One of my favorite films is Fight Club, directed by David Fincher in 1999. This film tells about a young man, the narrator, who has insomnia, meets the seller of soap Tyler Durden and together they organize a secret club for men who want to fight (Fincher). The Fight Club spreads and turns into radical Project Mayhem. The narrator is not involved in the project fully, but he suspects that its participants led by Tyler are going to harm many people and tries to stop him.
However, in the process, the narrator realizes that his consciousness created Tyler, and he is Tyler himself. Thus, the narrator shoots himself in the head to kill Tyler in his consciousness but survives, although he does not have time to prevent the explosions (Fincher). Consequently, the plot of Fight Club demonstrates that the film has a hero transformation, recognition, and reversal, which makes it exciting.
The main character goes through two stages of transformation after meeting Tyler and after realizing the real situation. Before meeting Tyler, the narrator is just an office worker, but after moving to Tyler’s house, he becomes brave and cocky by taking an example from a new friend. The narrator obeys and agrees to Tyler’s proposals, and although he refuses to participate in Project Mayhem, he still becomes more and more like him.
The scene of the beginning of the transformation or reversal, according to Aristotle, is the moment when the narrator learns that Tyler blew up his apartment and, in fact, forced him to move to be involved in this whole story. The scene ends with an accident that Tyler deliberately caused, and then his disappearance (Fincher). All these events were completely unexpected for the narrator, so he tries to find and figure out Tyler’s plans. At this point, he faces obstacles, since he understands the national dimensions of the Fight Club, but most of its members do not give him the information he needs (Fincher).
The moment of final transformation and recognition is the fight scene when the narrator realizes that he is Tyler and confronts him. This scene is also the movie’s climax, which ends with the narrator shooting himself in the head, which allows him to defeat Tyler(Fincher). Probably the lesson the character has learned is that he is a strong, intelligent, interesting, and independent man who does not need role models, but he still needs to seek professional help.
When the narrator realizes Tyler’s nature and the climactic scene of the fight with him, the audience experiences the catharsis described by Aristotle, as they feel fear for the main character and because of the final dangerous stage of the project. This moment is decisive in the protagonist’s transformation as he ceases to be a weak, boring, and pathetic office worker and becomes a strong and confident man.
So while Tyler is the dark side of the narrators’ soul, he taught him to be brave and made him stronger. I think that the details of transformation partially apply to any person, since all people face their flaws, inner demons, and sometimes cruelty inside themselves. I also sometimes succumb to feelings that hurt me or other people, such as anger or pride. In the narratives’ case, these feelings were embodied in Tyler, but more often, they just sit inside people’s heads. However, the main lesson of this story that other people and I can use is that dealing with our negative sides is necessary as they can consume a person and harm others.
Work Cited
Fincher, David, director. Fight Club. Twenty Century Fox, 1999.