Ironically, the first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club, is you do not talk about Fight Club Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Fight Club (1999) is a film directed by David Fincher who directed the likes of Seven (1995), Gone Girl (2014) and recently Mank (2020). David Fincher is well known for his physiological thrillers that leave the audience with a massive plot twist at the end of the film. Fight Club is no exception since it has one of the best plot twists of all time. It Starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Fight Club is a story of a man who is struggling to find himself mentally on the outside and on the inside. Fight Club brings out the state of hyper-masculinity of the nature of toxic masculinity within modern western culture. Both men and women in the film display masculine traits based on their current predicament throughout the film. Masculinity is not an exclusive trait for males, this is shown in Fight Club where numerous scenes portray the various themes of masculinity. For instance, in one scene, The narrator (Edward Norton) attends a gathering where it`s held by the remaining men Together as a way of retaining his physical masculinity and his mental aspect since it gives him a dopamine rush of adrenaline beating men half to death with his bare knuckles. The group that The narrator Tyler gathered up consists of men who had testicular cancer, thus losing their testicles in the process in order to live their remaining lives. The association that Tyler build (Fight Club) helped them regain their masculinity by participating in bare-knuckle fights in the club to boost their testosterone.
Women portray masculine features throughout the film, this is shown within the character of Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), while characters like the Narrator exhibit feminine features at the start of the film. Specific attributes like affluence, autonomy and strength represent the main attributes of masculinity is. However, the concept of masculinity dedicates that females shouldn`t inherit or manifest masculine attributes and characteristics (Faludi pp. 547-551).
Another aspect that portrays a struggle of their masculinity is the character of Tyler Durden. Tyler Durden is one of the main protagonists in the film and he is the man that Edward Norton meets on the plane. in the film, Tyler introduces himself as a soap manufacturer, this provides the audience with a subtle hint about his character that will play a huge role throughout the film`s climax. Tyler Durden is played tremendously by Brad Pitt. This is the role that the majority of men would probably want to play when the film went into production as Tyler is shown to be a stunning representation of traditional masculinity. Tyler`s role throughout the film is to serve as the alpha male counterpart to Edward Norton`s character who becomes depressed and indecisive as the film progresses. The main aspect why Norton and Pitt`s characters share an amazing dynamic is that they`re the complete opposites of one another since Pitt`s character answers to nobody as he thinks for only himself. The audience is introduced to Tyler in a very interesting way. He wears a red sunglass and a red leather jacket with a perfect jawline and spikey hair that resembles the ultimate alpha male that is often advertised in the nineties. This character design is done of purpose to counteract Norton`s dull gray suit that he often wears throughout the film. However, the biggest plot twist of the film is the character of Tyler Durden was not real, but he is a reflection of Norton`s character of how he always wanted to be and feel, this is Norton`s alter ego that`s good-looking and doesn`t care what anyone else thinks of him. Tyler is the author of Norton`s pain and frustration about his own life. Throughout the film, the audience does not see Norton talking to Tyler around other people not even once, this is extremely effective because it allows the audience multiple viewings to pick out minor details right from the very start that suggests that there`s something off with the two main characters. Throughout the film, Norton is very much intrigued and curious by what Tyler does and what he stands for because Tyler is everything that Norton`s character is not. Tyler is an extremely charismatic, powerful, the natural-born leader in charge of his destiny, all of these traits resemble the perfect version of what it is to be a masculine individual. Tyler rejects anything that`s a materialistic lifestyle, this is the complete opposite of Norton`s character as he relies on consumerism and has become comfortable with it throughout his entire life. Norton was so unhappy with his current life, that he manages to create an alter ego in his mind to implement the masculine side that he had lost in himself. there`s a rivalry between the two characters mentally and physically throughout the film.
The creation of Fight Club is another example that portrays masculinity within the film. The club`s creation is an important plot device that ends up freeing Norton from his own alter ego that is superior to himself, the club enables him to show his inner masculinity that`s inside him all along that he managed to suppress all his life. Within the club, the men who are participating are mentally unstable since the sole psychological state they have is represented by uncensored violence, these trials are only found in Alpha male individuals to remind themselves that violence and beating each other up is the only way to solve the world`s problems. It is also another way to remind them of the masculinity they feel like they`ve lost, but they still managed to awaken their inner masculinity deep inside them by filling themselves with