Sunday
25Mar2007
tygerland revisited: Freud, Modernity, and the Fight Club
Sunday, March 25, 2007 at 7:02PM
Due to my increasingly busy schedule, I'm unable to spend much time writing so I have decided to reproduce some of my better posts (or at least what I consider my better posts). The first revisted article is Freud, Modernity, and the Fight Club from May '06: -
I will disappoint a few readers here, but last night was the first time I saw the movie Fight Club (1999), starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Long has the film been considered one of the best ‘lad’s movies’, tapping into the primal urges of the male-psyche, indulging in wanton violence and general mischief making – this observation is, however, simplistic to the point of facile ignorance. Fight Club is not about gratuitous violence, it is a millennial social commentary, which delves deep into the psychoanalysis of the main character, and by implication, the wider male population.
***Spoiler Alert - If you haven't seen the film, stop reading now***
A quick review of informed reader comments, on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), coveys a very cinema-centric view of the picture. Viewers tended to define the movie in the context of previous films, such as The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, and Trainspotting. Each of these comparisons is justifiable, however none mention (at least the ones I read) Sigmund Freud, or the discipline of psychoanalysis. This is bizarre considering the nature of the films narrative.
I will disappoint a few readers here, but last night was the first time I saw the movie Fight Club (1999), starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Long has the film been considered one of the best ‘lad’s movies’, tapping into the primal urges of the male-psyche, indulging in wanton violence and general mischief making – this observation is, however, simplistic to the point of facile ignorance. Fight Club is not about gratuitous violence, it is a millennial social commentary, which delves deep into the psychoanalysis of the main character, and by implication, the wider male population.
***Spoiler Alert - If you haven't seen the film, stop reading now***
A quick review of informed reader comments, on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), coveys a very cinema-centric view of the picture. Viewers tended to define the movie in the context of previous films, such as The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, and Trainspotting. Each of these comparisons is justifiable, however none mention (at least the ones I read) Sigmund Freud, or the discipline of psychoanalysis. This is bizarre considering the nature of the films narrative.
Reader Comments (4)
Or am I reading far too much into a film about gratuitous violence?
No, probably not. And didn't I tell you you'd make a good therapist?
Ha ha! Thanks MsM.
I have always considered myself more a patient than a therapist...
Finally a comment on the split personality aspect. Very interesting...Thank you.
Do you think that Marla Singer (Helena Bonham-Carter's character)could also be another aspect of Jack's personality? Perhaps she acts as his super-ego (his conscience) and tries to challenge him to seek the truth?
Ooooh, very good point. I think Singer is a real character, but your reasoning is sound - maybe I need to revist the film.