Masculinity and Fight Club... -The problem with capitalism

There are many different representations of males and masculinity in the media today. We are constantly given different directions from different sources regarding how we should act, behave and look in order to conform to what is deemed the social norm for our gender. Our very notions of what constitutes masculinity are changing constantly over time. One just has to look through history to see these changes. Masculinity is incredibly influential in defining ones gender identity and with the onset of equality we are finding that the lines between masculinity and femininity are being blurred. In western society we are also seeing an increase in the pressures imposed on us by capitalism and consumerism, particularly in relation to work. As a result, there has been a phenomenal increase in advertising and this also affects our views on masculinity. Nowadays modern men are finding it more difficult to live up to certain ideals and establish their own niche as a consequence of this. With these changes we must investigate what effect this is having on the individual and society as a whole.

Fight Club is one of the few narratives that are available which offer us a comprehensive insight into masculinity and the representations of masculinity within contemporary western society. Fight Club also highlights the so called crisis in masculinity in modern capitalist society. Being one of the most memorable and influential films from the last decade, Fight Club warns us of the dangers associated with the superficiality of the world we live in. It does so in an original, entertaining, insightful and sometimes humorous way, whilst maintaining its original message. I hope to explore the different causes and effects of the changing ideals associated with masculinity and investigate why they occur and identify different trends associated with them. These causes and effects will then be cross referenced between relevant authors, theorists and the how the film itself deals with these issues.


Defining Masculinity:

David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999), based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk contains many messages regarding masculinity, but before we can further discuss these different aspects associated with masculinity, first we must find out what exactly masculinity is. Although there is no short or easy standard definition of what masculinity is, there has been a lot of work written on the topic which provides us with extensive, detailed information about the subject. Most theorists and authors agree that masculinity is a social and cultural construct and is not necessarily related to gender specifically. From this we can see that masculinity has little to do with biology and that maleness is not synonymous with masculinity in every case. In “Female Masculinity” by Judith Halberstam, we see this point throughout the book. As she admits:

“I am arguing that the very existence of masculine women urges us to reconsider our most basic assumptions about the functions, forms, and representations of masculinity and forces us to ask why the bond between men and masculinity has remained relatively secure despite the continuous assaults made by feminists, gays, lesbians and gender-queers on the naturalness of gender”
(Female Masculinity p45)

Similarly in “Masculinities and Culture” by John Beynon, he states that it is men and women’s behaviours rather than their physiological attributes that defines their masculinity or femininity. This means that masculinity is not exclusive to one particular sex. In Fight Club this idea is portrayed in the scene where Jack (The Narrator) attends the “remaining men together” testicular cancer survivors meeting. The men retain their masculinity despite having lost their testicles due to cancer. This is seen in particular in Bob’s character. He has lost his testicles but goes on to join and fight in fight club in order to re-masculinise himself. Similarly, masculine characteristics can appear in women and conversely feminine characteristics can appear in men. Masculinity is typically associated with attributes such as strength, power and independence. However social norms dictate that masculine characteristics tend to go with males and feminine characteristics go with females. In recent times though, we are beginning to see greater tolerance for a crossover in these characteristics. In “Men and Masculinites” by Chris Haywood and Mairtin Mac an Ghaill, they point out the pluralities of masculinity which were first looked at by theorists Jeff Hearn, R.W. Connell and Arthur Brittan. Rather than thinking of masculinity in a singular, uniform term we must think of it in terms of “masculinities”. The term masculinities refers to the different range of ways in which an individual can be male. What Halberstam was trying to say earlier is that even women can adopt certain masculinities. In the same way this idea of plurality is mentioned in “Masculinities and Culture”. Beynon then goes on to comment on how the whole equality movement (influenced by the feminist and gay movements) has removed the idea of a uniform masculinity, affirming the plural concept of masculinities. Following on from this is Antonio Gramsci’s concept of hegemony which can be applied to masculinities, as pointed out in “Men and Masculinities”: Hegomonic masculinities refer to masculine modus operandi which can either help or hinder an individuals attempt to become a man or behave like a man.

“Men occupying a hegemonic masculinity are asserting a position of superiority”
(Men And Masculinities P10)

Hegomonic masculinities which are unsuccessful in asserting one as male are what Andrea Cornwall and Nancy Lindesfarne call “subordinate variants” as mentioned in “Masculinities and Culture” (p. 16). In recent times there has been mention of a so called crisis of western masculinity which has been mentioned in both “Masculinities and Culture” and “Men and Masculinities”. Both books recognise the problem as the changing of the ideology on which masculinity was previously based. Basically what constituted masculinity a century ago has changed compared with today’s contemporary western world. Similarly, “Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man” by Susan Faludi concentrates on this victimisation of men but focuses more on it in relation to consumerism which will be discussed later. In Fight Club, this victimisation of males seems to be one of the primary reasons as to why Jack’s mental well being declines and fight club begins.

In “Masculinities and Culture” we see that the theorist John MacInnes predicts that eventually there will be no distinction between men and women apart their anatomical differences. As we have seen in recent history this certainly appears to be true as equality is blurring the lines between masculinity and femininity. This “end of masculinity” (Masculinities and Culture p9) will be brought about in MacInnes view as the ultimate goal for global equal rights. This is a paradox of sorts as it seems as if the equal rights movement is one of the biggest contributors to this “end of masculinity” and it is also its own reward when the end is complete.



Masculinity and Identity

Masculinity is particularly important in the formation of identity in an individual, particularly in a male. In Fight Club we see our protagonist Jack, struggling to find a way of finding his own identity through various means (attending various support groups) before embarking on fight club itself. His loss of identity is brought about by the “crisis in masculinity” which in turn is a direct result of capitalism. As mentioned in “Men and Masculinities”, the theorist Kobena Mercer argues that:

“Identity only becomes an issue when it is in crisis, when something assumed to be fixed, coherent and stable is displaced by the experience of doubt and uncertainty”
(Men and Masculinities p14)

This doubt and uncertainty is what Jack sees as a shift in masculinity. Traditionally, attributes such as power, strength, endurance and the ability to endure pain were seen as typically masculine traits. Ever since the industrial revolution and the approach of capitalism, these traits have diminished as technology took over. Susan Faludi in “Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man” points out that the change from the production of goods to the production of knowledge means men have little to choose from in terms of a profession that satisfies their masculine identity. What men are left with is “ornamental” masculinity. Faludi’s point corresponds with that raised by Haywood and Mac an Ghaill in that the lack of masculine professions is contributing to the masculinity crisis. Modern day male workers like Jack however were left behind busying themselves away in cubicles on computers and phones. Jack has been sucked into a narcissistic consumer driven world that has replaced the traditional masculine values which is what he describes as "the Ikea nesting instinct". Jack goes through a form of masculine renaissance when he and Tyler set up fight club. Fight club provides its members with a form of re-masculinisation through physical combat. This restores all of the characteristics that are associated with being masculine. As Tyler says in one of the pivotal scenes in the film:

“We have no great war, no great depression… Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives”.

–This affirms Tyler’s idea that re-masculinisation can be brought about throught violence. In the “remaining men together” scene Bob says to the others in the group: "We're still men.” -Later we see Bob executing attributes of masculinity during some of the fight scenes, as if to prove his earlier statement to be true. Interestingly thought, in these scenes we see Jack cry as a means of release which allows him to sleep again. Crying and showing emotion are seen typically feminine traits which he wholly rejects later on. This may have been one of the contributing reasons as to why Jack left the support groups for fight club – a specifically masculine arena. In Jack and Tyler’s time there are no wars or other exclusive male arenas where men can prove their masculinity and as a result, carve out their own masculine identity. Fight club becomes their arena to create their identities. In “Men and Masculinities”, Haywood and Mac an Ghaill make reference to the subordinate variants mentioned by Cornwall and Lindesfarne in “Masculinities and Culture” as “failed masculinities”.

“the increase in failed masculinities is caused by their inability to internalize appropriate models of masculinity”
(Men and Masculinities p7)

These failed masculinities are ineffective forms of masculinity portrayed by the media which often relate to certain groups within society. The fact that the media recognises these subordinate variants is testament to the fact that the masculinity crisis is occurring.

In the film Tyler makes many direct references to the relationship between identity and consumerism. In the scene where they are travelling on the bus, Tyler makes remarks at a Calvin Klein advert and how men are supposed to take on this idealised identity of what a man should be. In “Masculinities and Culture”, Beynon goes on to what he calls “mediated masculinitiy” (p64). This refers to the different representations of masculinity which are created by the media just like the Calvin Klein advert Tyler was talking about. This idea of “mediated masculinity” exists in all forms of media today. As a result, this and the changes capitalism has brought to the workplace caused Jack and all those like him to lose their identities. It was this combination that was the catalyst for fight club to happen. Again Beynon goes on to point out the roots of this “physical culture” (Masculinities and Culture p44) which was brought to popularity by publisher Eugene Sandow in the late 19th century. Jack to some extent does buy into the physical culture as he mentally constructs Tyler in his own mind. Tyler is Jack’s idealised image of what masculinity and a man should be. He is everything that Jack is not and in a sense is a hyper-masculinised version of Jack. This is even more evident at the end of the film where we see Tyler return in a more pronounced hyper-masculine state: shaven headed with a goatee and his muscles on display, ready for the final confrontation.

Another important aspect which Fight Club makes frequent references to regarding male identity is castration. I have already discussed the “remaining men together” support group scenes and how this relates to Bob’s character. Later on in the film Tyler comments on Jack’s apartment being blown up by saying: “It could be worse, you could have had a woman cut off your penis while you were sleeping and have it thrown out the window of a moving car.” What Tyler is saying here is that despite Jack’s loss of possessions, he did not lose his masculinity. Castration is also a threat that Tyler and the recruits of project mayhem frequently utilize on those who pose a threat to them. Tyler threatens those high in command in capitalist society with castration for emasculating them. The final scene where Jack shoots himself in order to kill Tyler is a form of castration itself, as Tyler represented the masculine ideals which Jack himself lacked.



Male Bonding:

Throughout Fight Club we are offered many different insights into the different aspects of male bonding which currently exist in capitalist society. Much of the male bonding that takes place in Fight Club involves the rejection of feminine values and behaviours. In one scene, Jack and Tyler discuss their fathers and the expectations placed on them as men. Jack reveals that his father had left him at an early age to marry successive women and father other children. It is this statement that really implements Tyler’s idea when he says: “We're a generation of men raised by women; I'm not sure another woman is what we need”. This point merely reinforces the sentiment that modern man is being emasculated. Without a father figure men do not have any other role model to look up to other than that which is portrayed in the media. Jack had no father figure during a critical stage of his life. He never had a strong male bond growing up. In “Men and Masculinities” Haywood and Mac anGhaill use Adrienne Burgess’s point:

“the range of negative contemporary images of fathers , who are seen as: ‘absurd, pitiable, marginal, violent, abusive, uncaring and delinquent’. –this devaluing of fatherhood in late twentieth century Europe is a remarkable shift from an earlier position in which the authoritarian father was portrayed as central to the moral and political maintenance of western civilisation.”
(Men and Masculinities p45)

This changing style of fatherhood has resulted in an increase in the number of single parents in the western world. David Blankenhorn’s term “Fatherless America” from “Fatherless America: Confronting our most Urgent Social Problem” highlights the increase in numbers of men who are not participating in the lives of their children. In “Stiffed: The Betrayal of the Modern Man”, Faludi also makes reference to “paternal ghosts” (p596). This is a similar concept to that of “fatherless America” in that the post World War II fathers had brought their sons into the superficiality of capitalism and its de-masculinising ways. Tyler himself admits that his father expected him to have completed certain objectives at different times in his life like going to college, getting a job and getting married. Tyler then goes onto say how he is not ready for marriage, that he is nothing more than “a 30-year-old boy”. Robert Bly says in “Sibling Society” that men like Jack and Tyler were nothing more than “perpetual adolescents” as a result of their father’s lack of responsibility during their upbringing. Blankenhorn and Bly’s points resonate with each other and as a result it seems “fatherless America” is raising a generation of “perpetual adolescents” due to the lack of a contemporary paternal male bond between father and son.

An additional form of male bond we see in the film is that between Jack and Tyler. Although we learn that Tyler is a paranoid delusion created by Jack, this revelation is not revealed until the end. When analysing the narrative up until this point we can consider Tyler and Jack as separate individuals and so we can consider that they have a bond. Jack initially sees Tyler as the antithesis of himself. Before long Jack is fascinated by Tyler’s whole philosophy on life and sees him as his opportunity to reject capitalism and its emasculating consequences.

Another type of masculine bond we see is that between Jack and the members of the support groups and project mayhem. Jack begins his friendship with Bob which is largely based on emotion. We then see a shift in this relationship to a more violent one when Fight Club starts. Upon commencement of fight club there is a kind of community set up between the different male adherents. Each member of fight club comes from their own background for the common interest of re-masculinisation through violence. As the film progresses we see the community change from “fight club” to “project mayhem”. Project mayhem is aptly described as a terrorist militant faction with anti-capitalist objectives. The transition began when Tyler started handing out “homework” assignments to members of fight club. During some of these assignments we can see Jack does not fully approve of, such as that when Tyler pretends to rob a store he asks was it really necessary. As project mayhem intensifies we see Jack and Tyler’s bond change. Jack is frustrated by the fact that he is uninformed of the progress of what is happening in the project. Tyler tests him by telling him: “you decide your own level of involvement”. As with the transition from fight club to project mayhem, we also see a transformation in the bonds between the members and Jack/Tyler. Project mayhem sees the recruits trained into mechanized, uniform militant components for use within a larger cause. Their bonds are like that of those in military institutions: they receive orders and they execute them without question.

One particular feature that isn’t necessarily associated with male bonding is Jack/Tyler’s relationship to Marla. Although this isn’t male bonding, Marla is critical in Jack’s realisation that he and Tyler are one. Jack recognises this toward the end when Marla is confused by his behaviour and she leaves him inadvertent clues to what had gone on. Due to this disclosure of information on behalf of Marla, Jack and Tyler’s relationship and that between Jack and those of Project mayhem ends with Tyler losing his “life”.



Masculinity in Relation to Mental Health and Schizophrenia

There are many ways of analysing mental health issues in individuals, though I am specifically targeting men and how masculinity affects mental health. Psychoanalysis was one way of examining the issue. Psychoanalysis assumes many mental illnesses to be the result of traumatic childhood experiences and that childhood shapes much of our personality and how we will turn out as adults. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) understood schizophrenia not to be a brain disorder, but a disturbance in the unconscious caused by repressed feelings of homosexuality, as pointed out in “Madness on the Couch: Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis” by Edward Dolnick. Freud’s understanding is not entirely relevant as there are no inclinations within Fight Club that Jack had repressed feelings of homosexuality. Much of Freud’s psychoanalytic work was based on the paradigm that males were superior. This is evident from the fact that he states that a mental disorder is caused by homosexuality, which was not associated with traditional views of masculinity. Other psychoanalysts explored the idea that the mother of a child had great influence on whether the child became schizophrenic or not. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann was a psychoanalyst who believed that it was the mother that was responsible in certain cases for causing schizophrenia within the child. She put forward the term "schizophrenogenic mother" again as seen in “Madness on the Couch: Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis”. Certainly within Fight Club this belief may be plausible for Jacks character. As discussed earlier we know that Jack had little or no relationship with his father and so his relationship with his mother may have lead to his mental illness.

Alternative to Freudian psychoanalytical techniques, a more modern and perhaps more accurate report/study of schizophrenia and mental health was carried out by the psychiatric services of the American Psychiatric Association. This report separated its results according to gender and covers the issue from a more scientific and factual standpoint. This report was called: “Gender Identity and Implications for Recovery Among Men and Women With Schizophrenia” (Martha Sajatovic, M.D. et al 2005). The report indicates that individuals with schizophrenia experience their gender identity differently from what is culturally expected of them. Interestingly, the report also said:

“Both men and women scored lower on traditional masculine descriptive measures compared with persons without schizophrenia. This finding has important implications for recovery”

The report then goes on to point out how in western societies men have a more definite gender role to live up to. It uses the example of employment as being the fundamental foundation through which their gender role is determined. We can apply these findings to what is happening to Jack and his current state of mental health. Part of Jack’s crisis is the fact that he must live up to this idealised gender role which he feels is an inadequate form of masculinity imposed on him by capitalist society. Also Jack’s job is one of the main elements in his life. It provides him with a financial base so he can continue and complete his “Ikea existence”. He has a job and is fulfilling his consumer needs but still feels empty and emasculated. Both of these factors coalesce and eventually push Jack over the edge into schizophrenia which results in his creation of Tyler. When he loses his job he propagates himself further and further from mainstream society before everything ultimately, goes out of control. Although employment may be considered an aspect contributing to independence for Jack, he feels his job does not satisfy his masculine identity as Faludi had said earlier. The report also suggested that men that suffer from schizophrenia are more likely to relapse into the condition than women and are less likely to go about treatment. Perhaps this is why Jack has to go to such extreme measures (shooting himself) to rid himself of Tyler and his schizophrenia.

The difference between scientific research and psychoanalysis of schizophrenia has pointed to very different causes of mental illnesses. General mental health in relation to masculinity is also an issue which has merits for discussion. According to Gale Thomson in the article “Gender issues in mental health” men exhibit “externalizing disorders” in their mental health. These disorders are what Thomson refers to as “negative outward behaviour”. Examples of these behaviours include substance abuse, self destructive behaviour and anti social behaviour. In the film Jack exhibits all of these behaviours. Early on in the film we see he is apprehensive about medication he wants to receive from his doctor to aid his insomniac tendencies. There are several scenes where Jack is participating in anti social behaviour, for example setting car alarms off, reversing the spikes in the car park and showing hostility towards his boss. Self destructive behaviour is the most frequent “negative outward behaviour” that jack partakes in. This is evident throughout Fight Club as Jack frequently turns up to work showing the signs of battle from the previous night. Outside observers like his boss notice blood on his clothes and an increasing disinterest or concern for working.



Masculinity and Violence:

In Fight Club, violence is one of the principal features that reinforces the idea of re-masculinisation of men. It also provides the fundamental basis for the self destructive attitude that Tyler endorses. What Jack and Tyler had started was now helping many men achieve their masculine identities which capitalism had taken away. Violence is commonly associated with being a masculine characteristic and so, fight club becomes the perfect opportunity through which re-masculinisation can occur. In “Masculinities and Culture” Beynon points out that men are estimated to be eight times more likely to be involved in violence than women. As Beynon also points out:

“In pre-industrial times physical strength and material rewards were closely linked. The effects of the Industrial Revolution diminished the importance of physical strength and this in no doubt contributed to the idea that men were getting soft and weak.”
(Masculinities and Culture p.43)

In contrast to Beynon’s idea that violence is a result of a reaction to capitalist emasculation, Jackson Katz puts forward the idea that violence is a result of affirmation and endorsement by the media. In “Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity”, Katz points out how the media is portraying what can only be described as the glorification of masculinity through violence. Although he does make some reference to historical violent male icons, Katz cites multiple examples from the media which link violence and masculinity, mainly that of films and advertisements. Regarding film he gives the example of the action adventure films from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis –All of which promote a violent, aggressive and muscular view of masculinity. In the same way with regard to advertising he references numerous examples of military and sports related advertisements which also promote this violent aspect of masculinity.

According to Katz:

“White males had to contend with increasing economic instability and dislocation, the perception of gains by people of color at the expense of the White working class, and a women's movement that overtly challenged male hegemony.”
(Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity)

Ironically in Fight Club it is the rejection of capitalist advertising and media that Tyler and Jack support, yet this idea of a violent masculinity portrayed by the media appears to be the image they desire. However according to Jack Fight Club isn’t about winning or losing. Fight Club was about enlightenment through self destruction: “I got in everyone’s hostile little face. Yes, these are bruises from fighting. Yes, I’m comfortable with that. I am enlightened.” Jack also recognises the hypocrisies that exist within the media though, which make Katz’s view unlikely to be true for him.

Self destruction through violent behaviour features heavily throughout Fight Club. It is only when we learn that Tyler is a part of Jack’s personality do we really see that the behaviour is truly self destructive. Scenes such as the chemical burn, the car crash and the early fights with Tyler demonstrate this. Most of these injuries are inflicted by Tyler and consequently they are inflicted by Jack upon realisation that they Jack and Tyler are the same person. Jack also performs acts of self destruction upon himself, like in the scene with his boss as he is leaving his job where he beats himself up. From Tyler’s perspective, self destruction is the ultimate path to achieving enlightenment. As Tyler himself states: “Self improvement is masturbation. Now self Destruction…” If self destruction provides enlightenment, then the means by which it is achieved (violence) re-masculinises one to prepare for it. Tyler ultimately hopes to achieve an equal society by erasing the dept records of the major credit card companies using his recruits from project mayhem in a form of organised violence. This eradication of dept in Tyler’s view will also bring the eradication of capitalism. Effectively what Tyler and Jack have done with violence is developed it into a form of “compensatory masculinity” as Haywood and Mac an Ghaill identify in “Men and Masculinities”. Compensatory masculinity refers to the responses of men for the alienation in work which they have experienced. Jack and Tyler’s violent, antisocial behaviour would in leave them defined as what Beynon points out as “yobs”:

“In the United Kingdom, the fear of young men running wild is regularly centered on the despised figure of ‘the yob’, dangerous, antisocial young men operating outside civilised society, with all the attendant fears of disorder and social disintegration.”
(Masculinities and Culture p. 133)



Emasculation in Relation to Capitalism and Consumerism:

The “crisis in masculinity” which was mentioned earlier has a lot to do with capitalism. Fight Club, or at least Tyler blames much of this crisis on capitalism. Tyler shares many of the same views on capitalism as Karl Marx did, though Tyler’s views are perhaps more extreme. Marx believed that capitalist society was divided by a class structure (The German Ideology, The Communist Manifesto). This class structure was divided into two basic groups, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie was the upper class which controlled the profits or “capitalist surplus”. The bourgeoisie took advantage of products and labour in what Marx calls the “modes of production”. The exploitation of the proletariat’s “labour power” provides the source of the profit for the bourgeoisie. In capitalism, social relationships of production are controlled throught the use of commodities exploited via the proletariat’s “labour power” .

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
(The Communist Manifesto, Chap. 1)

Marx termed the loss of one’s labour power as “commodity fetishism”, whereby the individual is alienated from his/her work. The work and the products produced by the proletariat then become commodities of the bourgeoisie. In recent times there have been references to the “commodification of masculinity” as pointed out in “Masculinities and Culture” (p. 55). Commodification of masculinity is where masculinity in its various forms are marketed throughout the media as a product. This relates to Marx’s idea of commodity in many ways. Tyler associated this “commodification of masculinity” in the Calvin Klein advert and during his speech in the basement: “we’ve all been brought up to believe that we’ll be millionaires, movie stars and rock gods… But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact”. This commodification of masculinity alienates men thought the media just as Marx had highlighted how the proletariat were alienated through the loss of their labour power. Similarly as Faludi argued in “Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man”, this has lead to an “ornamental” masculinity which was the foundation on which consumerism and capitalism were based. Within capitalism there were no masculine jobs remaining. This combined with the commodification of masculinity left Jack felling empty. The fact that Tyler makes and sells soap from fat discarded from liposuction clinics works very effectively in showing the dichotomy between Capitalism/consumerism and emasculation. The fat Tyler obtains to make the soap is a by-product of the consumer lifestyle –women buying into an idealised image of ones gender. Tyler makes rich women buy as he puts it: “their own fat asses back”. The proceeds (obtained from women -anti-feminist) and by-products of the soap production (Nitro-glycerine) help Tyler to reinvest them back into anti capitalist goals.

Tyler believes that capitalism will eventually come to an end just as Marx did. Marx believed that over time the proletariat would revolt against the bourgeoisie in order to do so. What would follow would be a transition period which would lead to his idea of a utopian communist society. Tyler represents the proletariat and the revolt that will destroy capitalism. His revolt consists of plans with the help of the recruits of project mayhem to blow up all the major credit card company headquarters. This plan is executed in order to erase the dept record, thus eliminating the capitalist surplus which has lead to class inequalities, consumerism and the emasculation of modern man. In contrast to Marx’s ideal communist society that would evolve from the remains of capitalism, Tyler wants to return to a pre industrial, primitive form of existence: “In the world I see, you’re stalking elk trough the damp canyon forest around the ruins of Rockefeller Centre”. As Marx says of such a revolt:

“The workers have nothing to lose in this [revolution] but their chains. They have a world to gain. Workers of the world, unite!”
(The Communist Manifesto, Closing Words)

As Marx described earlier, capitalism alienates the proletariat or in Jack’s case: The service sector. This alienation from his proffession contributed to his feelings of emptiness and emasculation. As a result of this we begin to see changes in Jack and the eventual onset of schizophrenic behaviour. Consumerism and capitalism nowadays are almost completely inherent, hence Marxist ideology applies to consumerism. An interesting feature of consumerism is that of the gaze. Reminiscent of Laura Mulvey’s idea of the male gaze, Faludi points out (Stiffed: The Betrayal of the Modern Man p.415) that in capitalist society, men are now under the unscrupulous gaze of a genderless corporate eye. This corporate gaze decides what constitutes masculinity and indeed femininity also.

Tyler and Jack constantly refer to consumer products and consumer society throughout Fight Club. At the beginning before Jack moves in with Tyler we see him say of his possessions after the explosion in his apartment: “I had it all. I had a stereo that was very decent, a wardrobe that was getting very respectable. I was close to being complete…” Jack was the epitome of the consumer lifestyle before he met Tyler. It isn’t long though after Jack’s condo is blown up and Tyler begins his anti consumer/capitalist teachings. Tyler’s outlook on consumerism is that: “the things you own end up owning you”. Jack renounces his worldly possessions which also symbolises his rejection of capitalism and consumerism when he moves into Tyler’s dilapidated Paper St. home. Paper St. is a direct representation of this rejection of capitalism and feminisation. It is a dank, unkempt hovel which is widely divergent from Jack’s prim, well kept Ikea decorated apartment. Tyler really is the polar opposite of what capitalism dictates that a man should be. Tyler lives outside society in an abandoned house wreaking havoc on the service industry –the industry which effectively serves the bourgeoisie.

Tyler states his underlying ethos: "It’s only after we’ve lost everything, that we’re free to do anything." This reminds us of his idea that enlightenment is achieved through self destruction. Self destruction is one of the things we must complete so we can be free to do anything and ultimately be free of capitalism, according to Tyler. Jack’s moving into Paper Street is evidence of this. First he loses his condo, his possessions then his job and while all of this has happened he is also participating in fight club –a form of self destruction.


Conclusion:

We have seen a substantial amount of information regarding the subject of masculinity. A great deal of the problems associated with modern masculinity within western society are portrayed in Fight Club. There are also many different features of masculinity which Fight Club exemplifies. From issues involving identity, relationships, behaviour, mental health to the effects of society, masculinity is a complex issue. In addition, these issues have their complex, real life counterparts. Advertising and capitalism appear to be the most prominent causes of harm toward traditional masculinity. These causes are the same in reality also. However in Fight Club, violence, acts of terrorism and antisocial behaviour come across as the main solutions to these problems threatening masculinity. In reality though, there are a number of examples of these solutions which have manifested themselves, although these real life examples are certainly not as extreme. Television programs such as Jackass demonstrate the self destructive and negative outward behaviour adopted by certain men in society. The popularity of such programs also emphasizes the interest that society has in such behaviours. The increase in heavy drinking among young males also demonstrates the self destructive tendencies of certain men today, not to mention the advent of “yob” culture (Men and Masculinities p. 112). Although in Fight Club these “solutions” did come across as just that, in reality this is a different case. Although not developed as a solution to the problem of masculinity as such, it appears that these real life examples are somewhat of a reaction toward this crisis in masculinity.

Although the crisis seems to be the main problem associated with masculinity today it is apparent that there was always a crisis. Time moves on and so, often tradition is left behind for new values. Throughout time our perception of what is masculine is inevitably going to change. The traditional masculine values that are being abandoned in the crisis have been consistently abandoned over time since we first inhabited the earth. Consequently, the crisis has been with us for a long time and is not a new occurrence.


Fight Club merely acts as a social commentary on what is happening today and the potential hazards which result from our current crisis.

Capitalism and its corollary by-products receive much criticism throughout Fight Club. The film shows capitalism to be responsible for creating many of the inadequacies of modern masculinity. However, much of what the film says can be logically linked to what is happening to society and is also backed up by what many theorists argue. Although there are some undoubtedly Marxist views on capitalism exhibited in Fight Club we also see somewhat of a philosophical and diminutive anthropological view on society and the path to enlightenment. These philosophical and anthropological are also extreme in nature but provide us with a different view other than the systematic, logical views on society that we are more accustomed to.