Fight Club (1999) Pt. 2
- Marxist/Class
When this movie first came out, some friends of mine and I liked to quote it. So much of the dialogue in this movie was just so outlandish and stark in contrast to the stuff we heard actual human beings saying, that it demanded repetition. One such line that always stuck with me came from this scene:
“You’re not your fuckin’ khakis” has a very different meaning in New England.
I remember laughing, hysterically: “You’re not your fuckin’ khakis” (Fight Club). “Where or when would I ever get to hear Brad Pitt deliver such an absurd line again?” I wondered. What I failed to notice (to properly notice, I mean) were the many pro-socialist themes scattered throughout the movie. In my defense, I was a) 17 when I saw this film, and b) incredibly apathetic about anything with layered meaning. To me, at 17, I didn’t have time to investigate every little thing in a movie (or a book, or a conversation); I took it all at face value, and evaluated it that way. A movie, a book, a video game, even people: their value was all based upon how much fun or entertainment I could squeeze out of them without digging any deeper than the surface. Also in my defense, I also remember having a firm belief that I wouldn’t live past 30, and that the world was just a bunch of shiny, happy people holding hands. I’m glad to have been wrong on both accounts: I was an idiot.
Returning to the point I was trying to make, Fight Club is mired with class criticism, specifically critiquing American capitalism. That fact isn’t necessarily hidden; just refer to the first 30 seconds of this scene:
“Working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need” is a quote not likely found in any of the training manuals at your place of employment.
Anyone with a mild understanding of capitalism will see that Fight Club’s critique of it is anything but subtle. What is this film trying to tell us in regards to property? I think the film aims to persuade its audience of the fact that we could all be a little bit better off without the unnecessary pursuit of property. Tyler seems to be especially enamored with this idea of all of us becoming equal (which sounds like another type of system; hold that thought, though), telling us (using one of my favorite lines in the movie): “The things you own end up owning you” (Fight Club).
This idea, that the pursuit of property will eclipse humanity’s desire for almost anything else, is a poignant one; imagine how much worse things have become since the movie’s creator suggested it? That’s a question for another day, I suppose.
One way in which the movie proves its point- that pecuniary pursuits are lacking in purpose- is by showing the success of casting off such things. Fight Club is about forgetting those things, and living in the moment. Fight Club is the Narrator’s salvation. For example, examine the Narrator: before starting Fight Club, he is unhappy. He has a bit of money, job security, though he still can’t sleep. He tries support groups, finding temporary solace, but Marla changes that, and he returns to a state of unfulfillment. Examine, through his monologue, how he talks about Fight Club after its creation:
“After Fight Club, everything else in your life gets the volume turned down. You can deal with anything.”
and “We all started seeing things differently.”
and
“Fight club wasn't about winning or losing. It wasn't about words.”
and finally,
“Afterwards, we all felt saved.” (Fight Club)
These aren’t the words of someone who is “in pain”; this is a man elated.
Another one of the things I thought was interesting, though a bit more veiled, was one way in which I found Project Mayhem to be metaphorical. While watching this to find more rhetoric, I noticed that not only is the movie pretty anti-capitalist, it actually praises socialism as an alternative.
It’s probably not what Marx had in mind, but even he would have to admit: it has a certain panache to it.
It’s not a perfect metaphor, but I’ll use some of the principles from the American Socialist Party’s website and match them with things from the movie:
“Freedom & Equality: Democratic socialism is a political and economic system with freedom and equality for all, so that people may develop to their fullest potential in harmony with others” (Socialist).
The members of Project Mayhem are not even given names. They are all vetted through the same selection process, taking all kinds of people. Project Mayhem isn’t a paying job; it’s a commune. Which brings me to the next point...
“Production for use, not for profit: In a socialist system the people own and control the means of production and distribution... the primary goal of economic activity is to provide the necessities of life, including food, shelter...” (Socialist).
Oh, you mean similar to the way that Project Mayhem applicants all come to live in the house on Paper Street, farm the backyard, and make soap that’s sold to further Project Mayhem? Commune style! How about:
“People across the world need to cast off the systems which oppress them, and build a new world fit for all humanity” (Socialist).
I think that erasing the world’s credit card debt is one way to “cast off the systems which oppress them” (Socialist).
So what makes Fight Club’s socialism so much better? A blog I was reading sums it up pretty well: “A person’s social class has become so relevant that it now has the ability to define a person’s self-worth... physical possessions can not be a replacement for self-fulfillment... it would only be a temporary feeling of self-worth, whereas the improvement of body and mind can go a long way ” (KuriousKatz). Tyler’s way glorifies a type of socialism through its success. Even though the *MEGA SPOILER HERE* movie ended with Tyler being killed, the credit records were still erased. Tyler’s dream lives on. That’s success if I’ve ever seen it.
‘Success’.
Now that those are out of the way, I can finally get to the meat and potatoes of my review: the PROS & CONS. Stay tuned for part 3.