Lecture Program & Film Reviews: Lecture #1 Myth & Storytelling Film Analysis

 The Heroes Journey - Fight Club (1999)

Fight Club (1999) follows a nameless narrator / protagonist suffering with insomnia, trying to find fulfilment through Ikea furniture and general consumerism whilst working a mundane office job. Our narrator discovers a cure for his fatigue by attending support groups as a 'tourist', which initiates him meeting a cast of quirky characters. Our narrator ends up living with Tyler, a hyper-masculine soap maker, and the pair begin an underground fight club which spirals out of control. We learn that Tyler isn't what he seems, and our nameless narrator is closer to his new friend than we expected. 

1. The Ordinary World

The nameless insomniac narrator is a recall coordinator for a high-rise corporation, dealing with his mundane job through materialism and consumerism. 

2. The Call To Adventure

The narrator discovers a cure for his insomnia through attending various support groups and learning how to cry his heart out. Here, we meet an unusual character called Marla. This encounter initiates the narrators new alter-ego, one that is masculine enough to approach Marla. 

3. Refusal of The Call

Our narrator returns home to a catastrophic scene, his apartment has been blown up alongside all his material possessions...his whole life. The narrator is hesitant to call Marla, and meets with Tyler at a bar instead. Tyler, the alter-ego, is the one to offer  a place to stay, not our narrator. This suggests the narrator was reluctant to give-in to his other personality, not wanting to share a home with Tyler. 

4. Supernatural and (Mentor)

Tyler is our narrators mentor, discussing  consumerism and corruption, helping the nameless protagonist find relief in a friendly fight outside the bar on the night of the apartment disaster. Tyler gives the narrator a 'masculine' outlet for his frustrations. Further on, Tyler helps the narrator find freedom and self realisation.

5. Crossing the Threshold

The narrators first encounter with Tyler, on the plane, is crossing the threshold. At this point an alter-ego has been fully formed, having a discussion with the narrator. Before this point, viewers had only seen glimpses of Tyler in the background of shots. 

6. Belly Of The Whale

The basement of a bar becomes the temple of fight club. Above the brawl is a crowd of drunks, unaware of the illegal activity beneath them. Fight club uses the basement without consent from the owner, adding more risk onto the secret and violent meetings. During a fight, the narrator is surrounded by testosterone-fuelled club members. This suggests three layers of risk/ danger and makes the location the 'belly of the whale'.

7. The Road Of Trials

Marla and Tyler get together, seeing each other daily. The narrator finds their relationship unbearable and his outward appearance, especially at work, drastically declines. The narrators friendship with Tyler is distanced further by the creation of  'Project Mayhem', which involves many 'terrorist' and ' civil violence' qualities that our narrator doesn't believe in. 

8. Meeting The Goddess

The narrator meets Marla at a testicular cancer support group. The theme of masculinity is heavily manipulated in this film, and this meeting invites ideas of conflict with femininity; the male narrator meets a female in a space where other men are struggling with loosing their own masculinity. 

9. Woman as Temptress

Marla conflicts with the fight club. Unlike Tyler, Marla is real and therefore opposes the narrator's alter ego and what Tyler stands for. Marla tempts the narrator away from the fight club by allowing the growth of her relationship with him. The narrator walks the line of letting femininity and love into his life, or letting fight club take him wherever it leads. 

10. Atonement With The Father

The nameless narrator eventually recognises Tyler as part of himself, his alter ego. He recognises that Tyler's radical beliefs, along with project mayhem, were himself. Realising Tyler is part of his own personality, the narrator must forgive and accept Tyler in order to understand his true self and his disassociation tendencies. 

11. Ultimate Boon

After discovering that Tyler is his alter ego, he also understands that he's the leader of fight club, which is now an international franchise. He discovers how fight club has infiltrated everything, from hotel workers to police officers. The ultimate Boon is his discovery of his other self, and realising the powerful force fight club has become. 

12. Refusal of Return

The narrator turns himself in to police after realising he's planted bombs and started a radical terrorist plot. After realising that he is also Tyler, he decides to finish what he's started, or at least try and stop the bombings, instead of forgetting everything and returning to a numb consumerist lifestyle. The narrator also tries to get Marla out of harms way by sending her out of the city, suggesting commitment to their relationship. 

13. Magic Flight

The narrator attempts to reach the planted bombs and disarm them before disaster strikes. Tyler does what he can to stop him and the scene gets violent. A race against time.

14. Rescue From Without

Our narrator risks his life to kill Tyler by shooting himself in the cheek, letting go of his alter ego. 

15. Crossing the Return Threshold

The narrator choses to discard Tyler and welcome Marla. This could be seen as a new acceptance to reality and returning to real life; he removes the fake and accepts the real. 

16. Apotheosis (God Like)

In the end, the narrator accepts the inevitable bombing disaster. His calm demeanour suggests acceptance of his authority and power as chaos begins around him. The narrator observes the view out the high rise building as a god would look down from heaven.

17. Master Of Two Worlds

Once our narrator accepts his disassociation tendencies, he has reached self acceptance. The narrator is now in control of his own mind, and his reality. The narrator now has the power to understand the real and fake. 

18. Freedom to Live

The narrator is free to live without the mind controlling behaviours of Tyler. He is also able to freely choose the future of his relationship with Marla. The narrator has learnt life lessons from Tyler, and discarded him once he became too dangerous.