Monday, April 6, 2009

Fight Club Gender Roles

It has definitely been a different experience examining Fight Club from an analytic perspective. The main character displays what would be categorized as feminine characteristics when he admits his addiction to furniture shopping. The only way he can escape such feminine characteristics is through the creation of Tyler Durden. The Fight Club itself is a way for men to exert their masculinity, something that is repressed within their daily lives. As Tyler puts it in his speech to the fight club, "we have no purpose or place. We have no great war, no great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives." Tyler also sees "the smartest men that ever lived" within the fight club, men with "potential". He also goes on to talk about how men are "pissed" at the fact that they haven't achieved everything society has to offer. The only way to take out that aggression and show their masculinity is through fighting.

I also wanted to address the role of women within the movie. Marla is the main character and I would agree with the majority of my class that she is seen purely as a sex symbol. She is around for the sexual pleasure of the males within the film. One point I would like to make is the lack of a female presence in the actual fight clubs. When Tyler Durden points out the 8 rules of Fight Club, he never says that females are prohibited or that the fight club is strictly meant for men. It definitely would have made for a much different film if women were allowed to fight within the clubs.

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