Introduction
Fight Club is a 1999 movie based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same title, portraying one of the most interesting characters with psychological problems. In the movie, an anonymous Narrator, played by Edward Norton, experiences insomnia and a sense of emptiness due to leading a consumer-driven existence. He meets an enigmatic and charming Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, and the two men form an underground fight club that quickly gains support. Throughout the film, the Narrator’s mental state deteriorates, and he develops an obsession with Tyler and the anarchist doctrine he promotes. As the two engage in more risky and destructive behaviors, the Narrator perceives Tyler as a separate person within himself. The main character is a lonely and moody guy who feels cut off from his surroundings because of his mental disorders, the destructive cultural effects, and the negative impact of his relationship with his parents. Therefore, the Narrator in Fight Club can be explored from the point of view of some concepts from the course, such as psychological disorders, culture, and parent-child connection.
Psychological Disorders
To begin with, it is essential to indicate that the key mental disorder of the protagonist is dissociation. Having two or more separate personality states is a symptom of the uncommon dissociative condition known as multiple personality disorder (Goodwin et al., 2021). The Narrator acts in ways that are damaging to him because he is unable to see that Tyler is only a fabrication of his own imagination (Heath, 2019). Secondly, anomie is a sociological term that describes a condition of normlessness or moral ambiguity, and the Narrator’s sense of alienation and separation from society indicate this state. Thus, he develops an addiction to destructive and immoral action after discovering a potent stimulation for feeling (Goodwin et al., 2021). He also forgets basic standards and ethical guidelines when organizing the club, portraying aggression, and promoting his amoral values.
Consequently, the protagonist of Fight Club arouses interest by depicting the effects of pathological states on the human psyche. For instance, the Narrator suffers from chronic insomnia, and the impact of this condition is reflected in anxiety and increased irritability, which is replaced by an apathetic attitude to the problem. This insomnia could cause further dissociation, which is shown as the man’s detachment from social connections. The previously mentioned anxiety eventually progresses into obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is noted in the scene with the general cleaning of the apartment and thoughtless furniture shopping (Littschwager, 2019). Through these actions, the character tries to establish control over their environment and creates illusory security. Finally, the whole complex of the syndromes above leads the surface to an identity crisis. The previously untreated problems start organic and mental damage, and the character’s psyche creates an alter ego of the Narrator (Littschwager, 2019). The crisis represents the Narrator’s ultimate escape from reality to break away not only from society but also from himself.
Cultural Effects
The protagonist of Fight Club is influenced by several factors inherent in his environment, which is why it is possible to relate this character’s analysis to the domain of culture studied in the course. First of all, the Narrator is a byproduct of commercial society, which dominates his existence on a cultural level (Littschwager, 2019). He is inundated with pictures and commercials that instruct him on what to buy, how to dress, and what to value. Secondly, he inhabits a culture that prizes aggression and masculinity (Albarrán-Torres & Golding, 2019). The Narrator and Tyler start a fight club to recapture their masculinity and feel powerful because they are both unhappy with their lives, and precisely aggression can help males solve their issues, according to culture (Heath, 2019). Ultimately, his environment significantly influences his mental state and behavior, altering his beliefs, aspirations, and sense of self. The Narrator’s feelings of isolation and disconnect from society can be interpreted as signs of a more widespread cultural illness.
Relationships with Parents
As noticed in the course, parent-child relationships are an essential area of psychosocial development. Not only do they serve as a basis for the behaviors, skills, and reactions of a kid while and after they grow up but can also affect whether a child has a healthy psyche. In the movie, specific relationships between the Narrator and his mother and father allow us to suppose that his psychological disorders are partly caused by the adverse and harmful nature of this connection (Abiyyu & Anwar, 2023). Thus, considering the fact that the Narrator and Tyler are the same person, some unpleasant memories they share about their parents can be seen as the experiences of the Narrator himself. During their conversation, the latter tells Tyler: “I didn’t know my dad. Well, I knew him, till I was six. He went and married another woman, had more kids” (Uhls, 1998). This forced separation at such an early age traumatized the Narrator, and the realization that he had been traded for other, “new” children could have caused a tendency to loneliness.
Further, the main character did not have his parents as good role models. Instead, their weak connection, lack of involvement, and high expectations affected the way the Narrator sees himself and organizes his life. According to Abiyyu and Anwar (2023), “For the Narrator, what his father did was a terrible thing, while for his father it was enjoyment” (p. 130). This dissonance could have caused his dissociation, sense of imperfection, and extreme unhappiness with his life. Lastly, if Tyler’s experiences are considered a part of the Narrator’s background, it is also essential to refer to how Tyler seeks guidance from his father (Uhls, 1998). He cannot make vital decisions for himself, ask for his father’s advice, go to college, and find work primarily because of this authority (Abiyyu & Anwar, 2023). One might suggest that early separation resulted in this sense of being lost, and seeking guidance is an attempt to compensate for the lack of connection.
Changing the Development of the Narrator
A series of steps aimed at improving and maintaining the protagonist’s mental state could have altered his growth in a favorable way. Firstly, addressing insomnia with medications and changing the lifestyle could have stopped the continued development of more severe mental diseases (Goodwin et al., 2021). Parents as positive role models invested in his life could have altered the Narrator’s perspective toward society and helped him be a more self-defined person (Abiyyu & Anwar, 2023). Eventually, having other people’s support, love, and care and seeking help from a therapist could have resulted in the Narrator’s improved state, a stronger sense of self, and weaker reliance on societal effects.
Conclusion
To conclude, the main character of Fight Club can be analyzed to explore the domains of psychological disorders, culture, and parent-child connection studied in the course. The Narrator has severe mental diseases partly caused by the adverse societal effects and by the poor involvement of his parents in raising him as a kid. Problems of modern culture, such as the tendency towards aggression, isolation, toxic masculinity, and nurturing one’s pathologies, are portrayed in the film. Although many books and movies become controversial or not accepted by society, mental pathologies need to be highlighted in fiction for people to understand how to identify and address them.
References
Abiyyu, M. N., & Anwar, D. (2023). Escaping from existential nihilism in Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club (1996). English Language and Literature, 12(1), 126-138. Web.
Albarrán-Torres, C. A., & Golding, D. (2019). Creed: Legacy franchising, race and masculinity in contemporary boxing films. Continuum, 33(3), 310-323. Web.
Goodwin, J., Saab, M. M., Dillon, C. B., Kilty, C., McCarthy, A., O’Brien, M., & Philpott, L. F. (2021). The use of film-based interventions in adolescent mental health education: A systematic review. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 137(5), 158–172. Web.
Heath, E. (2019). Mental disorders in popular film. Rowman & Littlefield.
Littschwager, S. N. (2019). Making sense of mind-game films: Narrative complexity, embodiment, and the senses. Bloomsbury Academic.
Uhls, J. (1998). Fight Club. IMSDb. Web.