Fight Club Analysis

Fight Club Analysis Thesis Statement: An analysis of the movie Fight Club reveals the ambiguity of its themes about modern life, masculinity and nihilism. Ambiguity and Hope in David Finchers Fight Club A decade after its release, David Finchers cult classic Fight Club still invites strong discussion among critics, moviegoers and cultural pundits. Released in 1999, the film chronicles the story of Edward Nortons insomniac white collar worker as he gets drawn to the ultra-violence, uber-masculinity and outright nihilism promoted and practiced by Tyler Durden, played with iconic swagger by Brad Pitt. Few recent films have elicited as much strongly opposing opinions as Fight Club has, with various camps proclaiming it as a post-modern masterpiece that documents the brutal emasculation of the human male by a modern consumerist culture and the ways a man can fight back. Others condemn it is a faux-intellectual and hypocritical attempt by the Hollywood machinery to appeal to mens baser impulses while tacking on a moralist lesson at the end. Make no mistake, Fight Club attempts to raise a mirror at societys face and invites careful interpretation. It is above all, a message film. One that aims to say something as much as it wants to entertain. From this vantage point, it can be argued that the film does not fall easily within either the interpretations mentioned above. Fortunately and frustratingly the film is an ambiguous exercise. It offers very few clean thematic elements from which an easily digestible interpretation can be gleamed from. What of its message then, and does its ambiguity undermine or emphasize this message? The films narrator is a dead-eyed cog at a dead-end job for a car manufacturer. He lives in a condo spare of personality and filled with IKEA furniture. He is empty of feeling, seemingly overwhelmed by the demands of an outside world to buy more, consume more in order to be more. It is therefore no surprise that hes also an insomniac. To cure this, he goes to nightly meetings of various support groups for serious ailments. For a while this seems to work, as he himself notes, Every evening I died, and every evening I was born again, resurrected. These early scenes clearly illustrate a man lost in the wilderness of modern society, one who has to co-opt other peoples real pain so he can feel something for himself. Without pain, he is dead; with it he feels alive. His attempts at relative normalcy are disrupted by two major events. The first one involves meeting Marla Singer, another poser at group meetings who becomes the only major female presence in the film. The second event is the first halfs most important one the narrator meets the brash soap maker Tyler Durden. They strike an uneasy friendship and business relationship making soaps and living together in Durdens dilapidated house at the outskirts of town. For the rest of the first half, the film focuses on the establishment of the titular fight club one that sprang from a drunken brawl where Durden asks the narrator to hit him. Pretty soon, underground fight clubs are established all over the country, filled with lost men who voluntarily subjected themselves to fighting and physical harm. With Tyler as their leader, and the narrator as the second-in-command, these men and saw the possibility of regaining their masculinity taken away from them by their nine-to-five jobs, family responsibilities and societal pressures to be successful. Rebel against modern societys emasculation, the film seems to say. It is with the events of the second half that things get even more manic, as Durden orders a series of attacks against corporate America via his Project Mayhem, starting with relatively harmless pranks and culminating in a full-blown act of terrorism which involves blowing up the citys credit banks. The narrator watches in horror as otherwise reasonable men are converted into a mindless cult bent on following Durdens every proclamation. He is the audiences surrogate at this point, one that recognizes that the events in his life are getting out of hand, and knows he must stop it if he is to salvage whats left of it. On the surface level, the film is an entertaining, often humorous and violent depiction of masculinity. It employs voiceover narration, flashy camerawork, quick editing and sharp dialog to create a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat experience that shows a mans increasingly dark journey to escape his humdrum and meaningless existence only to be caught up with the schemes of a dangerous, messianic terrorist. The story is gripping, the images stylized, and the direction superb. Because of these factors, the movie largely succeeds as a popcorn movie. It is with its deeper themes, and the decisions the movie makes to attend to these themes, that the ambiguity is most apparent. The film wears its nihilism proudly, and yet it also shows that nihilism has to have its limits. That the fun has consequences. The film explicitly shows an innocent man being killed as a direct result of Project Mayhems actions. That is as much a condemnation of the characters and the audiences who might have rooted for them. It also suggests that modern life, and by extension the modern man, is less and less alive and an individual and more of a long-running commercial for goods that have led us, in the words of Tyler Durden, chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we dont need. But Fight Club is itself, a product. One thats marketed, distributed and obviously created to sell and gain profits. At worst, this suggests a highly hypocritical intention on the filmmakers part. At best, though, it can be seen as a dangerous risk for its makers to bite the hand that feeds it. No discussion about Fight Club is complete without mentioning its famous twist. By showing the narrator and Tyler Durden as two sides of one broken individual, the film makes a powerful statement about identity and how it can be destroyed by modern life. The films final shot shows the narrator resurrected as one man, holding Marla Singers hand. A woman who, via his Tyler Durden persona, he almost attempted to destroy. This seems to be films true and final point, that the cost of nihilism as a means to rebel against modern societys excesses does not equal the hope that can be found in real human relationships.

Promoting effective communication Essay

Describe five factors you consider when promoting effective communication: (remember to describe is more than just identifying, this requires a sentence for each one) There are a number of factors to consider in making sure that I can promote effective communication. Statistics show that we only listen to 7% of what is verbally said, 38% the way they are said and 55% non-verbal i.e. our body language, eye contact, gestures. So it is not so much of what we say that is important but how it is said. Verbal communication: 1. Tone and Pitch I need to make sure that the way in what I say things i.e. the tone and pitch of my voice suits the conversation. I might need to raise my voice in a group of many children trying to get their attention when they playing games. Where as in a small group of children were we are doing some structured learning I would talk a bit quitter, or even reading a story I would use voices for the characters in a book, making stories more interesting and so hope to keep the children’s attention. 2. Jargon I would try and use appropriate language, for instance when I am talking to a child I need to keep things simpler so that they can understand the instructions or topic of discussion. I would also kneel down or sit at the child’s level, to make eye contact, and to be sure they understand me. But when I am talking to an adult, I should adjust and speak at the appropriate tone and pitch in not to simple terms as if they are a child otherwise it may come across patronising. Non-verbal communication: 3. Body Language, expressions and gestures My body language, facial expressions and hand gestures, needs to suit the situation or topic. For example I might give a handshake, smile and a wave to a child leaving the session. These are all friendly gestures, and I would hope to get an appropriate response like a wave and smile back. There would not necessarily been any verbal communication but we both understand that it is a friendly goodbye. However I am aware that some cultures certain gestures could be offensive. A r standing with folded arms can indicate you are closing yourself of not open to listen or want to take part in the conversations. This can portray a negative message and make others feel uncomfortable. 4. Eye Contact I also make a lot of eye contact as this engages with the person I am speaking to and keeps them and me focused on what is being said. If there is little eye contact or other distractions then you can notice that there is not 100% focus. 5. Listening I would always listen at the person talking to me as this shows that I am engaged in the conversations/discussion and can act upon anything that is asked of me. If I just nod in acknowledgement and not really listen I could miss important information. If for example a child ask to go to the toilet and I just nodded without really listening, they might wet themselves and feel embarrassed and in future not trust to ask or tell me something.

Early Life Theories - Panspermia Theory

The origin of life on Earth is still somewhat of a mystery. Many different theories have been proposed, and there is no known consensus on which one is correct. Although the Primordial Soup Theory was proven to be most likely incorrect, other theories are still considered, such as hydrothermal vents and the Panspermia Theory. Panspermia: Seeds Everywhere The word Panspermia comes from the Greek language and means seeds everywhere. The seeds, in this case, would not only be the building blocks of life, such as amino acids and monosaccharides, but also small extremophile organisms. The theory states that these seeds were dispersed everywhere from outer space and most likely came from meteor impacts. It has been proven through meteor remnants and craters on Earth that early Earth endured innumerable meteor strikes due to a lack of an atmosphere that could burn the up upon entry. Greek Philosopher Anaxagoras This theory was actually first mentioned by Greek Philosopher Anaxagoras around 500 BC. The next mention of the idea that life came from outer space wasnt until the late 1700s when Benoit de Maillet described the seeds being rained down to the oceans from the heavens. It wasnt until later in the 1800s when the theory really started to pick up steam. Several scientists, including Lord Kelvin, implied that life came to Earth on stones from another world which began life on Earth. In 1973, Leslie Orgel and Nobel prize winner Francis Crick published the idea of directed panspermia, meaning an advanced life form sent life to Earth to fulfill a purpose. The Theory is Still Supported Today The Panspermia Theory is still supported today by several influential scientists, such as Stephen Hawking. This theory of early life is one of the reasons Hawking urges more space exploration. It is also a point of interest for many organizations trying to contact intelligent life on other planets. While it may be hard to imagine these hitchhikers of life riding along at top speed through outer space, it is actually something that happens quite often. Most proponents of the Panspermia hypothesis actually believe the precursors to life were what was actually brought to the surface of the earth on the high-speed meteors that were constantly striking the infant planet. These precursors, or building blocks, of life, are organic molecules that could be used to make the first very primitive cells. Certain types of carbohydrates and lipids would have been necessary to form life. Amino acids and parts of nucleic acids would also be necessary for life to form.   Meteors that fall to the earth today are always analyzed for these sorts of organic molecules as a clue to how the Panspermia hypothesis may have worked. Amino acids are common on these meteors that make it through todays atmosphere. Since amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, if they originally came to Earth on meteors, they could then congregate in the oceans to make simple proteins and enzymes that would be instrumental in putting together the first, very primitive, prokaryotic cells.

Essay His 135 Week 9 Final Project - 3576 Words

History 135 Week 9 Final Project: â€Å"The Most Significant Events†: When most people are taught about U.S. history, we think of mostly the bad times like the wars, the civil rights movements, President Kennedy’s and M. L. King Jr’s associations, just to name a few. In this paper I will discuss those and more going into the start of the 21st century. The previous five decades consisting of the 1950s into the millennium happened during the U.S. History equally turbulent, but exciting. There also were numerous transformations within social, governmental, plus technological sections, but the WWII era currently seems rather prehistoric. Since the 1950s America has experienced major cultural transformations, starting with four main†¦show more content†¦In the Fall of 1957, Fabus called out the National Guard to prevent African Americans from entering Little Rock High School and media coverage in its infancy, and Americans were not surprised to seeing white adults in crowds attacking Black children. As the world’s ey es are observing the United States and President Eisenhower desperate to regain control over the U.S., and Federal Troops were called in to protect African Americans, and Governor Fabus closed the schools in 1958 and 1959. Still, the Movement accentuated the idea of peaceful coexistence and the establishment of legal authority for members of all races. What maybe made the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s so significant is not essentially what battles were won but what training had been done as the decade drew to a close. (Jackson, 2006). 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