Geographies of Postmodernism

    Fight Club (1999)

Author Chuck Palahniuk deals almost exclusively in the disorienting world of postmodernism, detailing societal deconstructions in dazzling arrays of simulated reality. Fight Club is no stranger to these ideas; it is no wonder then that director David Fincher and writer Jim Uhls were able to capture and amplify them in the often praised (and often hated) film adaptation. 

As with many postmodern films, Fight Club is a strange beast to nail down into one genre. Even its creators are split, with Fincher calling it a coming-of-age film and Uhls describing it as a romantic comedy. A dark comedy would fit in perfectly with this blending of genres, with the bleak quips from Marla and Tyler. In any case, the film is not afraid to fully realize the dark aspects of human life and behavior, and this disorienting mixing of genres and references is a perfect analogy for what the film sought to do in its story and filmography. Fight Club stands as a commentary on society's indulgence and pitfalls, taking them apart and restructuring them as Fight Club and Project Mayhem; but the film is also a painful evaluation of masculinity and what it means to men who find themselves searching for it (the testicular cancer moments, then, take on a deeper meaning). Roger Ebert described the film as "macho porn," but I think he's missing the point. The film is supposed to feel this way; that's what makes its message -- the antithesis of the so-called "macho porn" -- so effective.

Furthermore, Fight Club delves into the meta, even calling its main character "the Narrator" and allowing him to give exposition. This almost alien choice serves the film well in its reality-bending finale, but it is primarily used to drive a wedge between what is real and what is not. The viewer may find themselves confused at many times, but this is perfectly natural, for the Narrator himself is confused. At any given moment, what is real and what is hallucinatory is almost impossible to decipher. Tyler being a projection of the Narrator's twisted psyche brings some balance to these troublesome quirks, but it is never quite enough clarity to untangle the web of mystery. This inversion of reality allows the filmmakers to showcase the rise of this quasi-fascist system in believable terms, while hammering in the idea that is it a negative reality that the Narrator doesn't truly want. Only that part of him that is impulsive, destructive, desires the blood.

Lastly, Fight Club works in an air of intertextuality. Fincher describes the Narrator as the opposite of the archetype found in films like The Graduate, a man without possibilities for change and hope. In this way, the Narrator is a rejection of the typical tropes, while other characters serve as traditionally masculine archetypes in order to contrast this rejection. 

    Fight Club (Roger Ebert)

    Fight Club (Variety)