Pop Culture Paper

Jake Foust

Dr. Mortimore-Smith

Eng. 114-117 -9am

02-Nov-2018

Fight Pop Culture

Fight Club is a fiction movie starring Edward Norton (the Narrator) and Brad Pitt (Tyler Durden) who are strangers that happen who live in the same area and run into each other on a plane trip. They become good friends and end up living together in a beaten-up house on the outside of town where no one else lives. They start a Fight Club, which is a group of men who get together on week nights and have one on one fist fights. But it goes farther than that; Brad Pitts character starts destroying things that common people can’t live without, such as Starbucks and art monuments that don’t have a purpose. In the end of the movie, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton turn out to be the same person and the Narrator has split personality disorder and Tyler Durden was a delusion. Personally, this is my favorite movie because it’s the type of movie I’m into; it’s dark and grimy it puts things into perspective for people, while it still tackles important social topics that are almost silent in the movie if you don’t listen close enough. This film had multiple ideas that go against the common body image belief  and pushes the idea that everyone is different in a societal status standpoint.

In the Film Fight Club, the common idea of body image is something that is questioned and that many people don’t consider in the movie. The character of Bob is an overweight male who has had testicular cancer and has boobs due to a high amount of estrogen. His character can be summed up in one meaningful quote,” Real sexiness has to do with vitality and what is most unique about each other, our confidence in what we have to offer the world. It’s not about what we buy” (Killing Us Softly Part 4, by jean Kilbourne). Even though the character is believed to be ugly he is a powerful side character in the film which is displayed in Bob’s fight scene with the Narrator. The second example is a quote from the Narrator when he and Tyler board a bus to go home after a night out, standing on the bus the Narrator notices a Calvin Klein ad. The ad was for underwear it had a picture of a muscular man wearing boxers, which leads to his famous quote “is that what a real man looks like” where Tyler replies with a sarcastic chuckle. This scene reminds me of quote from Jean Kilbourne “The image isn’t real: it’s artificial its constructed” (Killing Us Softly Part 4, by jean Kilbourne). The whole idea that for a man to feel powerful or good about his body he needs too have abs or things of that nature, is something that is also present in women’s culture but again something in society that can’t really be helped or changed. These beliefs that are to present in culture destroy people and the misunderstanding of things as simple as this also carry over to other things.

In culture today’s everyone wants to be someone while everyone wants to be their own person which is not possible. In the film A quote used throughout by Tyler Durden is “you are not a unique snowflake” this is a quote that I interpret in a different way. I like to see this quote as a way of saying that just because you have clothing or money or things of that nature, people are all the same on the inside. In pop culture a lot people try to be like Kim Kardashian or the Ryan Renolds of the world, while just because you don’t look the same or have the money you can’t be something equal. The film also goes into imagery in the matter of making everyone equal not just in a manner of being humans in general but monetary value. Tyler Durden essential destroy all the banks country wide so that people who think they are less than others can have an equal shot. I believe this is showing the side the Brightside of a wrong act yes, it is a crime, but morally making everyone equal in opportunity is not such a bad thought that everyone has had.

The message that fight club shows is that just because people are different, and we may not be the same as them doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have equal chances. It also shows that people look different and that is ok people are fat, short, skinny, etc, that doesn’t make one person less than another it just makes us more of the same. These two ideas are not the typical norm for society and people think that the stereotypes are real and there is where society always has problems. We as people need to take a closer look at body image views as well as equality on more than just a rights movement. We must be willing to learn about the issues in society even if we are not comfortable with them because, these problems will eventually make the country sink or swim and that is what will make.

In closure the film Fight Club is a movie that is very popular and is open to interpretation through its many controversial ideas and motives. The movie I believe should be seen by more people strictly on the idea that people are equal not based on monetary value or how we look, but because we are humans are all alive on earth. The fact it includes things about body image and how it is a serious topic that people need to pay more attention to. Body image is a personal thing for everyone and how they see themselves is very crucial to happiness and enjoyment. The point that is most prevalent in the movie is social status and how everyone takes being popular or getting monetary things to heavily. The movie does a great job of that with introducing project mayhem towards the end of the film. The messages Fight Club betrays may be interesting in interpretation, but the message is still there for those who are willing to take a closer look into the film.

Work cited

David, Fincher “Fight Club.” 20th Century Fox, 1999.

Killbourne, Jean “Killing Us Softly 4 Advertising Image of women” YouTube, uploaded by         openedmieyez, 7 February 2018, www.yuotube.com/watch?v=xnAJD78A