Fight Club Forever

It’s been almost 20 years since Tyler Durden explained the rules of Fight Club to millions of filmgoers. Released in 1999, Fight Club is a masterful movie which celebrates violence, anarchy and the problems with consumerism in a most fascist way. In other words, the movie became an instant cult classic!

Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club is a type of coming-of-age story about a traveling automotive recall agent (Edward Norton) who suffers from insomnia. In an attempt to find balance in his life, he attends various self-help seminars and support groups, including support groups for various forms of cancer.

He admits to being an imposter, albeit to himself only. One night, he notices another imposter, Marla Singer (Helen Bonham Carter), whom he confronts to no avail. The two decide to divide the support groups among them to avoid running into each other again. However, Singer doesn’t keep her part of the deal and continues to attend every support group as before.

Meanwhile, on a flight home from a routine business trip, the narrator meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), who introduces himself as a soap salesman. The two exchange business cards. Our narrator then arrives home, only to find out that it had been destroyed by a fire. He meets Tyler at a bar and after a few drinks, the two engage in a fistfight in the parking lot.

The narrator moves into Tyler’s home, a dilapidated house in the grime of an industrial area. Together they create Project Mayhem, a militant, anti-corporate organization. And so ensues a 2-hour movie that dabbles between anarchist themes and our dependency on consumer products. which inspired one of the most memorable lines in film history:

“You are not your job, you’re not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You are not your ***** khakis. You are all singing, all dancing crap of the world.”

Fight Club’s Cultural Significance

Fight Club was one of the most talked about films of the 90s. The Times wrote: “It touched a nerve in the male psyche that was debated in newspapers across the world,” while other critics called it “irresponsible and appalling”.

What’s more, various news outlets reported unsolicited fight clubs in the wake of the film’s release. In California, members of the tech industry started their own “Gentlemen’s Fight Club”. Even students at Princeton University started their own club, while others emulated “Project Mayhem” by detonating home-made bombs in public restaurants.

As a result of its critical reception, Fight Club was listed as one of the “50 Best Guy Movies of All- Time” by Men’s Journal. Also, in 2006 and 2008, Empire readers voted Fight Club as the 8th and 10th greatest film of all time, respectively.

Why Fight Club is one of the greatest films

The main theme in Fight Club, the desire to escape an otherwise pointless, boring life, resonates with many people not only troubled teenagers. For example, millions of people feel stuck in their day job and would relish the opportunity to break away from the 9 to 5 cycle. That’s where Fight Club comes in. Through cinematic brilliance, the film reminds us that we are in control of our own destinies, that, if we desired to, we could be free from our possessions, consumerism, politics and, most importantly, our own insecurities. In fact, many guys wish that they had a bit of Tyler Durden in them.

Did the film inspire competitive combat sports?

We’re not referring to those unsolicited fight clubs, no! We’re talking about mixed martial arts (MMA) and the global expansion of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and similar organizations. For those new to the MMA, it’s a full-contact combat sport that allows contestants to strike, grab, in standing positions and on the ground, using techniques from various combat styles and martial arts, including karate, kung fu, and kickboxing. In just a decade or so, MMA has developed from gruesome, primitive brawls to a $4 billion dollar enterprise with outlets all over the world.

As a result, sites like Bodog Fight was created, where customers could post bets on scheduled fights and tournaments. The website featured a variety of up-to-date MMA articles, news, videos, and betting odds. Although defunct, Bodog continues to offer casino games, such as slots, blackjack, roulette and poker as well as bets on local and international sports events, including combat sports, basketball, baseball, football and hockey. click this link to see more.

Fight Club 2

Could Fight Club return to the silver screen for another round? According to Radar Online, Brad Pitt allegedly begged Edward Norton to star in a Fight Club sequel but to no avail. Also, no plans to make a Fight Club sequel exist as far as we know. What we do know, however, is that Chuck Palahniuk has created comic book sequel to his acclaimed novel. The story is set 10 years later.

Unlike the novel, the comic book doesn’t delve on masculinity in the modern era but, instead, tells the story from Tyler Durden’s perspective from inside the subconscious of the narrator, now called Sebastian, who is still in a relationship with Marla Singer. Tyler Durden re-emerges to take readers down a slippery slope of chaotic happenings.

The comics were published by Dark Horse Comics and ran from May 2015 to March 2016.In total, ten issues of Fight Club 2 were published. Palahniuk has stated that he’s working on Fight Club 3, which will also be a comic book series.