Is Fight Club overrated?

[Zer]

"Fight Club is the White Man's Scarface" - Patrice O'Neal

Great quote

I like Fight Club a lot. I wouldn't call it a Top 10 GOAT or anything like that, but shit deserves a lot of praise IMO. Personally I've never run into anyone who was legit obsessed with that film. Although when it came out I was in boarding school and we started our own Fight Club. It only lasted like two days before we decided we needed a different way to explore our masculinity

 

[Halge]

I think it spoke to the everyday square guy who works a 9-5, and gave them fantasies of being an alpha male.
...
can someone tell me why this movie and Tyler Durden are canonized?

Because it spoke to the everyday square guy who works a 9-5.
You'd think there'd be tonnes of movies that do this, since 9-5 squares is the largest demographic, but I think the reality is that movies that do this are very rare.

Anyway the theme of Fight Club is absolutely brilliant, and hit the zeitgeist bullseye. One of the most important movies of the last 50 years, and more relevant today than when it came out.

"Fight Club is the White Man's Scarface" - Patrice O'Neal

Scarface is the white man's Scarface.

 

[Alphaboy]

Ive seen forums where people defended fight club to near insanity. There is nothing people can surprise me with in this thread. Like I said, I like the movie, but there absolutely is an incel fantasy nudged deep down. It is also a very "bro" film.

Oh, oh. Then maybe this wasn't the best thread to start. Lol... People get defensive over their Fight Club, I see.

 

[Alphaboy]

Scarface is the white man's Scarface.

I think he has a point. Black folks are obsessed with that movie over other demographics i.m.o. Aaron McGruder even jokes about it in Boondocks.

 

[Halge]

I think he has a point. Black folks are obsessed with that movie over other demographics i.m.o. Aaron McGruder even jokes about it in Boondocks.

Maybe they are. I'm from Europe, so I don't come into to contact with African Americans very much (except through media). Over here it's mostly arabs and movie buffs/hipsters on an 80's nostalgia trip that obsess over Scarface.

 

[revoltub]

Your painting with a very wide brush there. Yes there are some people that put more in the movie than is there, people have done the same thing with "boondock saints" "rick and morty" and even "Scarface" just to name a few. For which I think was a hilarious thing for Patrice O'Neal uses as a reference to take a dig at "white people", a movie so many black men take as the epitome of perfection is viewed as a complete joke by the Cuban American community other than for camp value. Pacino's poor attempt at a Cuban accent alone is cringeworthy. Hell I don't think there was one person of actual Cuban descent in a major role in the whole movie, not to mention its a remake with the original version being an Italian mafia type figure. Talk about a movie that spanned a broad spectrum of absurd levels of projectionism and insecurities, but O'Neal used it as the gold standard for coolness to put down white people with their poor copy.
Movies/shows like this delve into a deeper desire for men (regardless of skin color, religion or nationality) for purpose and commitment to a common goal. Hell it is half the recruitment material for groups like ISIS or pretty much any other recruiting group. Not the "fantasies of being an alpha male", if that is what you took from it, it speaks more to your needs and ambitions than that of the general public's' reaction/appreciation for the movie.

Or were you just offended to see a weenie at the end of the movie?

Boondock saints, good call. Similar kind of film as far as the fan base goes.

 

[lostdog000]

lil bit overrated

 

[Peteyandjia]

fantasies of being an alpha male

This is the opposite of the point. The story isn’t about becoming ‘alpha’ to control people, it is about letting go of one’s self entirely, giving up the very idea of control, in exchange for true freedom. It isn’t a story about hitting other people, it is a story about getting hit yourself. When Tyler sends the club out to the streets for their first assignment, it wasn’t ‘go kick some ass’, it was ‘you’re going to start a fight with a stranger, & you’re going to lose.’ Fight Club is not some simple story of a power-hungry ego, it is a far more nuanced story about the freedom-hungry destruction of ego.

 

[Alphaboy]

This is the opposite of the point. The story isn’t about becoming ‘alpha’ to control people, it is about letting go of one’s self entirely, giving up the very idea of control, in exchange for true freedom. It isn’t a story about hitting other people, it is a story about getting hit yourself. When Tyler sends the club out to the streets for their first assignment, it wasn’t ‘go kick some ass’, it was ‘you’re going to start a fight with a stranger, & you’re going to lose.’ Fight Club is not some simple story of a power-hungry ego, it is a far more nuanced story about the freedom-hungry destruction of ego.

Thanks for the clarification, I'm gonna give it another watch with this perspective in mind.

 

[revoltub]

This is the opposite of the point. The story isn’t about becoming ‘alpha’ to control people, it is about letting go of one’s self entirely, giving up the very idea of control, in exchange for true freedom. It isn’t a story about hitting other people, it is a story about getting hit yourself. When Tyler sends the club out to the streets for their first assignment, it wasn’t ‘go kick some ass’, it was ‘you’re going to start a fight with a stranger, & you’re going to lose.’ Fight Club is not some simple story of a power-hungry ego, it is a far more nuanced story about the freedom-hungry destruction of ego.

Come on man. I like the movie too but..

 

[Rygu]

The fighting scenes are extremely unrealistic compared to what they should be.

Still a decent move though.

 

[Peteyandjia]

Come on man. I like the movie too but.

Also just for the record, Crank is the compelling story of one man’s race against time to find meaning within the impending, oppressive restrictions of human mortality.

Don’t @ me

 

[revoltub]

 

[SMillard]

I agree. I think Tony's character was impulsive, too emotional, and irrational in his operations. Not sure why his character is idolized either, it was a fun character though!


I've seen him get accolades for his performance in that role.




That quote really bothered you that much, huh?




Now you're speculating, I never asked you to do that.



There was?! Now I gotta watch it again!

His character's traits aren't what get him criticized. I don't know where he's gotten the accolades, I know being down here in South Florida/Miami Cubans ridicule it. I had one girl I dated who was Venezuelan say that his accent and the couple times he speaks Spanish is the equivalent to fingernails on a chalkboard.

The quote bothers me in the sense that it reeks of hypocrisy and ignorance. Just thought I'd point that out.

as far as speculation, I could say the same about your statement. Different people took different things out of it. I've yet to meet a person that goes around with the "I wish I was Tyler Durden" attitude. If anything it may have sent some predominately white guys to take on a more minimalist lifestyle. It's funny that this movie comes up so often since I've often described my time when I played rugby to be best described as a combination of Fight Club and The Hangover, and not in a positive way.

I don't know how you could miss it, it was

 

[Fedorgasm]

It was a really good movie until the stupid twist ending.

 

[Alphaboy]

His character's traits aren't what get him criticized. I don't know where he's gotten the accolades, I know being down here in South Florida/Miami Cubans ridicule it. I had one girl I dated who was Venezuelan say that his accent and the couple times he speaks Spanish is the equivalent to fingernails on a chalkboard.

Could it be due to their different dialects? I don't speak Spanish so I wouldn't know, I just always hear he is praised for his accent. (Do any other Spanish speakers wanna chime in?)

The quote bothers me in the sense that it reeks of hypocrisy and ignorance. Just thought I'd point that out.

Meh, he made fun of 2 races in that quote so it isn't like he's picking on one, i.m.o.

I've yet to meet a person that goes around with the "I wish I was Tyler Durden" attitude.

There's some PUA that literally goes by that name. Lol

 

[SMillard]

Boondock saints, good call. Similar kind of film as far as the fan base goes.

I'd say Boondock Saints fits more into the criticisms the TS had. I didn't see the movie until after it was on cable and I almost didn't because of the number of douchebags running around trying act like hard ass Irish boys, not to mention within a few months after the really popular Dropkick Murphy album came out which only fanned the flames. Although I'm glad I did see it since Rocko reminded me so much of my roommate and the brothers did remind me of a few Irish guys I played rugby with.

 

[CoolB]

1st rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club.

What fight club?

 

[SMillard]

Could it be due to their different dialects? I don't speak Spanish so I wouldn't know, I just always hear he is praised for his accent. (Do any other Spanish speakers wanna chime in?)


Meh, he made fun of 2 races in that quote so it isn't like he's picking on one, i.m.o.




There's some PUA that literally goes by that name. Lol

It wasn't the dialect, I speak minimal Spanish but I can spot what a shitty Spanish accent it is. Oddly while the dialects vary the accents of various native Spanish speakers speaking English is pretty much the same. Also Cubans are some of the proudest people you'll ever meet, to the point of sometimes being arrogant about it. In fact a lot of Cubans look down on other Latins, sometimes it's pretty annoying.

I'm not so sure he was making fun of black people in that quote, the movie (at least down here) is a pretty big staple in the black community. If you come down to Miami you'll almost never find a Scarface poster in a Cuban or latin house except for maybe a teenager or a low class person. I've seen Scarface "posters" of all sorts in so many black people's houses. I quote "posters" because some are just a poster taped to a wall, others are framed movie posters and some even have gone all out with framed posters that have really nice ornamentation, almost always a bullet and some other stuff. I even saw one that had a little dime bag with white powder in it next to a 45 cal bullet.
I've never seen anyone white or otherwise have that kind of dedication to fight club.

I'm sure there are people that have used the name for online personas, hell used a variation of Kim Jong Un on one, doesn't mean I want to be that fat little turd. I just got off on getting under people's skin.

 

[SMillard]

[QUOTE="Zer, post: 144005671, member: 306181" we decided we needed a different way to explore our masculinity[/QUOTE]