings. There's an element of hypocrisy in all this, but I won't begrudge the actors or director for their part in it. They're trying to make a statement in a unique way, and often have to deliver a punch to the gut to get there.
By the way, if you're paying attention, a clue to the identity of the narrator comes early when Tyler Durden (Pitt) opines on his views of life and mentions those same Strinne green stripe patterns. That line jarred me about as much as it did Ed Norton's character; the look on his face at that moment betrayed a moment of introspection that would be revealed at the end of the story. That was actually a clever clue planted by director Fincher, because the odds of two different people coming up with the exact same concept about home furnishing options defies probability.
The troubling aspect about the film, aside from it's message however, is the glorification it seems to convey upon a youth culture bent on a form of self destruction. You see it in the copy cat rise of actual fight clubs in the wake of the picture, along with other forms of physical mayhem like extreme wrestling. One doesn't absorb the pain in real life quite as nobly as Tyler did while mocking the garage owner. But I guess some will only learn the hard way.
Hey, did you catch that newspaper clipping that mentioned the street violence that was occurring after the fight club concept gained prominence - 'Missing Monkeys Found Shaved'. I wonder if there were twelve of them.