Input | Output |
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Link | YouTube |
Published | 2022/02/13 |
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Status | article incomplete |
Beau says:
Beau breaks down the misunderstood film "Fight Club," exploring themes and discussing how a minor change alters its message on personal growth and societal systems.
Film enthusiasts, social critics
A deeper dive into the nuances of how narrative changes impact viewer interpretation.
#Film #FightClub #Misunderstanding #Narrative #CulturalContext
Well, howdy there, internet people.
It's Beau again.
And today, we're going to break the first two rules.
We're going to talk about something we're not supposed
to talk about.
And we're going to do this because a certain film
from the 90s is being released in another country
with some minor changes.
So we're going to talk about the film,
talk about how a lot of people misunderstand the film.
And we're going to talk about the changes
and whether or not they ruin the film.
So if you haven't seen the movie Fight Club,
understand I'm going to try to limit the spoilers.
But it's really hard to talk about it
without giving at least pieces of it away.
The entire movie is an upside down patch video.
And the twist doesn't come, isn't incredibly apparent
until almost the end.
So just be aware if you haven't seen it,
you may not want to watch this yet.
OK, so the movie Fight Club came out in the 90s
and widely misunderstood because the film
is intentionally ambiguous.
It's left vague.
A lot of the themes that people talk about
and that I definitely see, they're
left up to the viewer's interpretation.
They're not core facets of the film itself.
However, there are some themes that are undeniable.
The first being that humanity isn't really
designed to live the cubicle life.
We're not supposed to pursue false happiness
and fill ourselves with material possessions.
We aren't supposed to be just a cog in the wheel.
That's one.
It provides a lot of commentary on toxic masculinity.
It also carries an incredibly strong anti-capitalist message.
There are a lot of right wing bros right now going, what?
If you have seen this film and you
don't see those aspects of it, it's
possible that maybe you didn't understand the film
and you are identifying with something that
may have a satirical take.
So one of the key aspects of this
is that there are two characters, the narrator
and a guy named Tyler.
And they establish this relationship.
And the narrator looks up to Tyler.
And there is this evolution of the characters going on.
One becoming more and more masculine and more and more
pronounced in a lot of ways.
The other retreating.
The other crumbling away.
And as the movie progresses, there
arises a conflict that really centers around intimacy
between these two characters.
But they've already set the ball in motion, so to speak,
to crash into society as a whole.
So there's not much that can be done as far
as separating these characters.
It takes a lot to do that in the end.
As the story progresses, the antics
become more and more and more extreme.
Because as people try to evolve, they often
go down a wrong road at times.
And they tend to take other people with them.
And there is such a longing for fulfillment and real meaning
in life that it is easy to succumb to a group identity
and give away who you really are.
At the end of the film, there's an incredibly dramatic scene.
The new version that is being released in China,
well, it's a little bit different.
At the end, after all of the drama
takes place, for those that have seen the film, it cuts to black.
And prior to the ultimate climax,
it scrolls across a screen.
The police rapidly figured out the whole plan
and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing
the bomb from exploding.
Man, that changes the film a lot, doesn't it?
I mean, that really alters it, especially
if you view the entire film as an allegory
for personal growth.
You know, there are a lot of people who are really
upset by this change.
I don't know that it actually makes it a bad film.
It definitely changes it.
It alters it.
But it changes it, in a way, it changes it
to a dystopian commentary on how the system is so strong
that you cannot evolve, that you cannot change.
Because that final moment, as you might break through,
well, it's always going to be interrupted.
I don't necessarily think it's a bad change.
It's definitely different.
But if you understood the film and you understood
that the whole film is about one person trying
to change themself, and that giant, dramatic moment
at the end is very symbolic, in a way, losing that
and saying, no, you're going back to the system.
You're going back to the way it was.
I don't know that it would make it a bad film,
had you not seen the original.
You know?
Um, now, so all of this is really interesting to me.
And I'm just very curious as to why this was
the editing that was applied.
I mean, I get the whole law and order aspect
that China is trying to portray here.
But it seems as though that message wouldn't really
be that subversive.
But I don't know.
It also points to something I love
to talk about a lot, context, and getting the whole story.
When those who are framing narratives,
when they include pieces that maybe should have been left
on the cutting room floor, or they leave out
significant pieces of information,
well, it alters the whole story.
It changes the whole thing.
It shifts it.
And sometimes you're left with a product that, well, it
may not be bad.
It's not really the story.
Anyway, it's just a thought.
Y'all have a good day.
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