The words “cult classic"get thrown around a bit too much these days when it comes to little-known movies that have developed a small but passionate following online. Before the advent of the internet it was much harder for a movie to gain the status of a cult classic. But one film that managed this feat, and in fact became the definition of a cult classic for decades to come was 1999’sFight Club.
Featuring A-list talent in front of and behind the camera,Fight Clubwas based on a best-selling novel by Chuck Palahniuk.Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles, the movie was helmed by acedirector David Fincher. Despite not working well at the box office,Fight Clubfound a second life through DVD sales for years to come. Let us take a look at some of the deeper themes the movie explores that have drawn generations of fans from all over the world to revisit its story over and over again.
Consumerism Is Not the Answer
The movie begins with an unnamed ordinary guy who works for an insurance company. He makes a decent salary, gets to fly all over the country, and has an apartment filled with the latest appliances and decorations. Yet, despite leading society’s definition of a successful life filled with every material good the heart could desire, the man is deeply unhappy and unable to sleep due to feeling numb and empty all the time.
As the story unfolds, the man finds himself feeling truly alive and happy for the first time after giving up all his material possessions to move into a ramshackle house with a bunch of other men. The man realizes he has finally escaped the trap that so many people in society fall into, where theythink owning physical things can lead to happinesswhen in reality all it does is place you in a protective cocoon of comfort that numbs and quietens your mind by always keeping you firmly within your comfort zone.
The Dangers of Groupthink
What forces the unnamed protagonist ofFight Cluboutside his regular, empty life is a chance meeting with the immensely charismatic Tyler Durden. Handsome, clever, strong, and confident, Tyler is everything the protagonist wants to be in life. And he is not the only one who feels this way. Throughout the movie, more and more men start seeing Tyler as their leader, the man who has the answers for all of life’s problems. Ironically, so have many male audience members, completely missing the point.
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Ultimately, this turns out to be nothing but a mirage. It is revealed near the end that Tyler is a budding anarcho-terrorist who plans to bomb multiple buildings for his own twisted reasons. By the time the protagonist realizes Tyler’s true intentions, it is too late. The other members of their group have been completely brainwashed by Tyler. They have renounced their entire personhood in service of their devotion to Tyler, and are blindly ready to do anything for him even to the point of death.
Violence Only Leads to More Violence
The biggest mistake that too many people make aboutFight Clubis thinking that it glorifies violence, when in fact it does the exact opposite. At first the protagonist and Tyler create the titular Fight Club as a space where anyone can come in and fight out all of life’s frustrations. The brutal physical matches thatoften lead to serious injuriesmake its members feel like real men. It gives them a feeling that they are finally in control of their lives and have a sense of real purpose.
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But those feelings are temporary. As the protagonist finds out too late, participating in Fight Club is not a healthy way to deal with your emotions or build towards a happy and well-adjusted life. Instead of setting its members free mentally, Tyler uses the club to brainwash his allies into becoming his unthinking foot soldiers. All this eventually leads to the bombing of several buildings across the city on Tyler’s orders while the protagonist can only watch the carnage from a distance, resulting in one of thegreatest final images in movie history.
You Are Responsible for Your Own Happiness
The biggest problem the protagonist ofFight Clubsuffers from is his habit of depending on others to feel happy. In the beginning, he tries to piggyback off the emotional health of other people by pretending to suffer from a number of serious illnesses to gain sympathy. Later on, the protagonist latches on to Tyler Durden as the answer to all his woes and the man who could lead him to salvation.
Unfortunately, the protagonist eventually realizes that Tyler is a raging sociopath who only pretends to have the answers to life’s problems. This forces the protagonist to break his emotional bond with Tyler in the most dramatic way possible with a bullet to the face. In the end, the protagonist is free of Tyler and finally ready to make his own decisions in life after realizing that he himself is responsible for how badly his life has turned out, but he also has the power to turn his life around.
