a different perspective on the film

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2004)

I am admiddedly a fan of the film fight club, more so than many people, but not because of the cult status the film so abruptly gained, but because of the deep Nietzchian as well as Marxist philosophies that go into it, as well as the historical contexts the film takes into account. Not many fans of the film I doubt are aware of this, but the film's story is some what unoriginal, this does not detract from the clever dialogue and directing, but to state the film as being completely original is an emission of ignorance. Nietzche said in the very late 1800s and early 1900s that this new middle class was going to get bored with prosperity. That this boredom would eventually lead to a backlash against this new found consumerist society. Something very much like this occurred in the beginning of World War one. Many young soldiers graduated highschool and put off college to go have a gun fight with the english, they were all slaughtered because of their inexperience contrasting with the highly trained english commandos. They wanted to "Do Something Great With Their Lives". The generations before them participated in the franco-prussian wars and succeeded. This generation did not have a great war, this generation did not have a great depression. Do you see where I am going here? In the book, at the end of Fight Club, the narrator goes into a mental institution, this is what happened to Nietzche as well towards the tail end of his life, I have no doubt this was a coincidence. Now for the Marxism. A good way to compare the story is to Animal farm, or the Russian Revolution, Tyler Durden takes the role of the Stalin Figure, the one who is more hands on and a bit more violent as well as deceptive. The narrator takes the role of a Lenin character. Towards the end of Tyler and the narrator's partnership, as with Stalin and Lenin, stalin starts to push Lenin out of the picture. The two like in history also staged to take over Capitolism and create a new Eutopian society free of consumerism and greed. Of course as with history the antagonist's personal ambitions overwhelmed the goals that were originally set forth.
Back to the Nietzche for a minute, as for now that i have related to two plot themes there is a bunch more of Nietzche that is in this story. Nietzche was very sexist, not implying that the film is, because it is not, but Nietzche spoke heavily of men being emasculated by women as well as the "super man" which dealt with the concept of the ideal or the perfect man. What was it, and why did men try to achieve it. Fight club is very much this, this theme overlaps with the idea of the consumerism but it is important to single it out as well, being it why they are doing what they do in the first place. This has no relevance to the philosophies but alot of people seemed confused on the ending of the film. I read in several articles that David Fincher decided to make a silly Hollywood ending purposefully to be satirical. In that sense it bears alot of irony being that this is a big budget hollywood film. The ending of the novel would probably never be appropriate to be viewed on the film screen, although it is far more dark and sinister and would be amazing to see on the screen. All i can say is don't take the ending literally, it's a joke, you go to the movies, you see a movie, pretty much any film, and it ends on the upside, this was a film about the downside, and how it keeps getting worse, and how things don't always work out, by ending it like that, on the upside, surviving a gunblast to the face, Fincher is mocking the typical hollywood ending. Why else would they look out happily at the buildings falling and society being plunged into another stoneage? I hope i have offered a different view on this film, and those who are into this film very much should get out some work by Nietzche and Marx because they might really enjoy it, otherwise, have a good day.