fight club through a feminist lens

imal Zara
Film Theory
Fight Club (1999) dir. David Fincher: Feminist Lense

Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher is a deeply masculine centered film
that therefore deal with pressing issues of modern day feminism. The film
centers around two main male characters and its most obvious theme is that of
anarchy and resentment and destruction of corporate culture and sentiments.
However, on a less prominent level the film deals with issues of masculinity and
in many ways the denial or feminism in modern day patriarchal culture. The film
begins with an introduction to the Narrator (Edward Norton), a single,
introverted, physically weak, and in many ways feminine man. He encounters
virtually his alter, Tyler Durden, an incredibly masculine man interested in
exposing young children to graphic pornography and destroying the capitalist
society that so dearly comforts the Narrator. These anti capitalist sentiments are
expressed through Tylers destruction of cars, living in a house in the toxic
waste part of town, creation of project mayhem, business of selling soap made
of human fat, and obsession with destruction of major corporate companies.

The Narrator begins the film with a moment of masculine collapse as he hugs
and then cries upon the breasts of Bob, a main character representing the decline
of modern day masculinity. Bob, who began his life as a juicer with a wife and
kids developed testicular cancer and a Bilateral Orchiectomy, removing both his
testicles. Because of this surgery bob was given testosterone but because of this
he developed an excess of estrogen causing him to grow enormous breasts.
These breasts continue to grow back even though he continues to get the fluid
drained from them, a somewhat reminder of his forfeited masculinity. Bob is
now divorced and has Two grown kids and they wont return my calls. The
Narrator emphasizes with Bob, he too has been emasculated in every aspect of
his life, most clearly displayed in his relationship with his boss who is
accusatory, short tempered, passive aggressive, and in almost all ways superior
to The Narrator. The Narrator himself has become somewhat of a homemaker as
he relaxes and comforts himself with buying furniture from ikea and trying to
become complete, perhaps making up for the lack of a woman in his life by
filling both roles. After the destruction of the Narrators apartment his
refrigerator lays open on the concrete when he narrates a fridge full of
condiments and no food, how embarrassing indicated that he is rejecting the
bachelor lifestyle.

The Narrator meets Marla, a beautiful young heroin chic, somewhat trashy and
obviously outcasted young woman. Marla is a chain smoker and lives in a old
building, stealing food from the government and spends her nights at support
groups for the terminally ill because its cheaper than a movie and theres free
coffee. Marla is one of the main feminine influences in the Narrators life and his
and Tylers predominant love interest through the film, they essentially compete
for her, and of course, Tyler wins. Marlas purely sexual relationship with Tyler
begins with her failed suicide attempt during which she called the Narrator for
help and Tyler ends up making contact with her. When he arrives at her
apartment he is immediately greeted with the sight of a large dildo which he
condescendingly flicks and Marla ensures him not to worry its not a threat to
you. The two have a night of passionate and loud love making which shown
maining through a 360 degree slow motion pan over of their naked bodies,
Marla on top of Tyler, at the point of orgasm. Marlas being on top is gain a
signifying of her dominance over men, even during a sexual activity. Marla and
Tyler continue their purely sexual relationship throughout the film while Marla
and the Narrator have a will they or wont they relationship stemming from
extreme sexual tension and very obvious play fighting. We of course learn later
the Tyler and the Narrator are the same person resulting in the confirmation that
the Narrator and Marla are infact in a relationship (both emotional and sexual)
themselves, however, the Narrators self emasculation has caused him to
separate the sexual and emotional aspects of this relationship, leaving Tyler with
the manly responsibilities.

There are two female characters in Fight Club that are worth mentioning, one
being the aforementioned Marla and the other being Chloe, a young sexually
deprived woman dying of cancer who the Narrator meets in one of his support
groups. The first introduction to Chloe is that of her sexual desperation, after
going through chemotherapy Chloe is undesirable (having lost her hair and
feminine shape), she states publically announcing at a support group I am in a
pretty lonely place. No one will have sex with me. Im so close to the end, and all I
want is to get laid for the last time. I have pornographic movies in my apartment,
and lubricants, and amyl nitrite Chloe is in many ways the opposite of Marla
who chain smokes cigarettes (even in support group meetings), and whose
philosophy of life is that she might die at any moment. The tragedy, she said, was
that she didnt. However, though the two do have major differences they both
represent strong women who are open with their sexually, unlike the Narrator
who is closed off and clearly sexually depressed. Marla states that The condom
is the glass slipper of our generation. You slip it on when you meet a stranger.
You dance all night, then you throw it away.

The film frequently features a theme of castration beginning with Bob and the
project mayhems attack on the police commissioner threatening to shut down
all fight clubs if possible. The members of project mayhem attack the police
commissioner in the bathroom and provide him with a simple ultimatum, if he
attempts to take away what they feel makes them feel like men they will take
away what makes him a man. With this incident castration becomes the
punishment for threatening fight club and project mayhem which is why when
the Narrator is in the police station, the law enforcement members of project
mayhem try to castrate him as well, however, he disarms and escapes them,
finally showing a moment of domination over his normal femininity and
courageous actions as he runs across the city to save Marla and the financial
world from himself. After this overcoming of his feminine identity the Narrator is
able to kill the Tyler part of himself by shooting himself through the cheek, after
he does this he himself becomes clearly more authoritative in his manner of
speaking to the members of project mayhem and finally accepts his relationship
and feelings for Marla by holding her hand and he watches the destruction that
ensues from the Tyler part of him. Having finally accepted his masculinity and
destroying the separation between him and Tyler, he becomes both and holds
Marla and he contently watches the destruction of the financial world as The
Pixies When Is My Mind plays in the background.
Some points to clarify:
-Is the film itself pushing a dominant portrait of masculinity or is this just
coming from Tylers character?
- What does Marlas character represent? In some ways she is dominated by
Tyler, or sexualized by him, but in other ways she is a dominant force. How can
she be understood through the feminist lens?
- When Tyler and the Narrator merge- what does this say about masculinity?