Nihilism and fight clunb

1. FIGHT CLUB
Why was the Fight Club initiated?
Mind-map or bullet point some ideas in your book.
Some questions to get you thinking:
• Why do the men fight?
• How does fighting help Jack deal with his feeling of emasculation?
• In contemporary society what are the attitudes morally towards fighting?
You have 5 minutes to complete this task.

2. Fight Club: Nihilism

3. LESSON OBJECTIVES
ALL will recognise that ‘Fight Club’ explores the theme of nihilism (D)
MOST will analyse how nihilism interlinks with the other themes already explored(C)
SOME will evaluate how Fincher uses nihilism in order to challenge issues of ‘the modern mans’
struggle in contemporary society (B/A)

4. CAPITALISM: THE EMASCULATED MAN
Last week we presented ideas about
how ‘Fight Club’ explores themes of
emasculation and the ‘modern mans’
rejection of capitalism.
All of you have now developed a sound
understanding that the men in ‘Fight
Club’ feel emasculated as a result of
late capitalism. What we now need to
do is explore how Fincher represents
the rejection of capitalism; how do the
men rebel against their feeling of
emasculation?

5. THE FIGHT CLUB
It was identified last week that in order to achieve an A grade in the exam, you need to ensure
that:
Arguments are developed with subtlety, showing a keen respect for the quality of evidence
and a natural scepticism.
You have all demonstrated that you understand how Jack is feeling and why. You now need to
explore Fincher’s depiction of the resolution.
• Why do you think the Fight Club was initiated?
• Why does the Fight Club lead to Project Mayhem?
The answers to these questions are not made clear in the film and therefore you
have an opportunity to develop your own argument here.

6. NIHILISM‘The belief that nothing has any value, especially that religious and moral principles have no
value’
-Oxford advanced learners dictionary
‘Complete rejection of the existence of human knowledge and values or denial of the possibility of
making any useful distinctions among things.’
-www.philiospohypages.com
‘nihilism represents an attitude of total skepticism regarding objective truth claims.’
-Stan Grenz
A total rejection of life
When we speak of rejection of life, we are not talking about a refusal to social norms such as
‘drugs are bad’ or ‘don't speed’ . We speak of nihilism as a complete dismissal of everything; from
the consequence of our actions to the way a colour may have a meaning. Everything thing that we
see, touch, smell, hold is irrelevant and thus nothing actually matters but freedom.
A world in which we have no morals; no objects; no ideological ideals; nothing at all.

7. • So how does nihilism relate to fight club?
• The main use of Nihilism is mainly used by David Fincher in order to display a
exaggerated hate for capitalism; the people brainwashed by the systems
ideology and the companies that have extreme power.
• Nihilism in Fight club is used as a motivator for the audience. Fincher displays
how when free of boundaries and morality we can choose to do whatever we
like.
• We will explore how nihilism is shown in fight club as well as how this feature
effects the audience.
Nihilism and Fight club

8. QUOTES
‘Fuck off with your sofa units and string green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being
perfect, I say let... lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may. ‘
Match themes with the quote.
Nihilism/ Capitalism
‘It's getting exciting now, two and one-half. Think of everything we've accomplished, man. Out these
windows, we will view the collapse of financial history. One step closer to economic equilibrium.’
Nihilism
‘Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need’
‘Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all
probability, he hates you. This is not the worst thing that can happen.’
Capitalism
Nihilism
‘If I did have a tumour, I'd name it Marla’ Masculinity
‘I am in a pretty lonely place. No one will have sex with me. I'm so close to the end, and all I want is to get
laid for the last time. I have pornographic movies in my apartment, and lubricants, and amyl nitrite... ‘
‘What do you do for a living? Why? So you can pretend like you're interested?’ Nihilism
Masculinity
Is Tyler my bad dream? Or am I Tyler's? Masculinity Nihilism

9. THE CHEMICAL BURN
“This is a chemical burn. It will hurt more than you've ever been burned before. You will
have a scar”
Tyler Durden: *slaps the Narrator, throws away goggles* Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility
that God does not like you, never wanted you, and in all probability, he HATES you. It's not the worst thing
that can happen.
Narrator: It isn't?
Tyler Durden: We don't NEED Him!
Narrator: *squirms* We don't - we don't - !
Tyler Durden: Fuck damnation, man! Fuck redemption! We're God's unwanted children, SO BE IT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg3m8wRVXWg

10. In the eyes of a nihilist, knowledge is experience we attain from our senses.
So that moral and theological claims are meaningless. In a number of ways these theories
And ideas are implanted into the film, Fight club slowly rejects the idea of capitalism and
Consumerism that people hold strongly in our culture. Morally we as a culture see violence
As bad. Pain, or other sensory experiences become the means to awaken to real life. In our
Scarification scene we see this; Tyler says “this is the most beautiful moment of your life, don't
Deal with it the way those dead people do.” which is another critique of the idea that our
Whole society is almost lifeless and conforming to the conventions.
Its this same scene that gives us possibly the most insight into the idea of nihilism in fight club
Many forms of nihilism are naturally paired with atheism. If there is no god there can be no
Moral absolutes. Tyler's monologue in the kitchen is a form of nihilism that is not atheistic, he
Accepts gods presence but chooses to see him as an enemy.
This is a chemical burn......

11. WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE TO A NIHILIST?
In the eyes of a nihilist, knowledge is not information we read from books, it is experience
we gain from our senses
OR
In the eyes of a nihilist, knowledge is information we read from books and our studies, it is
experience we gain from history

12. NIHILISM LITERALLY IS...
Complete morality and right and wrong depicts whether you have a good life.
OR
Nothingness.

13. IN THE EYES OF A NIHILIST THEY...
Love their hobbies of fishing and football and watching movies with their friends.
OR
See no point in living the moralistic life.

14. TO A NIHILIST THEY SEE RELIGION
THROUGH AN...
Atheists eyes? (deny strongly the existence of god)
OR
A devoted religous persons eyes?
OR
In some cases an agnostics eyes? (someone who doesnt fully deny the idea of god and

15. ‘Fight club’
‘When the fight was over, nothing was solved
but nothing mattered. Afterwards, we all felt
saved.’ Fight club was not used just to show
rejection of values but also as a way of
diminishing any responsibility and any
morality as ‘nothing mattered’ it was a pure
release from everything that they were
‘supposed’ to be.
(44 MINS)
The whole idea of ‘Fight club’ is to reject the notion of unacceptable behaviour. Violence in
society is unacceptable so when Tyler in his first introduction asks the narrator, Jack to
‘...hit me as hard as you can’ we experience nihilism, he rejects society values and norms.
Then a whole club develops on this notion of fighting. The popularity in fighting is further
evidence of refusal of rules. The ‘Fight club’ is also used as a divide from those people
that want to accept rule and morality ‘Most people, normal people, do just about anything
to avoid a fight’. Fincher here highlights how people are too scared to reject what's
dictated to them. If people cant reject a simple rule of fighting how could they ever reject
ideological ideals.

16. God & Morality
‘Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God? You
have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. Never wanted you, and in all probability
he hates you. this is not the worst thing that can happen. We don’t need him. Fuck damnation, man.
Fuck redemption. We are God’s unwanted children. So be it.’
The origin of morality is often pinpointed to god, so when we here Tyler reject god its the
Ultimate dismissal of morals. He even question if god himself is ethical by bailing on his
Children, is that the action of a god? A perfect individual? No, Fincher is implying if even god
had his own notion of rejection as he choose those that are unwanted. Tyler takes it further by
taking pride in being unwanted where as the majority of people have a desire to be required.
The whole statement is based around a rejection;
Rejection of origin; rejection of role models; rejection
of forgiveness; rejection or morality. Take pride in
rejecting the norm.

17. You have discovered the following:
-Quotes on Nihilism
-How fight club is evidence of nihilism
-God and morality
-Specific evidence
To conclude
Other areas to argue:
Tyler is nihilim. His character is not really real, a imaginary friend. Nihilism is
about rejecting what we deem real and normal.
-Project Mayhem is completely socially unacceptable as it breaks consistent laws,
then it goes on to demolish currency. Demolishing a whole sense of reality
-How nihilism can cross over. Tyler's speech on media images of rock stars
hilights where this aggression and rejection may come from. The same can be
said for the source of jacks frustration; the promised dream was one that
brought failed perfection.

18. IDENTIFYING THE THEME OF NIHILISM: THE
REJECTION OF THE DOMINANT

19. The underground Fight Club allows the men in the film to regain a sense of what they have lost. The ‘modern day man’ feels that they have
lost their significance, they work in jobs they don’t enjoy and ‘buy shit they don’t need’; fighting allows them to experience feeling in a
society where they are otherwise numb. It's painful, but the pain - unlike their job, their furniture, their whole life - is real and immediate.
The fight itself is all that concerns them - a few minutes of direct experience, not bought or sold, not analysed or mediated, but real pain,
authentic emotion. They feel emasculated and being violent makes them feel masculine, they can reveal their physical strength. They
blame the capitalist society in which they live for their loss of ‘feeling’. The underground fight club alleviates their ‘numbness’ and gives
them a feeling of liberation; they are breaking the rules, rejecting the ideal and they are resisting the dominant.
Fight Club, which develops into Project Mayhem both work together to represent Jack’s rejection of the capitalist society in which he lives;
his rejection of society turns him from being a consumerist into a nihilist. Project Mayhem, a modern example of nihilism exemplifies the
notion that happiness is found when one is able to acknowledge and operate according to their individual needs. Although the fighting goes
against normal moral values, it satisfies Jack’s appetite for purpose – that same purpose that social conventions stripped him of. His life is
vacuous and repetitive, and only by expressing his innate desires regardless of whether or not they are ‘socially acceptable’ can he break
this. Nihilism essentially deals with this notion of social deconstruction.
Fincher uses both the Fight Club and Project Mayhem in order to portray the men’s rejection of the social construct in which we live. In a
society where capitalism and consumerism is dominant these are the clear focus points for rebellion and rejection. The men in ‘Fight Club’
have a new found disbelief in everything they once believed in, they have realised that life isn’t perfect and are trying to find someone to
blame. Tyler Durden is a nihilist who preaches that morality is a socially-constructed myth, and a person’s individuality is only revealed by
the violation of social norms, however the films does in fact contradict this theory. As the men reject the moralistic views of society they
become more and more reliant on Tyler as their leader, and therefore their sense of individuality is lost once again.

20. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT?
In order to demonstrate your understanding choose a scene from ‘Fight Club’ and
critically analyse it in relation to nihilism.
You must write a paragraph to demonstrate understanding and ability.
‘How useful has a particular critical approach been in gaining a deeper
understanding and appreciation of your chosen scene?’
Remember in the assessment you will make reference to a number of the films
representations, but for now you are concentrating on the rejection of the
dominant - nihilism.
You have 10 minutes to complete this task.