Fight Club 1999 The Rules of fight club

Fight Club [1999]

The Rules of fight club • #1 -The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club. • #2 - The second rule of Fight Club is, you DO NOT talk about Fight Club. • #3 - If someone says stop, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. • #4 - Two guys to a fight. • #5 - One fight at a time. • #6 - No shirts, no shoes. • #7 - Fights will go on as long as they have to. • #8 - If this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight.

plot • Brad Pitt portrays Tyler Durden, a charismatic and assertive soap seller who becomes Jack's (Edward Norton) new best friend. During the first part of the film, The couple establish a fight club which draws the attention of dozens of men. It helps Tyler teach them to think for themselves and turn their backs on mainstream consumerism. But later on, Tyler brainwashes these men into joining his anarchist cult known as "Project Mayhem". • This is what this movie is all about - Changing your perspective on life only to make you realize that it's not necessarily better than before.

Characters • Tyler Durden [Brad Pitt]: Traveling soap salesman/co-creator of Fight Club • Jack: Befriends Tyler on airplane/becomes Tyler’s right handman/co-creator of Fight Club • Marla: Drug addict who becomes Tyler’s “friends w/benefits”

Crime • Street fighting/illegal use of drugs and the stealing and misuse of biohazardous material/anarchist terrorism

Victims • There are 3 different types of victims: • Marla: she is used as a concubine and is satisfied by drugs given to her by Tyler • Members of Fight Club: nameless males brainwashed into believing fight club is a solution to their problems/subjected to physical torture • Project Mayhem: Thousands of people affected by the crimes of one group desiring to destroy modern consumerism (911/Aurora)

Repercussions • Were there any repercussions for the criminals? Other than one death that doesn’t really affect Project Mayhem’s goal or growth in members, every crime was depicted as a positive. Every crime was committed by a top-paid Hollywood actor who never had negative consequences to their actions in the movie. The characters are revered as role models and not criminals. In fact, Tyler has become an icon representing a generational philosophy about contemporary masculinity and modern consumerism.

Glamorization • Street fighting: showcases street fighting as being a legit method of releasing the stress of modern masculinity • Drug use: it’s ok to use drugs and overdose because you won’t die • Stealing biohazardous material: the film makes it seem easy to steal medical waste and without consequence • Anarchist terrorism: it works, it’s triumphant, the means to the end are worth it

reality • Street fighting: you’re from Kingsville • Drug use: illegal drug use can lead to personal to societal meltdown and other criminal activity (and jail time) • Stealing biohazardous material: people who commit this crime face prison time • Anarchist terrorism: As is evident from the recent shootings in Colorado, anarchist terrorism in real life produces not only chaos and death, but repercussions to be felt long after (who hasn’t been a little nervous to attend a movie since). This film makes it seem as though trying to destroy a culture or societal belief as glib and not that big of a deal

Analyzing Crime and Hollywood • Why does Hollywood glamorize crime? • How do you think this affects society? • And most importantly, why do we consume it?