FIGHT CLUB: Why We Can’t Agree On Its Meaning - Wisecrack Edition
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The film Fight Club can be read in a lot of different ways. To some people, Tyler Durden is a hero. To others, he’s a jerk. But why can’t he just be whatever you want him to be, and what does it even mean to read a text in the first place? Let’s find out in this Wisecrack Edition on FIGHT CLUB: Why We Can’t Agree On Its Meaning.
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Research by: Rebekah Sinclair
Written by: Leo Cookman
Directed by: Michael Luxemburg
Hosted by: Michael Burns
Additional Narration by: Greg Edwards
Editing: Andrew Nishimura
Motion Graphics by: Drew Levin
Produced by: Evan Yee
© 2019 Wisecrack
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Tyler Durden is so clearly the villain of the movie, and the world he creates is so sweaty, dark, gritty and depressing… but hey let’s go be Tyler durden!
Maybe if you realize that the world is already like that for some people and that some think it's better to "accept it" or adapt to it to start making themselves a place in it, you'll get a different perspective
@@melchozap1580
Everybody has bad times, not everybody adopts a suicide bomber level of extreminism as their coping mechanism.
Tyler is the villain bc the main character lost control, or rather deliberately deluded himself so much that he lost the ability to percieve reality.
Yes, making yourself do things you don't want to do is a good way to be productive, but making yourself do extreme and desperate things bc you want to accelerate the collapse of modern society has limited effectiveness in producing useful results.
The moral of fight club is, sleep is very important if don't want to become a raving pyschopath.
You cannot spring Thug Notes readings on me like that and NOT bring back Thug Notes.
Right? Where is my g? Bring him back, he was a real one
Such a tease
I would love Thug Notes The Bible
Perhaps having him read is a subtle hint at Thug Notes coming back?
DRAG THEM
"It is not the job of artists to give the audience what the audience wants. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience. They would be the artist. It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need."
- Alan Moore
It works both ways. You mean to tell me an artist was never an audience member? That's why alot of artists become artists to begin with, because they are inspired as audience members. We are not special. This does not belong to us. Remember?
@@renedominguez9882 yeah being an artist is not that deep.
That’s insightful words from jack Moore’s brother 😉
@@renedominguez9882 is that some Death of the Author nonsense?
Can't watch because of Spoilers.
Haven't finished the Bible yet.
Ok, I can recommend the comedy episodes, like where a guy kills a king so fat that his sword dissapears in the kings fat and is never found.
@trufiend138 Ooh, so edgy. Now get back to your mother's basement.
Major spoiler: Lucifer is the real protagonist, Jehova is the antagonist.
mikitz Summary: Lucifer knew God’s favoritism to the people who will only love him.
@@menace2societies The manipulative, psychopathic narcissist tends to turn out to be the antagonist in most stories and this isn't an exception.
Both? I've always seen it as criticizing the two extremes of masculinity. Yes, modern culture does often make men feel disenfranchised. And yes, a manipulative person can take advantage of that to create violent, angry monsters.
However, don't forget that these 'violent, angry monsters' don't actually use violence against anyone, and the height of their 'monstrous' behavior is to blow up some empty buildings in order to erase everyone's debt record.
Maybe you should rethink your position...
@@Lodatzor Except the people they castrated and killed...so yeah
@@pauloandrescastrogonzales4168
Name the people they castrated and killed. I'll wait.
@@pauloandrescastrogonzales4168 they didn't actually do that...
@@Lodatzor okay but what does erasing the entire basis of the western economy do besides plunge it into anarchy that gives people freedom to do anything including murder
It's like arguing that hitler didn't kill people himself therefore he isn't to blame or that stalin didn't take the food from people himself. You get the point
God, I miss thug notes....
me too playa
They keep just tantalizing us with his voice! Wisecrack need to address this.
Indeed
slept binging his playlist yesterday
Please bring back thug notes! It was sooo gooood!
Title: Fight Club
Content: throwing shade at Joel Osteen using the voice of our beloved Dr Sparky Sweets.😎
....None of those things are what I think about when someone says "Woody".
Were you thinking a hard-on or Woody Woodpecker?
All you can say for sure is that he's thinking of a pecker
@@jacktheripper7825 LOL. Nice.
I know, right? Who wouldn't think of a wood-paneled station wagon?
Personally i thought of 3 entirely different "woody" definitions as well... and i think it was intended to be ambiguous to prove said point.
So.. Fight Club is the new Bible that we should build a religion around? Ok, done.
Wait...were we not already?
I have the soap ready bois
Where are we meeting for fight night
Exactly what the dude in the video was speaking against... Solid troll.
@@alexsilva28 nice legion pfp
I love the surprise mid-Thug Note!
Damnit! Now it's not a surprise!
What I expected: Fight Club interpretations
What I got: Repeat of parts of my language studies class in university.
Not mad though. xD
Same. I haven't heard the word Signifier or semiotics in a long time
Exactly. He assumes movies are made with no meaning intended.
@@Superman-cb3fr Intent of Art is irrelevant, though. As soon as a work is made it is forever released from its creator, thus becoming independent from his or her intentions.
You should be mad.
Can we please bring back some thug notes
PLEASE!!!
That shit got me theough high school
For fucking real it was so good compared to all this dumb shit with movies and Rick and Morty they overanalyze
Forget a comeback, it needs its own channel like Allen's Guide. Love Thug Notes
Puff Daddy yea pleeeaaase
Bring back Thug Notes God damn I missed his voice
....and that deep thick content....mmmmm...
@@pliskin100 You must not be a well read Baller
@@pliskin100 and you must be a racist. how does being well read mean you are a sellout?
I love Fight Club. … A social critique wrapped up inside a Personality Disorder is pure genius.
The moral is Make sure to get 8 hours of sleep
In my opinion, If you bought any fight club related stuff u didn't get the movie...
Literally
That is false
@@fecomate2542
Your momma fool
@@thevisitor5861 that doesn't prove anything.
@@fecomate2542 wdym prove lol that’s what we believe , it’s our truth , if you don’t believe that good for you 🤷🏻♂️
nice to hear THAT voice again!! I miss my thug notes ...
"Everything can't mean just anything."
*Post-mordernism intensified look*
Derrida was one of the most important figures in postmodernism though.
Hahahahahaha
That's not even what post-modernism is about, maybe if you believe all the bullshit said about it
@@Bojoschannel Whatever our current age of post-post-modernism is, Nothing means anything and life is meaningless.
@@professorfukyu744 there's a lot of difference between post-modern culture (refering to late stage capitalism) and post-modernism thought (post-structuralism and the like)
Shout-out to our dawg Sparky Sweets! Keep rockin', you well-read homeboy!
Bless you, Sirs! I have a 20-year-old Master's degrees in Literary Theory w/a specialization in Semiotics, and this may be the first time I've nodded along to a Jacques Derrida reference outside an academic setting. For ~16.5 minutes my education felt valuable.
Thanks for that. 😀👍
great; you have a college degree and that makes you smart. Thanks. This is the bullshit reason why colleges continue to thrive even though they don't do their fundamental job of teaching...same with school 😤😤
Did ya'll just stretch the definition of concept creep to be more broad? If that was intentional then it's brilliant.
Paschal when people refer to 1984 it’s always to do with government control and surveillance.
I love how in a meta sense this video doesn't really means anything in specific, and anyone can interpret what they want, consciously or unconsciously based on the many different ideas and contradicting opinions you guys presented, or, ideally, form their own based on everything you said.
As a Christian, I am so glad you wrecked Joel Osteen. He is leading flocks down the wrong path.
So says your interpretation of someone else's interpretation of someone else's interpretation...but ultimately we can all agree Joel is a hypocrite ultimately
Does Osteen sell his books from the pulpit? If he does, then I agree, If he doesn't then we are missing the point of the cleaning of the temple. His mansion isn't paid for by tithes, or so I've been told.
@@Flatworlder Of course he doesn't, that would be too obvious and everyone would see through the BS then. What he does, is use his sermons as an advertisement so that people will go buy his books, attend his seminars, etc. Its still using the word of God for his own financial gain.
It was a terribly unfair criticism of Joel as if the author of this video has never listened to Joel or understood him or Jesus' act of cleansing the Temple.
@@seven_point_1 Hey look a troll!
God... You guys hit it out of the park on this one!!!
It feels like over the course of your previous videos you've been building up to this conclusion. It felt like the end of a book in a series of chapters or technically, video essays.
Great job guys! A tip of the hat from me.
OMG you're breaking the FIRST RULE!
And the second one
Okay its getting old. Find a new joke
If this is your first time at "Fight Club", you have to fight! Lol
But... he’s not IN fight club. The rules don’t apply.
@@user-pm6hs5mk3w The second rule is "you do not (period) (pause) TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB". He wants them to talk about fight club. Notice that they do talk about fight club, no one is punished for talking about fight club, and bringing in the new people is instrumental in the later plan.
Fight Club is the original "Joker" origins movie. Don't believe me? Just watch it again while keeping that in mind. If you add the "Joker" name mentioned just once and add clown makeup in one single scene on Pitt or Norton and it's the best "Joker" movie ever made (also keep in mind that while the Joker makeup may not be present, the 'smiley face' that the Joker paints on his face with the makep, is a CONSTANT theme throughout Fight Club). Besides those 2 trivial small details somewhat missing, the character directly mirrors the Joker character. He hates authority, he wants to introduce chaos into society, he finds the monetary system bad for society (the Joker burns large sums of money in many Joker stories), he loves explosives, he laughs like a lunatic while getting violently beat up, he was created by a psychotic snap that created his alter ego, he's charismatic and has the incredible ability to recruit henchmen who follow him with cult-like loyalty. And ironically, the Joker in comics is a persona adopted by several people over time. With that in mind; coincidentally, "Angel Eyes" (Jared Leto) eventually goes on to become a Joker later (it's also the only two times in Jared Leto's entire cinematic career that the characters he portrays, had blonde hair). Think about it. ;-)
This actually makes sense.
By that same logic, Taxi Driver is the original "Fight Club" origins movie...
@@zeigman Lol! Could be. That, or sticking somewhat with my original theme, Travis from Taxi Driver is the actually the origins of "The Penguin". Where does the Penguin live? In the sewers below the city.-------
Travis: "Well, whatever it is, you should clean up this city here, because this city here is like an open sewer you know. It's full of filth and scum. And sometimes I can hardly take it. Whatever-whoever becomes the President should just really clean it up. You know what I mean? Sometimes I go out and I smell it, I get headaches it's so bad, you know...They just never go away you know...It's like...I think that the President should just clean up this whole mess here. You should just flush it right down the ****in' toilet." ;-) :-P
I know, this is a big stretch and I'm joking obviously. But I do however wholeheartedly hold to the Joker/Fight Club scenario.
The philosophy behind both characters are completely different. Durden is fighting against consumerism and emasculation while the Joker is trying to make the world see the absurd humor in the pointlessness of existence and society.
I always saw Fight Club as a story of ego death (ie killing Tyler who is the ego). As well as an observation on how self destruction and self improvement aren't always mutually exclusive. Seeing how destroying Tyler, who was a part of the narrator, saved him from himself. More could definitely be said, but that's the gist.
I’ve seen so many leftists say it’s a critique of toxic masculinity, and right leaning people say it’s a critique of the feminised corporate hell we inhabit today. When you can reach two completely opposing conclusions like that after watching a movie, you know it’s good.
just wanted to say this is one of the best videos Ive seen in about 3 months. Sometimes Wisecrack comes at you with these essential ideas about art which everyone should know but the world just forgot to tell y'all
You should look into the fight club critique by the TH-cam channel folding ideas
Bring back Thug Notes, quit bating us with the professor :'(
It's soooooooooo good to hear Sparky Sweets, PhD on a Wisecrack video again. Man! Do I ever miss Thug Notes.
Omce again I make the claim that Wisecrack whole purpose is to have us bask in the cuteness of Jared's dog
One of your best videos! It not only combine interesting interpretation (although a bit of a repeat from previous videos) of a move, parallels to other works of fiction, but also explain a literary theory and talks about responsibilities about reading/watching media!
You should really read the graphic novel "Fight Club 2" by Chuck Palahniuk, it really questions the legacy and the interpretation of the Fight Club book and movie, lot of meta-discourse (the author itself is present) while still being a work of fiction. Certainly worth a read and your time!
I am really enjoying the more positive slant of the last few videos. Thanks for making good stuff!
His name is Woody, his name is Woody...
I'm not sure how anyone can watch Fight Club and not take it as a cautionary tale about the ease with which seductive, charismatic evil can take control of the disillusioned. The arc is clearly reminiscent of cultish indoctrination and escape: a charismatic figure uses very reasonable criticisms about the evils of the world to draw the narrator and others into an isolated sect dominated by self-reinforced groupthink. The narrator and overall tone of the film pretty explicitly starts to deviate from Tyler Durden's philosophy after a series of horrific events: the narrator's increasing alienation as Fight Club is converted to the terrorist cell Project Mayhem, the numerous ways the narrator is psychologically and physically brutalized for arguing against Tyler, Bob's unceremonious death, and the ultimate rejection of Tyler via the narrator's attempted suicide. You might not recognize that Tyler's red-jacketed, spiky-haired fashion is a direct allusion to Faust's Mephistopheles (psst Tyler is literally Satan), but you should be able to pretty clearly understand that the narrator knows by the end that following Tyler was a mistake, and you are meant to agree with him.
What makes the film so effective is probably the same thing that confuses so many people into misreading it: the surrealism. Just like Total Recall, Perfect Blue, and Vanilla Sky, Fight Club puts you in the same psychological space as its main character: battered by contradictions and reversals that instill doubt about what is real and what is not. Fight Club's slick editing and coy ambiguity so deeply draws you in and disorients you that even the film's big reveal simultaneously feels like the most insane lie one could possibly be told, and yet it has the compelling ring of truth in that it ties together and explains everything odd and confusing about other people's behavior in the first viewing. And most importantly: it's explained by the same person who has been convincing the narrator of his subversive philosophy the entire film, and the one who ultimately "wins" in the final demolition scene.
How you read that final moment probably reflects how you read the entire film. Is the riff by the Pixies a heroic moment celebrating Tyler's triumph despite the narrator's discomfort? Or is it darkly ironic, like the final catharsis of a Shakespearean tragedy, promising an uncertain and likely unpleasant future? I'm pretty damn certain the latter was the intent. The 90's were an age of irony, malcontent, and pessimism. Grunge, punk, goth, and industrial revealed the sentiment: American exceptionalism was an insulting lie, everything meaningful was commoditized, materialism left us empty. And yet, Palahniuk argued, this anxious disillusionment will lead us to self-destruction. Look around... I think he was right.
I think you understand the movie better than most, but let me ask you: is that morbid disillusionment really the hallmark of today's society, or is it better defined by moralizing and self-righteousness?
I'd say that describes the world today much more accurately. We could do with more of the disillusionment, to be honest, because that might help people realize what the real problem is. You're right that Tyler is a Faustian cautionary tale about ego, but the soulless nature of consumerism is still the problem which gives rise to him. Not everything Tyler says is suspect, much of what he says early on is quite profound, and that's the real conundrum.
Life ain't black and white, after all.
I've heard inane ramblings (that went on for about an hour) about how it's a glorification of toxic masculinity because it shows men acting macho and being misogynistic. This of course misses the point that Tyler's ways are ultimately shown to be utterly insane, dangerous and also the result of a diseased mind.
@@wordforger
It's also the case that neither the Fight Clubs nor Project Mayhem are misogynistic, or even violent. The fights are expressly described by the Narrator as having no value in winning or losing them, only to have them and explore yourself along with other men.
They never actually threaten anyone with any kind of violence, except for the police commissioner, to tell him to leave them alone. Really, there's no toxic masculinity on display at all; just a support group turned into a cult as Tyler takes over more and more of Narrator's mind.
@@Lodatzor Tyler is the embodiment of the macho, misogynistic ideal. 1) He is the one that has sex with Marla while it is only the narrator who's ever around to talk about other things, like Marla is just a piece of meat to Tyler. 2) Tyler says that they are a generation of men raised by women who don't know how to be men because of that, as if this makes them somehow inferior because they have no male role models to look up to. 3) He takes the narrator away from group therapy which focuses on feelings (a stereotypically feminine virtue) then turns him toward fighting, something that males are stereotypically expected to be ready for at all times.
And they do, in fact, threaten several people with violence. 1) They start fights with total strangers. 2) Tyler pulled that kid out of the convenience store, put a gun in his face and stole his Driver's License in order to keep track of him. Later, in the house, you see a whole board full of licenses. 3) They threatened the police commissioner, but they also threatened the narrator because they were told to go after anyone who might threaten their plans no matter who it is. The fact that the punishment is emasculation is not a coincidence.
@@wordforger The problem is that you can argue that Tyler is a positive force for about half of the movie. He makes some really good points that resonates with some people, but then you see it taken to extremes, which can resonate with _different_ people. Both sides will hand wave away the good points or the destructive nature when you take those points to the extreme.
Props for elegantly throwing a fun spin on such a surprisingly dense subject. Wisecrack is, for what it's worth, my favorite TH-cam Channel; and has been for years now. Thanks for going strong this whole time. Though I still do miss Thug Notes 😕 Much love, Sparky Sweets PhD, for leveling up my well-read baller status 🧐📖💪 And now, back to my life 😉
Great episode guys, I learned some new terms about language today. And would love more videos on language and interpretation.
Love absolutely everything you folks do, but I feel confident in saying that this is one of your best. Can't help thinking about the current Dave Chappelle controversy and the variety of interpretations of his most recent special. And a smooth takedown of Joel Osteen is always appreciated.
EVERY time I see The Matrix, it takes on a different meaning to me.
Thats what good art does, it keeps inspiring in multiple aspects of interpretation.
Is it possible to get a transcription of the video’s text? I mean damn, that’s some fine lesson on semiotics. I’m serious, is it possible?
Copy the captions
I think there's a dictation app you can get that will type out anything you say into it. Find an app like that, turn it on, and let the video play out when the rest of the room is quiet. Should probably get pretty good results, even if you'd have to do a bit of manual editing afterwards
*Here is the first minute and a half.Btw used live transcript on Google pixel* :
Fight Club posters displayed over janky twin beds. If you like me tend to overthink everything you might ask. What does this declaration of love for the 1999 classic mean for this hypothetical freshman. Maybe it's just a token of recognition that David Fincher knows how to make a damn good movie or the Brad Pitt is crazy. Good looking maybe it indicates solidarity with frustrated man who feel disenfranchised and desire to reassert their masculinity, or maybe it's the exact opposite a reminder that such forms of masculinity can be horrifying or maybe it's just the consumerism is bad until you ask said poster owner. They remain Schrodinger's fan. You never really know until you investigate further and it's not just Flight Club plenty of works of art illicit radically different and often mutually exclusive interpretations. 1984 Starship Troopers American Psycho, and even the Bible I've been interpreted in a variety of ways. Sometimes it seems like the interpreters must have read dramatically different Works. What's going on here? How can the same text have so many often contradictory messages? Is there one?
@@MBro3 Yikes. Well, I thought I was helping
slow the video down then transcribe.
I'm excited to use this next semester in my classes! We already covered semiotics but this is a great breakdown!
I recommend watching the DVD with the commentary track on - the one with Fincher and Palahniuk. (The one with the actors is pretty good too, Ed Norton has some cool things to say, but that's not what I'm talking about here.) It's been awhile, so specifics are fading in my memory, but I remember at least a couple of times when P noticed something in the movie he thought was interesting and F said he got it straight from the book, or from his reading of the book, and P was like "I never actually thought about it like that, but cool" or such-like. It's a really interesting conversation all the way through.
Things we learned today
1. Jarred is needed on every video. No offense wisecrack team, y’all are great.
2. Thug notes needs to be brought back
Loved this 🙌
I really appreciate this as a guy who still reads the bible to this day and loves fight club I was always taught this concept growing up things don't mean what you want them to mean they mean what they actually mean and it blows me away how much people don't practice this at all both in movies and in scripture nine times out of ten when you see some one use a stand alone verse to make a point they are actually warping its meaning in some way cause they took it out of context and it drives me crazy glad to see this video and know I am not alone and don't get me started on death of the author cause that is another concept that drives me crazy but I digress... great video job well done
“Only after disaster, can you be resurrected, only after you’ve lost everything, are you free to do anything.” - T.Durden
I've never groaned as hard as I just did at "Schrodinger's fan."
I’ve studied Saussure and I did not expect you to bring this in, very much appreciated
Mind... blown!
Love what you're doing guys. Thank you.
How I missed that voice over reading! Bring back thug notes!
Adding my voice to the outcry to bring back Thug Notes.
I'm already subbed. I love your shows.
Im literally in a Semiotic class right now so this was a super awesome video to watch! I'll defienelty be showing this to my class next time.
Can we get a wisecrack on the meaning if the Bible so we can find out what denomination is correct
The Bible: Is It Deep or Dumb?
I do not know who I am. Do you? Imagine the like and dislike ratio.
@@mr.jameson218 and the comment section.
i'd be pure gold
the correct denomination is Non-denominationalism.
Wisecreack has a history of discomfort about Christianity and it's texts. They once did a looooooong video about Tolkien and _never once_ brought up his religion👀.
in this video, they seem to have been seeking a segue into throwing shade at Joel Osteen rather than any real biblical understanding or sense of context.
I heard Thug Notes! Also, I can't get over how straight your teeth are.
I love the way you mixed so many wisecrack "references" into one video. Thug notes is how I get to this great source of media.
Great video; loved the approach!
P.S: THE PHILOSOPHY OF "MAD MEN", PLEASE!
Was that Doctor Sweets? We want Thug Notes back!
Love this. Entertaining and educational, Wisecrack in its various incarnations (I'm looking at you, Thug Notes!), is what TH-cam SHOULD be. I salute you!
That was totally awesome, I loved it!!
Best video ive seen from this channel thus far
I was thinking the same thing. I recently saw a video by Maggie Mae Fish that saw this movie as extremely sexist in its framing, though Folding Ideas saw this movie as a rejection of Toxic Masculinity with Tyler's death and a bit of hand-holding at the end. It amazes me that the movie can have such radically different interpretations.
I love how someones reaction to a story clearly about trying to figure out what masculinity is is that its sexist. Thats like calling thelma and louise sexist for them trying to find female independence.
@@professorfukyu744 You shouldn't dismiss an argument that you haven't heard. When I say "framing", I'm saying that she pointed out how the camera (the audience's point-of-view) always looks down on Marla while it consistently looks up to Tyler. "Sexist" means to treat sexes with a double-standard, which Thelma and Louise doesn't do. I guess anything could be sexist if you define it however you like.
@@Starcrash6984 Watch the movie again. Yes, for the first half of the movie Marla is viewed from the incapable narrator's PoV. However, as he realizes his own power and will to shape the world to his desire, part of which Marla is, we realize that all this time she was just a person trying to live her life, and that the two of them are willing to slightly mold themselves to make themselves happier to be with each other. Tyler and the Office Drone are two polar opposites, and the resulting narrator is somewhere in between.
THUG NOTES!!! come back to us! Youre my favorite book club!
I have never been so bored while watching a Wisecrack vid
Fascinating video!!
Man that Martha thing was and is blown WAY out of proportion
BC LR hear hear
Damn you teases.
You can't keep sneaking in Sparky Sweets voice and not give us more Thug Notes!
There will always be multiple interpretations bc we're all looking thru a unique facet of reality. That being said I really think the idea of personal responsibility to the reader and their own interpretation is vital and should be discussed more often in basic education.
surprised you guys didnt go for death of the author or anything like that. awesome video! really cool, and in saying that keeping the scope smaller was great
Fight Club is a wonderful entry into textual ambiguity.
Please allow me to throw in my takeaway from Fight Club.
At the end of the audiobook of Choke, there's a great interview with Chuck Palahniuk. When he researched addicts and their recovery, he was always surprised how they just gravitated to new forms of addiction: being gym nuts, passionate Christian converts, etc. But his final takeaway was that at least they'd chosen their current addiction. And that power of choice was the defining moment of freedom for him.
So while Tyler Durden's stripping down of identity certainly mirrors the dehumanization that happens when one exists in capitalist modes of interaction. I personally think that stripping down one's identity is a very important part of self-actualization, and to choose it, then, becomes a key distinction between Durden's worldview and the worldview of most men who see Durden as a role model and who have disdain for the "mainstream" and the "company man". They choose it. Even though Durdenites might utilize the same tools of reinforcement that society utilizes, they are choosing those tools in service of escaping said society. What other tools would they be able to use? Ultimately, their goal is not to reform their own society, but to tear down the one that imprisons them. And while they may not have invented new tools for self-understanding, and while it is unclear whether or not the new society that they build will be the exact same as the one that was destroyed, that is not within the purview of the film. At the end, the two become one to celebrate the demise of key infrastructure of oppressive society.
In this way, Durden still functions as a hero. He's not a Christ, but a societal anti-Christ. And if society is somehow wrong or evil, then a societal anti-Christ is right and good. He doesn't embody anything new, but he does inspire the choice to leave the old. In my twenties, this movie was very important for me in my journey of self-discovery. Now, in my thirties, it doesn't hold the same power it once did. But I also think that these decade-removed analyses that conclude with Durden = the society he rebelled against are missing a key element of choice and the liberation that that choice can truly bring. I might even add that they, representing society, are appropriating a powerful narrative for those on the journey of self-discovery as a necessary mode of temporary alterity for the purpose of rending that quest unworthy of taking up.
But it is worthy. Even if the only tools you have available to you are the same as those of whom you are rebelling against. Your definition is not in your tool set. It's in your choice. ¡Viva la revolución!
Interesting analysis!
Fight Club + Scarface posters = Avoiding them at all costs.
you just described one of my first roommates.
Why? Do you have something against good movies?
Explain yourself
Explain
@@jon5470 you too
This was amazing
Totally amazing video.
Please make a video about the movie PARASITE (2019).
is it DEEP OR DUMP ?
Definitely deep. It has a lot of symbolism. And the title is a play on itself, tricking the audience into thinking the poor are parasites to the wealthy. However the rich clearly are the ones benefitting from the poor.
A video about the Bible that isn't bashing religion? I'm pleasantly surprised!
Still bashing a well known preacher which im sure some christians will be salty about.
@@MLBlue30 dude, I'm a Christian, and I can tell you that the number of churches that condone that man's message and lifestyle are few and far between. There are whole passages that explain how our treasure will laid in heaven and how we should be in the world, but not of it. All that money should be going to help others, not in his own bank account.
Not to say he should live out of a box, but live reasonably with what you need to provide for yourself, family and others.
Also rightfully calling out Osteen as the heretic he is. I’m ashamed that he gets lumped in with Christianity.
I'm not sure who this host is because it's my first video seeing him but he's so wholesome and easy to listen to
I've always known the term snowflake to refer to how people thought that no two snowflakes were exactly the same(I think that's been disproven). And hence used to describe someone who thought that they were so unique and special that their specialness deserved attention or even adoration. Although when you take the analogy to the literal snowflake even further, the more snowflakes you see, the more alike and unremarkable they seem. The ultimate lesson being that difference aren't always important, especially when compared to greater similarities, let alone worth making a fuss over. The use of the term snowflake to mean someone who is easily offended never made much sense to me, and detracts from the better meaning that mocks prideful self important people. Though I have noticed that many of the people who misuse the term to insult others are prideful and self important. So maybe they're deliberately misusing a term to try to rewrite the meaning so that it can't be used against them.
Why are y’all still talking about this? God damn it, we can’t have anything fun 🙄 #firstrule
The people have spoken.... bring back Thug Notes
Yess. New fight club vid. Gonna watch it.
Amazing video
I mean, when you said Woody I thought Toy Story
When's Thug Notes coming back?
Nice video guys.
Talking semiotics gives me a woody.
GOD DAMMIT THUG NOTES WE HEAR YOU LURKING. Come back!
In all honesty, I did not know that Fight Club was made in 1999. I don't think it even played in the theater here in town around that time
Great analysis, only tangentially related but I've always seen a lot of parallels between Epic of Gilgamesh and Fight Club, would love to see a comparison of the two
I love this channel. And for that reason, it's important to me to give honest feedback.
This video is all over the fucking place. And Michael looks like a hostage being forced to read lines.
This is exactly why I have a big problem with the concept of "death of the author." There are many possible interpretations to works that are valid - usually far more possibilities than were intended by the original author. (Indeed, some authors, like Tolkien, have publicly stated that their works are not intended to express any specific deeper meaning, and the intent was merely to entertain the reader. Seriously, pick up your copy of Fellowship of the Ring and actually read the Foreword. It's stated incredibly bluntly.) However, the authors' commentary and discussion of their work helps shed light on which interpretations are correct, because, as this video points out, works of sufficient complexity invite numerous potentially correct interpretations, which are often contradictory of one another. Gauging authorial intent without asking the author makes this relatively simple task immensely more difficult, and thus should, I feel, be reserved for those cases where the author, being dead in the literal sense of the word, is unavailable to provide informed discussion on the topic.
(That said, any author who does not wish to provide such clarity in a direct sense should be allowed to do so in peace. The author of one of the most complex series I've ever read, Steven Erikson, has stated about more than one of his books that his present self is not entirely qualified to offer that authorial clarity, because he's gone through things since writing it that have changed his outlook sufficiently that he's no longer certain of his own intent. That particular excuse makes more sense once you've read *The Malazan Book of the Fallen* - it's immensely complex and there's enough density to it that I don't think there exists any one fan who fully understands the plot, let alone the subtext thereof, and there are fans who are quite dedicated to the series.)
It's an interesting discussion. Besides just taking authorial intent into account, a lot of people take the authors own past experiences into account as well, whether the author stated their relevance or not. theres an entire other reading of Figbt Club that takes into account that the author is a (now openly) gay man. And that reading is that the Narrator is in fact struggling with his own sexuality and that Dirden is a persona the Narrator created as an ideal of heterosexual masculinity. Which in this ideal becomes toxic, and so Tyler is still the antagonistic force of the story.
@@fangsabre hmm, interesting take. Would be interesting to know if that was a deliberate part of the story, or if that was just a subconscious bias against straight masculinity - that's the part that's always tricky to tell without directly asking the author, and I feel it's a key part of understanding the story as a whole. A subconscious theme tells you where the author is coming from, but a conscious theme is what they're putting there deliberately for the reader to think about. Both useful things to know, but very different parts of the whole.
@@rashkavar I wouldn't say a bias against "straight"masculinity. More against hyper masculinity as a concept.
@@fangsabre Heh, seems I'm demonstrating my point more than I realized - I tend to equate toxic levels of masculinity as being a trait largely exclusive to heterosexual men (a subset thereof, I'm not saying that all heterosexual men are toxicly masculine), and my choice of words is reflective of that subconscious bias.
@@rashkavar lol, wording is a tricky thing.
Concept Creep is also happening to such words and phrases as, "harm," and, "violence," according to Dr. Jonathan Haidt. Words that didn't include physical harm now include psychological/emotional as well.
I agree except for one thing.. BvS ISN'T BAD WRITING!!
We can't agree on meaning because the human species is not monolithic and homogeneous. This dances dangerously close to being an argument in favor of cultural and/or moral relativism.
Max Swenson hmmm can you elaborate? Also, is that necessarily bad? What are the implications
(Also please like if you respond so I can get the notification and find your original comment again. Otherwise it’ll be lost.
I feel like this entire video would not have been made if Joker wasn’t coming out
1 minute in and already my favorite fight club video
Hey did anyone notice the smiley face on the side of the bus when Cornelius first talks with Marla? Does that mean project mayhem is already in effect?
MORE THUG NOTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bring back Thug Notes god dammit!
Got flashbacks from my university classes 😅 love these topics
Every year passing by, Fight Club gains more and more sense to me
klaus The guy griping about women turns out to be the villain. How could you possibly miss that?
Dude, don't spoil the bible. I was gonna wait until they stream it on Netflix :(