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Easter Eggs of Fight Club
The film 'Fight Club' is a real explosive mix of intrigue, philosophy and extraordinary ideas. This cinematic masterpiece by David Fincher not only entertains, but also makes you think. Let's dive into this fascinating world, analyse its deeper meanings and find out why this film remains so heartfelt for audiences around the world.
It is a 1999 film directed by David Fincher and adapted by screenwriter Jim Uhls from the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk.
It is a 1999 film directed by David Fincher and adapted by screenwriter Jim Uhls from the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk.
The plot of the film follows the life of an unnamed man (Edward Norton), who is referred to simply as "the narrator" in the credits and "Jack" in the script because of his constant monologue "I'm ____ Jack". He has become dissatisfied with his life, which seems to revolve only around a boring corporate job, attending meetings of disease support groups he doesn't have, and endless bouts of mindless consumerism, all while struggling with chronic insomnia.
On a business flight, he meets a charismatic free-spirited man named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), and they end up forming a "support group" - "Fight Club" - where other unhappy, unfulfilled men get together and give each other fights as "therapy". In the end, Fight Club turns from best friend to sensei for villains and eventually to an evil reactionary.
On a business flight, he meets a charismatic free-spirited man named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), and they end up forming a "support group" - "Fight Club" - where other unhappy, unfulfilled men get together and give each other fights as "therapy". In the end, Fight Club turns from best friend to sensei for villains and eventually to an evil reactionary.
Let's break down what stylistic techniques and storytelling devices are used in the film.
Be careful: there are a lot of spoilers in the text!
No Name Given: Edward Norton's character is known in the script only as the Narrator, no name is given. This is a very popular trope - it is also used in "Rebecca", "Fleabag"" and other works.
The City with No Name: Several other towns are mentioned in the film, but it is never stated where the narrator lives. Clues in the novel and film indicate that the town is actually Wilmington, Delaware.
Each character has a different colour code: Tyler dresses in reds and yellows. Jack dresses in blue and grey. Marla is dressed in black.
The City with No Name: Several other towns are mentioned in the film, but it is never stated where the narrator lives. Clues in the novel and film indicate that the town is actually Wilmington, Delaware.
Each character has a different colour code: Tyler dresses in reds and yellows. Jack dresses in blue and grey. Marla is dressed in black.
The film seems to have recruited so many good-looking guys on purpose. It presents the audience with attractive men like Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Jared Leto in various states of undress, and then has them brutally beat each other up. And it's like they're all made of iron, especially Tyler and the Narrator. If you like this kind of storyline, you'll be over the moon.
Of course the main trope we see is different personalities, Tyler is the narrator's doppelganger, a sexier and more confident alter ego.
Of course the main trope we see is different personalities, Tyler is the narrator's doppelganger, a sexier and more confident alter ego.
Marla once says:"You're Dr Jekyll and Mr Jackass." In fact, she is quite right. Near the end of the film, the narrator realises this, and the popular technique of Once more with clarity. The previous scenes involving the narrator and Tyler - without Tyler - appear in the film.
Tyler
Tyler is a true trickster who operates outside the accepted laws of society. His hobbies include defecating in other people's food and inserting single frames of pornography into children's films. And Jack is unreliable narrator, because we can't trust him, he lies not only to us, but to himself. Tyler's outfits are retro and sale chic, emphasising his cold detachment from the culture of modern society. His clothes range from 70s-style leather jackets to kitschy dressing gowns. None of the characters use mobile phones.
Tyler's appearance is foreshadowed by the fact that his image is sort of "inserted" into several shots of the film minutes before he appears. Tyler is simply impatient and appears to the narrator like a shot from a pornographic film in the cinema.
This is believed to be because the narrator begins to create Tyler in his imagination.
These are the moments we're already seeing Tyler in:
This is believed to be because the narrator begins to create Tyler in his imagination.
These are the moments we're already seeing Tyler in:
- In a conversation with the doctor, the Narrator mentions narcolepsy, as he has had instances of falling asleep and waking up in a different place. While the doctor may call it sleepwalking, it is far more likely that Tyler had already manifested and was travelling when he slept.
- When the narrator tries to call Tyler after his flat explodes due to a gas leak, Tyler doesn't pick up, but immediately calls the narrator back to the phone booth. Since Tyler doesn't exist, the narrator's attempt to call him fails, but imagining that Tyler calls him back is much easier. If you look closely at the pay phone from which the narrator speaks to Tyler, you can see that it is physically incapable of receiving incoming calls.
- Many of the lines point to this twist, which may only become apparent on re-watching. Especially obvious are lines such as "I know it because Tyler knows it", "If you could wake up in a different time, in a different place, could you wake up a different person?", "I already knew the story before he told it to me". As the narrator wrestles with himself in his boss's office, he reflects: "For some reason I was reminded of my first fight with Tyler."
- When the narrator tries to call Tyler after his flat explodes due to a gas leak, Tyler doesn't pick up, but immediately calls the narrator back to the phone booth. Since Tyler doesn't exist, the narrator's attempt to call him fails, but imagining that Tyler calls him back is much easier. If you look closely at the pay phone from which the narrator speaks to Tyler, you can see that it is physically incapable of receiving incoming calls.
- Many of the lines point to this twist, which may only become apparent on re-watching. Especially obvious are lines such as "I know it because Tyler knows it", "If you could wake up in a different time, in a different place, could you wake up a different person?", "I already knew the story before he told it to me". As the narrator wrestles with himself in his boss's office, he reflects: "For some reason I was reminded of my first fight with Tyler."
- At one point, Bob tells the narrator about a rumour that Tyler never sleeps, forming a possible link to the narrator's insomnia.
- Another time, after making a comment about his boss, he thinks, "Tyler's words are coming out of my mouth.".
- Oh, and Marla interacts with either Tyler or the narrator, but never both at the same time. She always gives him weird looks when he speaks or acts like there's a third person in the house. This is especially noticeable when he tells her: "...Tyler's not here! Tyler's gone!".
- Another time, after making a comment about his boss, he thinks, "Tyler's words are coming out of my mouth.".
- Oh, and Marla interacts with either Tyler or the narrator, but never both at the same time. She always gives him weird looks when he speaks or acts like there's a third person in the house. This is especially noticeable when he tells her: "...Tyler's not here! Tyler's gone!".
- Tyler offers the Narrator a cigarette, the Narrator refuses, citing that he does not smoke. The Narrator is seen smoking more and more often; the first time at work, when the boss admonishes him that smoking is not allowed, and the second time, off to the side, when he threatens the boss, wistfully, as if "Tyler's words are flying out of my mouth". This too indicates the identity of the two characters, as do other elements of their dialogues and interactions.
- Tyler is impulsive and reckless, while the Narrator is a calm and cool-headed corporate executive. Their different personalities, of course, blend together in the heat of battle, and then it becomes clear that they are not really so different.
- Tyler is impulsive and reckless, while the Narrator is a calm and cool-headed corporate executive. Their different personalities, of course, blend together in the heat of battle, and then it becomes clear that they are not really so different.
Marla
As for Marla, she's a disturbing example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. They're usually the kind of airy fairies who personify a man's dream. But Marla can probably best be described as what happens when a dream girl grows up. Marla is very morose, lives in poverty, clearly suffers from some sort of mental illness, and has a rather unhealthy relationship with Tyler. The narrator is unhappy with social norms and consumerist tendencies, but lacks the will to break free from this mess on his own, which leads to his connection with Tyler.
The Narrator's interactions with Marla Singer show her almost cartoonishly deranged until the very end of the film, when she confirms that the Narrator is Tyler Durden himself. Tyler gets all the fun moments of his life with Marla, while he only allows the Narrator to remember the least; every time Marla was obnoxious, the Narrator got the full brunt of it, without knowing anything else about her personality.
The Narrator's interactions with Marla Singer show her almost cartoonishly deranged until the very end of the film, when she confirms that the Narrator is Tyler Durden himself. Tyler gets all the fun moments of his life with Marla, while he only allows the Narrator to remember the least; every time Marla was obnoxious, the Narrator got the full brunt of it, without knowing anything else about her personality.
But in a way, the confident, epathetic Tyler is also the Manic Pixie Dream Boy for the uptight, nameless narrator.
The narrator is just floating along until Tyler shows up and their relationship changes his life and his worldview forever. And then it turns out that Tyler was just a split personality of the narrator all along.
The narrator is just floating along until Tyler shows up and their relationship changes his life and his worldview forever. And then it turns out that Tyler was just a split personality of the narrator all along.
In the end, Jack kills "Tyler." It's a bit implausible, though. When the protagonist shoots himself in the cheek, the bullet inexplicably flies out at a 45 degree angle. Fincher thinks the bullet may have bounced off his jaw, but in the next scene the protagonist seems to be able to speak normally - perhaps it's a magical bullet?
The moment of sex with Marla is shown very artistically - it is not a real scene, but the Narrator's dream. Director Fincher was apparently embarrassed by the idea of filming a traditional sex scene, so he came up with a more abstract way of presenting the material.
We also see a very cool "celebrity paradox". When Marla and the Narrator are talking outside a movie theatre, the movie Seven Years in Tibet is on, starring Brad Pitt, who also plays Tyler Durden in Fight Club. Given that this scene takes place after the Narrator discovers that Tyler is his split personality, the film serves as a subtle reminder that Tyler is invisibly present in this scene.
We also see a very cool "celebrity paradox". When Marla and the Narrator are talking outside a movie theatre, the movie Seven Years in Tibet is on, starring Brad Pitt, who also plays Tyler Durden in Fight Club. Given that this scene takes place after the Narrator discovers that Tyler is his split personality, the film serves as a subtle reminder that Tyler is invisibly present in this scene.
More interesting facts:
When the narrator first attends support groups, a flyer from the 1997 film festival appears on screen. He then mentions to Marla that he has been going to the groups for over a year, and finally the film ends in 1999, the year the film was released, after which it is implied that Fight Club activities continue for another year.
Various business cards and postcodes place the film's action in the fictional town of Bradford, Delaware.
If you pause when the Narrator writes about bees, you can see that his email is the contacts of the cast and crew members mentioned in the credits.
Various business cards and postcodes place the film's action in the fictional town of Bradford, Delaware.
If you pause when the Narrator writes about bees, you can see that his email is the contacts of the cast and crew members mentioned in the credits.
In the first scene with the Narrator in his office, he wears a nametag, implying that his name (or at least one of them) is actually Neal.
Marla and Tyler's phone numbers start with the number 555.
There are eight rules of Fight Film, but people only remember the first two (which are the same rule) due to memory mutation.
Chuck Palahniuk is on record as saying that he liked the ending of the film better than the ending of his own book.
The film makes fun of most product placement (although one was intentional, as Edward Norton hates the New Beetle and wanted to film a scene featuring it).
Marla and Tyler's phone numbers start with the number 555.
There are eight rules of Fight Film, but people only remember the first two (which are the same rule) due to memory mutation.
Chuck Palahniuk is on record as saying that he liked the ending of the film better than the ending of his own book.
The film makes fun of most product placement (although one was intentional, as Edward Norton hates the New Beetle and wanted to film a scene featuring it).
The Aesop
The film Fight Club presents many layers and ideas, but one of the key morals is to criticise consumer society, a lifestyle that promotes material values and a superficial existence.
The main characters in the film face dissatisfaction with their lives and strive to find something more authentic and meaningful. "Fight Club" tries to show that true happiness cannot be achieved through material things or social recognition. It encourages reflection on the values distorted by society and shows the destructiveness of the illusion of possessing material goods as a basis for happiness.
The main characters in the film face dissatisfaction with their lives and strive to find something more authentic and meaningful. "Fight Club" tries to show that true happiness cannot be achieved through material things or social recognition. It encourages reflection on the values distorted by society and shows the destructiveness of the illusion of possessing material goods as a basis for happiness.
Also, the film raises questions about personal identity, self-discovery and the contradictions of human nature, and how sometimes a person can find liberation from societal constraints through extreme actions.
The moral of the film Fight Club lies in the warning that accepting oneself, one's feelings and desires is more important than external circumstances or public opinion.
On the whole, if you watch it "on an adult head", without romanticising the violence and abuse of the 2000s, the film makes a very different impression. But it definitely remains a classic of world cinema.
Do you like "Fight Club"?
The moral of the film Fight Club lies in the warning that accepting oneself, one's feelings and desires is more important than external circumstances or public opinion.
On the whole, if you watch it "on an adult head", without romanticising the violence and abuse of the 2000s, the film makes a very different impression. But it definitely remains a classic of world cinema.
Do you like "Fight Club"?