Identity And Representation: The Mass-reproduction Of Masculinity In Contemporary Popular Culture

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David Fincher’s 1999 film “Fight Club” starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt is full of phallic symbols, masculine references and, of course, fighting. Beyond one’s belief (before seeing the film), the basis of the movie is not a fight between two mortal men, but a fight between one man and his seemingly immortal “friend.” When digging deeper into the movie, the main character becomes known as Jack (Ed Norton) and his “friend” becomes known as Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). Together, they begin Fight Club, an underground brutality therapy clinic. In this film, Jack is seen as the “everyday Joe” who has a fixation with Ikea products. Tyler is his masculine side; the persona he wishes to show others.
As a side note, author Jean Baudrillard (2J03 Courseware) bases his theories of simulation on the Simulacrum. The Simulacrum is “the phenomena which hides the fact that there is no longer any reality.1” Simulation plays a large role in the representation of masculinity in this film and it is shown in the ways of character development, masculine symbolism and in the plot itself. In the scene chosen for analysis, Jack has just found out his apartment exploded, leaving him with nowhere to stay. He then calls Tyler, and they go to the bar for a few drinks. This is the beginning of Fight Club; when Tyler asks Jack to hit him as hard as he can.
As mentioned earlier, the character of Tyler Durden is the ideal image of male masculinity in this film. After finishing the movie, the viewer sees that Durden is in fact a fictional representation of Jack’s masculine being, the person he would like to be seen as. Within the bar scene, Tyler is explaining to Jack how being perfect is not the way to live a fulfilling life. He states, “I say you’ll never be complete…I say stop being perfect…let’s evolve.” When viewing the movie for the first time, the audience sees this as a friend to another friend saying “l...