David Finchers 'Fight Club' is a polysemic text and can be approached in more than one way to create meaning, whether this be by the cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound or characters performance. Certain approaches are more useful than others, one approach often used when decoding Fight Club is the Crisis of Masculinity. The approach Crisis of Masculinity suggests that men in todays society are becoming more feminised due to the lifestyle they have chosen. The approach also suggests that we live in a female-dominated world and this is the reason for the femininity of males.
During the scene in which the narrator first goes to the Self Help Groups, framing and the mise-en-scene is important, as in the background of the shot is a basket ball hoop, showing the audience the Self Help Groups are being held in a basketball gym. This was seen quite ironic, as basketball gyms are usually used for sports and manly activities, but instead is being used for a group of men to talk to one and other about their problems, hug and cry with each other. This emphasises the emasculation, also with the pure fact that the men in the discussion all have testicular cancer, resulting in no testicles and a lack of masculinity. As all the men find partners to discuss their problems, the narrator comes across 'Bob'. He states he has 'bitch tits' and goes on to tell the audience in a voice over that he has had his testicles removed due to cancer, and his body wasn't producing enough testosterone and more estrogen, he then grew a pair of breasts and his wife left him. Bob is a perfect example of the crisis portrayed in the film as he has no testicles or wife/children. This helped me gain a deeper understanding of the film as males are literally being turned into women and they can't do anything about it. Fincher even played around with Bobs name and made it humorous as it is just one letter off being 'boob'. The narrator struggles to cry, it is only when Bob hugs him and is placed within Bobs boobs he starts to feel emotional and lets out a weep, implying that men need woman to be able to cry and become emotional, once again showing the lack of masculinity. As the narrator walks out the room and down the street, non-diegetic music accompanies the scene, it is very bland, and almost sounds like elevator music, it isn't very masculine, and once again shows the emasculation within the males in the film.
Throughout the film, there are numerous homosexual references. During the scene in which numerous males, including Tyler and the narrator, go down into the basement for the first ever Fight Club, close ups are shown of the men taking off their wedding rings. This a subtle reference to homosexuality and leaving their wives behind. Another subtle reference to homosexuality within the scene is where Tyler explains the rules of Fight Club. "The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club" which may be implying not coming out of the closet and admitting you're gay. Tyler also says 'if a player taps out, goes limp, the fight is over', the words 'go limp' have been selected carefully to refer to a mans penis during sexual intercourse, referring once again to homosexuality and a lack of masculinity.
Another critical approach used when watching Fight Club to develop deeper meaning is Post Modernism. Fight Club is considered a post modern text, it involves things such as intertexuality, homage and hybridity. Multiple scenes in which the house where Tyler lives are shot and framed in a similar way to the house in Psycho. It is in fact the same house used, an example of intertexuality and homage. During the scene in which Project Mayhem had the members of parliament on the floor in the toilet and there is a point of view shot showing Tyler from a disoriented angle. This mimics the rape scene from A Clockwork Orange, another example of intertexuality. Another example of intertexuality is the scene where Tyler enter Marlas room and finds a sex toy on the table, mirroring A Clockwork Orange once again. Many would consider Fight Club a drama, however, it contains multiple conventions of the Noir genre, with things such as the voice over, a sinister and emotionally damaged protagonist, the constant low key lighting and Marla acting and being portrayed slightly as a Femme Fatale. Taking the critical approach that Fight Club is a post modern film is very useful in finding meaning, it is a suggestion of how society is moving, it is no longer moving forward but is just moving in circles picking up parts of the past to mix into a new, society is just a copy of a copy of a copy, which the narrator actually says within the film.
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