Fight Club (1999) is an example of a thought-provoking film that transmits quite contradictory emotions. The dynamic plot and complicated psychology of the characters retain the viewers’ attention and make them continue to watch despite several shocking moments. The film’s eccentricity may be connected to the distancing effect discovered by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. He aimed at preventing the audience from excessive emotional investment in characters and making them think critically about the events in the film. Although the effect has been applied mostly for epic theatre, it can work as efficiently for cinema. In Fight Club, the use of the alienation effect and other elements of Brecht’s cinema theory allows viewers better understand the message conveyed.
The main principle of the distancing effect is making the familiar strange. The audience sees something recognizable but presented in a weird way so that everyone should form a new understanding of it (Barnett, 2018). This is exactly what happens in the film, the plot of which is based on creating a fight club that more and more members join. In the viewers’ minds, violence has a negative connotation, but there it acquires a new vision. Savage and ruthless fights have a liberating effect on the main character, an ordinary office worker, and many other men like him. As the Narrator says, it is not about winning or losing, but about feeling saved at the end (Fincher, 1999). For the members of the fight club, this is an opportunity not to constrain themselves and to stop pretending, and the blood flowing down their faces symbolizes purification. Showing various people encouraged to join the club, the film conveys the message that such impulse may be inherent in all people, but not everyone is ready to understand and accept this. Thus, combining natural and disgusting, Fight Club makes a strong impression on the audience.
Along with the ambiguity of concepts goes the ambiguity of images. The behavior of the main characters in Fight Club is not coherent so the audience does not know what to expect from them. Unlike typical dramatic movies, where it is clear who to be compassionate with, it becomes difficult for viewers to understand their attitude to the characters. That is a prime element of Brecht’s system because he wanted to concentrate not on emotions but on thoughts and ideas. He did not aim at dividing the roles into heroes and villains, which would distract the audience from objective thinking. That is why characters show different sides of their personality. For instance, Tyler Durden initially makes an impression of a charismatic, fearless man who stands against the society of consumption because “the things you own end up owning you” (Fincher, 1999). He could become a role model for many people striving to change their lives. Suddenly, it turns out that his aim is not self-improvement, but self-destruction and depreciation of life. Tyler commits immoral acts, which reminds the audience that he is not a perfect character and his philosophy is not flawless.
The manner in which the story is told is also important. When Brecht designed his alienation effect for epic theatre, he wanted to remind the spectators they were observing a play, not real life (The Drama Coach, 2020). This principle is implemented in Fight Club, so the viewers always remember that all they are watching is fiction. For instance, there are some strange and abrupt transitions from the events happening in the film to the episodes in the ice cave with a penguin. This corresponds with the idea of Brecht, who used unusual effects to make the audience participate in the process by forcing them to ask questions about the meaning of these elements. The movie is full of contrasts keeping the viewers in a state of alert: the main character’s quiet, monotonous narration changes to deafening noises, the mysterious darkness of the basement – to office life. Sometimes, the Narrator looks right at the camera, which blurs the line between the character and the viewers. This is precisely what Brecht wanted – to break the fourth wall between actors and audience, to make them active participants.
Another way to involve the viewers and stimulate their thinking is to add some gimmicks to the film. Brecht described a technique of using signs to predict what is going to happen, which could be done to “give the audience a context or message on which to base their observations” (Parsons, 2019). In Fight Club, the character of Tyler appears several times before meeting the Narrator. Moreover, there is a scene at a payphone where Tyler calls back the main character. However, the most attentive viewers can notice the title that says “No incoming calls allowed” (Fincher, 1999). This small detail discloses the movie’s central mystery that Tyler does not exist in reality, he is only the alter-ego of the Narrator.
The theme of the relationship between Tyler and the Narrator is one of the deepest in the movie. It induces the audience to understand the danger of giving unlimited freedom to a person’s dark side. The sequence of events in the film makes somewhat of a gradation. At first, Tyler encourages the Narrator to change his lifestyle and create a fight club. Then, as more and more men become members of the club, it starts to look threatening. It is shown how thousands of people can be subjugated by an authority who disrespects them. They are ready to do any of his commands without saying a word – from destroying a shop to blowing up the whole city. Apart from that, Tyler is shown as an unfeeling man in the relationship with Marla, manipulating her feelings. At the end of the movie, the Narrator realizes the danger of his alter-ego and decides to shoot himself to prevent other catastrophes. Unexpectedly, it turns out that it was not suiciding for him but a way to the revival. Thus, the film makes the audience ponder quite a serious issue.
The use of Brecht’s distancing effect in Fight Club can be viewed from different angles. First, the audience is proposed to take a new look at a familiar concept of violence. Second, the images in the film are made controversial, which stops the viewers from an excessive identification with the characters. Then, various unusual effects are used to remind the audience that they are watching something unreal and at the same time to keep the suspense. Small details added in the movie make it more interactive for the viewers and stimulate their thinking. Finally, the film raises deep themes, making everyone think about psychological problems that can be extremely harmful. Thus, Brecht’s goal to turn the audience into active and objective participants of the film is achieved.
References
Barnett, D. (2018). Verfremdung. Brecht in Practice. Web.
Fincher, D. (1999). Fight Club [Film]. Fox 2000 Pictures.
Parsons, Allan (2019). Alienation effect (Verfremdungseffekt). Course Compendium. Web.
The Drama Coach (2020). Brecht’s techniques: Alienation effect [Video]. YouTube. Web.