Fight club

Let's start one....... Just kidding, however I think most people sort of miss the idea behind fight club. I think it's a fairly common notion that fight club was about physically injuring another individual. I however think that was just an unfortunate consequence to something that needed to be done. Fight club wasn't about giving punishment it was about taking it.

That's crazy who'd want to be injured, that's retarded. Not if it gets rid of something even worse. The people that went to fight club, where suffering emotionally all of them. They felt lonely, their life felt empty and everything they did was devoid of meaning in their eyes. So how does getting injured make you feel good about yourself. Firstly pain can be a sign that you did something that you exist. Secondly pain triggers the bodies natural pain killers, (epinephrine comes to mind right off the bat.) giving a nice little natural high. You feel good, feel calm, feel something besides empty and bored.

Fight club was meaning, even if it was stupid, it was a meaning to life. It was about destroying the old you and making a new one an hour at a time. You went in their and your ass was cookie dough, you came out hard. Fight club was about destroying yourself and making something better, or at least different because the people who where attracted to fight club hated themselves and anything would be better then what they had.

Fight club was about nihilism. About destroying yourself and the world that created you, because whatever rose up from the ashes had to be better then what you had. That and it was funny as hell, I mean how could it not be about destroying yourself and creating something else from what's left. When you take into consideration the guy who created it and his journey throughout it. Anyone disagree?

Well, I agree with you. Yeah the guys who went felt they lacked meaning in their life. But I should tell you that I am a former space monkey. I did homework assignments while I was in my first year of high school. They were violent as most homework assignments aren't. Some just cause confusion with and hopefully thought about their lives. Like my favorite thing to do is just walk around supermarkets and take food I liked from other people's carts. I never attended a fight club, but that's not from lack of trying. I even tried to organize one, but to no avail.

I guess I still think something is lacking from my life. I assume it's just a lack of purpose, due to the fact that to me, nothing really matters. and that what I do to try to help society in general is negated, if not reversed.

This is probably pretty similar to what you're saying.

I saw it as them revolting against a "safe", clean society in which it was impossible to experience these really threatening, brutal, edgy experiences which force you to grow and become a better, more powerful person that you are. Fight club was them asserting their freedom to experience and cause pain, exert themselves freely, in a civilized world which is sterile and void of any opportunity to actually test your limits and prove your worth as a human being. But that's kind of the same as what you were saying--the virtue and power in suffering.

I think Nietzsche said something to the effect of...the average person shuns suffering, but the higher person is drawn to it and recognizes that cruelty is necessary for creativity, genius, and self-mastery.

I watched this movie once and it was really good! It seemed really deep but I didn't feel like analyzing too much so thanks for explaining it!
I also heard it being classified as existentialist which I guess is sort of similar to nihilism. But maybe it was the main character guy trying to fight the nihilisticness and then finding meaning in life at the end (not wanting to die and all). I don't know if I know what I'm talking about. What do you think?

Originally Posted by Selene

This is probably pretty similar to what you're saying.

I saw it as them revolting against a "safe", clean society in which it was impossible to experience these really threatening, brutal, edgy experiences which force you to grow and become a better, more powerful person that you are. Fight club was them asserting their freedom to experience and cause pain, exert themselves freely, in a civilized world which is sterile and void of any opportunity to actually test your limits and prove your worth as a human being. But that's kind of the same as what you were saying--the virtue and power in suffering.

I think Nietzsche said something to the effect of...the average person shuns suffering, but the higher person is drawn to it and recognizes that cruelty is necessary for creativity, genius, and self-mastery.

So I guess put in a more philosophical way (sorry I'm taking a philosophy class right now) its expressing the idea that morals don't really exist. They are created by society, but in respect to the rest of the universe these morals are meaningless-- and they are rebelling because they are nihilists that perhaps feel trapped in this absurd world, or perhaps they are just desperate to find meaning.

Originally Posted by inVeRted SpecTrum

So I guess put in a more philosophical way (sorry I'm taking a philosophy class right now) its expressing the idea that morals don't really exist. They are created by society, but in respect to the rest of the universe these morals are meaningless-- and they are rebelling because they are nihilists that perhaps feel trapped in this absurd world, or perhaps they are just desperate to find meaning.

They see what they are doing as perfectly moral, their justly fighting back against a system that has crippled and marginalized them. (Selling rich women their own fat asses back to them.) To the extent that in order to feel good about themselves, or anything at all for that matter. They have to get their head beat in, feel pain and become something because of it, it then becomes about spreading this enlightenment they find through pain to others. Morality for the most part (and in simplest terms.) can be defined as doing something that if everyone did that the world would be a better place. They think that a majority of the world is just like them, only their trapped and can't find the strength to do the things they're willing too.

They're freeing people, attacking unjust and biased systems putting power back in the hands of the marginalized. To them if everyone fought back against the society of weakness, blandness, emptiness, consumerism and fear it would be a much better place. But that's the conclusion that he seems to reach by the end of it (at least one half of him.) In the beginning, it's about destroying himself, his life and everything that has left him feeling, hollow, alone and purposeless. His epiphany that everyone would be better off if they did this, whether they like it or not sets him on his path towards destruction. To Tyler it's the only truly moral choice their is.

It's more about taking pain and becoming better because of it, then spreading this empowering force to others so they can reach their true potential and be happy. (Like what he does with the convenience store clerk.) I think his choice at the end had more to do with fear of being consumed, and of injuring the world so badly that their was no real way to ever fix it or become stronger because of it. It wasn't improving society it was killing it. I also have some thoughts on both of them and their relationship too each other. (Which if you've seen the end of the movie you know is really screwed up.)

I think I'm definately appreciating this movie a lot more and feel like watching it again as I appear to not remember much. But thank you for explaining-- you should teach a class about Fight Club Anyways you know any other good movies?

I've watched the movie a couple times and the movie tries to say a lot of things. To be honest I thought it was more about removing the materialist views of society. People care so much about shit that just means so little in the grand scheme of things. Tyler wanted to get people to give up everything they had so they would drop down to zero.. From there the only place you can go is up. I very much agree with him in this.


In other news I also tried very hard to start a Fight Club but everyone I knew was either too much of an overall pussy or was afraid of getting their face messed up =(. Now I know some other people who would be down for a Fight Club.. But they will attract too much attention and next thing you know people start bringing weapons. Sad face again =(

Originally Posted by wittySynonym

Let's start one....... Just kidding, however I think most people sort of miss the idea behind fight club. I think it's a fairly common notion that fight club was about physically injuring another individual. I however think that was just an unfortunate consequence to something that needed to be done. Fight club wasn't about giving punishment it was about taking it.

That's crazy who'd want to be injured, that's retarded. Not if it gets rid of something even worse. The people that went to fight club, where suffering emotionally all of them. They felt lonely, their life felt empty and everything they did was devoid of meaning in their eyes. So how does getting injured make you feel good about yourself. Firstly pain can be a sign that you did something that you exist. Secondly pain triggers the bodies natural pain killers, (epinephrine comes to mind right off the bat.) giving a nice little natural high. You feel good, feel calm, feel something besides empty and bored.

Fight club was meaning, even if it was stupid, it was a meaning to life. It was about destroying the old you and making a new one an hour at a time. You went in their and your ass was cookie dough, you came out hard. Fight club was about destroying yourself and making something better, or at least different because the people who where attracted to fight club hated themselves and anything would be better then what they had.

Fight club was about nihilism. About destroying yourself and the world that created you, because whatever rose up from the ashes had to be better then what you had. That and it was funny as hell, I mean how could it not be about destroying yourself and creating something else from what's left. When you take into consideration the guy who created it and his journey throughout it. Anyone disagree?

are you talking about the movie? then yeh, the movie, which doesnt actually exist incase your forgetting, is just a movie..


But i like fighting, i see it as a sport. The ultimate sport where everything is tested. I wouldnt mind doing it for a living but im sure getting hit in the head so much times isnt that good for your health

but only a competetive person could see fighting as a sport, and you ant very competetive are ya?

Originally Posted by wittySynonym

That's crazy who'd want to be injured, that's retarded. Not if it gets rid of something even worse. The people that went to fight club, where suffering emotionally all of them. They felt lonely, their life felt empty and everything they did was devoid of meaning in their eyes. So how does getting injured make you feel good about yourself. Firstly pain can be a sign that you did something that you exist. Secondly pain triggers the bodies natural pain killers, (epinephrine comes to mind right off the bat.) giving a nice little natural high. You feel good, feel calm, feel something besides empty and bored.

i totally agree with you mate. and its a reason for hooligans too in football(soccer), they love the buzz from being hit in the face. obviously that isnt the only reason for hooligans and its a totally wrong thing to do. but its just another example of that buzz u get when in a fight, ur free from ur deadend job from the week or any other problems u have, you feel alive.