Student protests have been powerful and influential through history, partly by the sheer energy and courage to change what’s perceived to be wrong with the world but also a more idealistic view of how the world should be. And through history books, music and movies have influenced young minds in the development of such an idealistic view. If you were in college 25yrs ago, one such movie to have made an impact would likely have been Fight Club (David Fincher adapted Chuck Palahniuk’s book for the screen). On the 25th anniversary of its release, The Economist breaks “the first rule of Fight Club” and reviews the cult movie which even today continues to shape thinking among the youth, perhaps more so today than ever:
“As cult classics should, it had a limp run in cinemas but became a sensation on DVD, spawning copycat incidents, endless parodies and enduring controversy (its fascination with violence has been labelled “fascist”). A quarter of a century on it has lost none of its punch. The reverse is true. It resonates more today than in the tame late 1990s.”
What is it about the movie that makes it such a cult classic?
“Amid all the thwacking and bleeding in dank basements—and the shots of Mr Pitt’s glistening torso—“Fight Club” is pugnaciously political. But its politics are confused. First it takes a swing at the false promises and deadening satiety of consumerism. “The things you own”, Durden declares, “end up owning you.” Later, when he bemoans the plight of the downtrodden proletariat, the problem is not too much affluence but too little.
The ideology on show is a hazy anarcho-nihilism, with the odd environmental flourish. Yet now, especially, there is wisdom within this incoherence. Indeed, the incoherence is itself an insight.
Consider the radicalisation process in the movie. As ever more unfulfilled men join the club, the aims and activities escalate. From knocking one another’s teeth out, an elite cohort moves on to vandalism and assault, then onwards to revolution. Fans have debated whether the film sympathises with the aggrieved masculinity it depicts or sends it up. Here it is clearly tipping into satire.
At the same time, the process itself is authentic. In addition to its official rules (the first rule is…never mind), the club demands total loyalty and obedience. Next comes brainwashing, and, as Durden’s plans spiral into fanaticism, a fateful step from private hobby to public crimes. When a recruit is in, he is in for good—and bad.
This cycle has played out repeatedly in the past 25 years, sped up by the internet. And, yes, it has mostly involved men. It is hard now to watch the skyscrapers collapse at the end of “Fight Club” without remembering the Twin Towers and al-Qaeda. Listen to the characters complain about women, and you think of noxious macho influencers and their online acolytes, or the derangements of the incel movement. The paramilitary outfits evoke America’s posturing right-wing militias.
Meanwhile the film illuminates an overlooked motive for some of the ills of this more troubled age. Durden and his peers, he says, are “the middle children of history”, with no great war or cause to call their own. In 1999 this gripe reflected the ennui of some in Generation X, who grew up into a pale, complacent world.
It also captures one reason why, today, some citizens of prosperous countries become convinced their lives are bereft, so turn to warped ideas and fiery leaders. The characters in “Fight Club” grope for a grievance to justify their rage, but its real wellspring is a gnawing feeling, less radical than banal. At bottom, they are just plain bored.”
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