Caltrops - Biohazard: Code Veronica





	[quote name="Senor Barborito Metafilter Post"]Succinctly: the point of the <i>film</i> is that modern civilization as an organizational framework in which to conduct human affairs is both grossly flawed and bereft of any higher purpose. Therefore, according to the film, it <i>may</i> perhaps be in the best interest of humanity to step back from our current civilization and it's spiral towards 1984's authoritarianism* and Brave New World's consumerism.<br /> <br /> *This is somewhat ironic given how rigorously top-down Project Mayhem's governance was, but it is consistent with Tyler's character to believe that the ends justify the means, and thereby gloss over his own moral inconsistency.<br /> <br /> Longer answer: Similar to how the scientific method at times produces observations that defy existent models and force leaders in their fields to admit that a viable model does not exist <i>yet</i>, Fight Club the movie does not offer an alternative framework to modern civilzation but rather hints that the development of a better model is as yet a work in progress.<br /> <br /> To quote Tyler: "I say let's never be complete, I say stop being perfect - <b>let's evolve and let the chips fall where they may</b>." In this he is admitting that he does <i>yet</i> have a viable alternative model, but to him this is of secondary importance when compared to his primary goal of halting the 'progression' of modern civilization into a homogenous society as insipid as it is clinically evil from any libertarian point of view.<br /> <br /> <i>The problem the film presents is: the world is materialistic and frighteningly meaningless. This is absolutely true, and I worry about this more every day; our leaders offer us absolutely nothing to give us hope or to bring us joy. They just give us Ikea catalogs.</i><br /> <br /> Those aren't the only problems the film provides us with. The idea that perhaps materialism at the extreme level is as addictive as any drug, the desperate need for social interaction in a world where one never speaks to ones neighbors (support groups), the nature of authoritarianism (Tyler's response to Jack's fear of his authority-figure removing Jack's employment is that Jack is "not his job), the lack of outlet for the genetically imposed predisposition towards violence and dominance within the male psyche, and that's just the first immediate few that come to mind - there are many, many others addressed throughout the film.<br /> <br /> <i>The answer which the film seems to offer (perhaps I'm just not seeing it, I'm sorry) is this: absolute, mindless obedience to the group (this is called "corporatism");</i><br /> <br /> Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth - see my points on authoritarianism above. Rather, Tyler understands that within small groups where currency is not a factor and dedication towards a central cause is absolute, communism is the most efficient model possible. This is because communism centers around the the precept of " From each according to their ability. to each according to their need." In any group it is impossible for there to be a more efficient model than every individual putting forth their maximum and taking only the minimum they need to survive. Tyler's philosophy is one that clearly holds corporatism and authoritarianism in deep contempt. Yet he is willing to himself engage in a communist authoritarism not entirely unlike fascism in order to have a group which is efficient, rigorous, and impossible to defend against (cell-based) with which to carry out his goals of destroying modern civilization.<br /> <br /> <i>comfort and even delight in the most extreme manifestations of violence; a joy in destruction;</i><br /> <br /> I can certainly understand how one could walk away from the film with that idea, and this is in no small part a result of Fincher trying slightly too hard to maintain a certain infectuous brand of 'edginess' to the film. The film's predilection for manifestations of violence stems from the idea I mentioned above regarding civilization's suppression of the baser instincts built into the male psyche. Those elements within the film were intended as a reactionary cry against this suppression and also a means by which Tyler builds the group he will need to carry out his greater purpose.<br /> <br /> <i>and the death of all sentiment or emotion.</i><br /> <br /> Precisely the opposite as evidenced by almost every single detail of the film. In one scene Tyler stages a mock execution of a store clerk in order to force the clerk to care about the direction of his life - to feel again. The entire point of Fight Club prior to Project Mayhem is to provide a forum in which men may express the parts of their psyche which society prevents them from expressing in any manner whatsoever. This theme is central to the film and I cannot understand how one would come away from it with that conclusion.<br /> <br /> There is certainly a lack of expression of feelings like love, but kindness and sentimentality certainly exist within the relationship between Jack and Bob. Jack's reaction at how a system he helped create lead directly to Bob's death is more than ample evidence of this fact. As to love - this is one of the emotions certainly deemed acceptable within the framework of mainstream modern civilization and therefore it lies nowhere on Tyler's nor the film's agenda - rather he is more concerned with the suppression of its antithesis, which is equally a valid part of the human experience.<br /> <br /> <i>This is the inner meaning of fascism, and it always has been; it's certainly not anarchism. Tyler is a political leader. If he were an anarchist, he wouldn't lead; this is clear.</i><br /> <br /> Within the film Tyler is clearly prepared to believe that the ends justify the means - indeed any means ("you want to make an omlette you have to break some eggs"). If that means setting up a group which borrows heavily from communism and slightly from fascism in order to prevent the whole of humanity from one day being perpetually caught in a pointless, well-dressed variety of fascism with no hope of escape, he's prepared to do so. Furthermore, it is important to note that every last member of Project Mayhem joined of their own free will - in the society which Tyler believes to be the natural conclusion of modern civilization, there would be no such choice.<br /> <br /> If you'd like to discuss the film further outside of a context where it's quite off-topic, feel free to IM me on AIM.<br> posted by Ryvar at 8:17 PM on February 10 [/quote]