Scene Analysis: The First Rule of Fight Club
In David Fincher’s film, Fight Club, the story of man whose life is concentrated into impeccable attendance at his workplace and the accumulation of cheap furniture is transformed the evolution of a man and his search for the “bottom”. The juxtaposition between the evolving and devolving mentality results in a clear division within the film. The first part of the picture describes a phase where the narrator is looking to change his way of life to more wholly conform to the societal norms of a successful, productive member of society. In the second part of the film, however, the narrator reverses his priorities, optimizing his way of life to achieve the desire of reaching the most primal state of life, and therefore find its simplest meaning. The critical juncture where the narrator switches from the so-called “worker bee” mindset to the primitive,
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The eighth rule, “if this is your first night at fight club, you have to fight,” is specifically insightful. It suggests that anyone who fights, and therefore allows their most primitive character to evolve with the fight, will feel an urge to continue to fight. The constant repetition of allowing oneself to release the most basic instinctual rages and drives creates an effect in which “everything in the real world gets the volume turned down.” In other words, it creates the idea that no man does not have the innate urge to fight, and, as it was with the narrator, Durden allows them to express this urge, and subsequently feel better about themselves and their lives. This is a vital moment in the plot, because for the first time in the film, he realizes that he is not the only one with the desire to seek pleasure and shelter from the outside world in a