The Search for Male Identity within Modern Society
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by placing a gun into his own mouth and pulling the trigger. Marla arrives to
find Jack still alive, and together they watch the buildings collapse as Jack
explains, “You met me at a very strange time in my life” (Fincher).
When Tyler and Jack created Fight Club it was complete with a set of
rules for members, including: “You do not talk about Fight Club” (Fincher).
Ironically, critics have violated this foundational rule in their work to describe
the themes within the film.
Breaking Fight Club^s Rule: Others Talk Too
The underlying themes found in Fight Club elicited a wide range of
critical responses upon release of the film. They can best be divided into two
major categories: first, those that examine the psychosocial impact of reasserted
masculinity, and second, those that highlight the film’s critique of consumer
capitalism.
Traditionally, masculinity has been associated with violence and
aggression, and much of the psychosocial evaluation of the film focuses on this
facet. Asbjom Grenstad (“One Dimensional Man”), Kevin Boon (“Men and
Nostalgia”), and Terry Lee (“Virtual Violence”) discuss how men historically
were socialized to be aggressive, but as Boon explains, “the characterization of
an aggressive male as a typical man now carries with it the inflection of a slur”
(270, emphasis in original). This characterization of masculinity has redefined
men’s abilities to express and create valid self-identities, and Fight Club, they
argue, acts as a fictional representation of this real-world trend.
Other authors, such as Karen Ashcraft and Lisa Flores (“Slaves with
White Collars”) and Latham Hunter (“The Celluloid Cubicle”), look beyond the
violence and evaluate the link between masculinity and the workplace. These
scholars conclude that workplace dominance was once a promise made to young
boys, but the advancement of women and minorities into a realm once
dominated by straight, white males has resulted in a loss of their position of
prestige. Fight Club acts, in their opinion, as a reaction to this masculine
powerlessness.
Another critical analysis of the film focuses on how the DVD version
of the film and the accompanying supplemental text seek to protect the
commercial viability of a product by advancing only accepted interpretations of
the film. Robert Brookey and Robert Westerfelhaus argue that the DVD acts to
deny a perceived homosexual thematic element of how the men of Fight Club
(including Tyler and Jack) establish and maintain their own relationships
(“Hiding Homoeroticism”). This interpretation was denied by all involved in the
film’s production and was further minimized by supplemental material in the
DVD version. Brookey and Westerfelhaus argue this strategy is a uniquely
powerful rhetorical tool because “Individuals involved in the film’s production
are presented in the extra text as having privileged insights regarding the film’s