# Somebody please explain Fight Club to me... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291 "2000-10-09T17:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/1 "2000-10-09T17:59:32Z")
This movie really sucked. I couldn’t finish it. Please explain to me the point of it, and why everyone liked it so much. ---
**Author:** ![Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Kilgore\_Trout\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilgore_Trout_1)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/2 "2000-10-09T18:10:30Z")
i am not going to bother. i get carried away with fight club threads. i will just say this… try finishing a movie before you comment on it. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37147](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37147) ---
**Author:** ![conway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/3 "2000-10-09T18:12:44Z")
Take your pick: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=15132](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=15132) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=24906](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=24906) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=25339](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=25339) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=27096](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=27096) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37192](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37192) [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37147](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37147) ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/4 "2000-10-09T18:17:35Z")
we did this in another thread started by some one else who thought it sucked and couldn’t finish it. I thought it sucked but did finish. SPOILER ALERT: if you intend to see it despite my negative reviews, don’t read further. The Brad character IS the Ed Norton character. so, when they do flashbacks, you see Ed “fighting” himself when he starts fight club. Ed is horrified by what he sees the Brad character doing, and knows the only way to STOP Brad is to kill him (ie himself) BUT when he shoots himself (Ed) he only wounds himself (Ed) but actually kills Brad. Now, aren’t you glad you didn’t bother? Can I have those 2 hours of my life back??? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/5 "2000-10-09T18:29:01Z")
[Airplane!] First the Earth cooled. Then, the **dinosaurs** came![/Airplane!] ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/6 "2000-10-09T18:54:40Z")
Thanks for your responses. I see I didn’t wait long enough to decipher the movie. I don’t mind violent movies. I just couldn’t make sense of it. My son and husband didn’t like it either. (BTW, I normally watch movies all the way through, regardless if I like it or not, but the guys didn’t want to watch it and the movie was due back at the rental store.) But thanks for the links so that I could know what the movie was supposed to be about, more or less. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/7 "2000-10-09T23:39:38Z")
Mr. Cynical wrote: > [@](#): > > [Airplane!] > First the Earth cooled. Then, the **dinosaurs** came![/Airplane!] Tsk tsk tsk. Everyone knows that’s from _Airplane II: The Sequel_. ---
**Author:** ![LazarusLong42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@LazarusLong42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LazarusLong42)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/8 "2000-10-10T00:40:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Mr. Cynical wrote: > > > [@](#): > > > > [Airplane!] > > First the Earth cooled. Then, the **dinosaurs** came![/Airplane!] > > Tsk tsk tsk. Everyone knows that’s from _Airplane II: The Sequel_. \*\* Nope. It’s from the original “Airplane.” LL ---
**Author:** ![quasar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@quasar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quasar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/9 "2000-10-10T04:02:32Z")
It’s a deliberate steal of the basic premise from The Sixth Sense. Just replace Bruce Willis for Edward Norton and you should have a pretty good idea about what the movie is all about. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/10 "2000-10-10T04:50:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by quasar \* > **It’s a deliberate steal of the basic premise from The Sixth Sense. Just replace Bruce Willis for Edward Norton and you should have a pretty good idea about what the movie is all about.** No. Even if you want to make that argument, I’m pretty sure the _Fight Club_ novel predates the screenplay for _The Sixth Sense_ by a good year or two. Anyway, the two movies are nothing alike. If you want to compare one of them to something, it’s this: _The Sixth Sense_ is just a retelling of _12 Monkeys_, down to Bruce Willis realising he’s dead because of a kid. And, of course, I must mention that _12 Monkeys_ is an adaptation of the 1950s French short, _La Jetée_. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/11 "2000-10-10T04:53:21Z")
Anyway, to answer the OP, who may be too lazy to look at all the links… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dolores Claiborne \* > \*\*This movie really sucked. I couldn’t finish it. Please explain to me the point of it, and why everyone liked it so much. \*\* The “point” of _Fight Club_ was to demonstrate the way modern American society has reduced the animal instinct that men need to survive. I don’t necessarily agree with that point, but I thought it was fairly obvious to see, even if you did stop watching before the end of the movie. Which, by the way, was your loss, since the final shot is worth the price of admission/rental/DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/12 "2000-10-10T05:11:28Z")
I sat through the whole movie, and I didn’t like it either. I wish movies would get back to the business of **entertainment** instead of trying to save the world. I thought _The Sixth Sense_ was way overrated, too. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/13 "2000-10-10T07:59:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Boscibo \* > **I sat through the whole movie, and I didn’t like it either. I wish movies would get back to the business of entertainment instead of trying to save the world.** Yes. True. I too am tired of all this rampant satire and social commentary. My god, every time I turn around there’s a movie with an original idea or a point. Mindless dreck can bearly find a place in the theaters these days. (anyway I thought Fight Club wanted to blow the world up…) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/14 "2000-10-10T08:13:36Z")
Personally, I loved it. Several times. I thought the dialouge was witty and the acting was excellent. It was an original (read: not done 2 million times) idea that was well directed and very faithful to the source material. But that’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![quasar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@quasar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quasar)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/15 "2000-10-10T17:02:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Montfort \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by quasar \* > > **It’s a deliberate steal of the basic premise from The Sixth Sense. Just replace Bruce Willis for Edward Norton and you should have a pretty good idea about what the movie is all about.** > > No. Even if you want to make that argument, I’m pretty sure the _Fight Club_ novel predates the screenplay for _The Sixth Sense_ by a good year or two. > \*\* I stick with my initial comments: The Sixth Sense and The Fight Club’s premises are the same: main character has a distorted perception of his own reality. Coincidentally, both come to grips with that flawed interpretation of reality at the climatic finale of their respective movies. On another note, it is interesting to know that the Sixth Sense was the movie doing the rip-off and not the other way around–as I had assumed based on their release dates. You have now forced me to reformulate my initial assertion: What is The Sixth Sense? It’s a deliberate steal of the basic premise from The Fight Club. Just replace Edward Norton for Bruce Willis and you should have a pretty good idea of what the movie is all about. I feel better now. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/16 "2000-10-10T20:13:20Z")
quasar, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!? These two movies, other than the vehicle used to deliver their respective climaxes, are NOTHING alike. Entirely different plots, entirely different characters, entirely different directions, entirely different atmosphere, entirely different movies. Okay, they both use similar plot twist techniques at the end. This does NOT make them identical movies. ---
**Author:** ![headshok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@headshok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/headshok)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/17 "2000-10-10T21:24:31Z")
I absolutely loved _Fight Club_. It was by turns funny, revolting, and thought-provoking. It really expressed the sense of alienation and detached rage that alot of people my age (or at least the ones that I hang out with) feel. I don’t know, maybe I need some new friends. 🙂 [Something Truly Disturbing] A buddy of mine frequents a local bar and mentioned the movie to the bartender one night. The bartender told him that he is a member of an underground fight club. He and some of his friends get together once a week and pummel each other, just like the movie.[/Something Truly Disturbing] BTW, I also loved _The Sixth Sense_. IMHO, Bruce Willis discovering he was dead was a vital part of the movie; I thought Edward Norton discovering he is actually Tyler Durden was a somewhat tortured and unnecessary plot device. Aside from the superficial comparison of the endings, I don’t think the movies are at all similar. ---
**Author:** ![seriousart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@seriousart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seriousart)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/18 "2000-10-10T22:06:41Z")
**The first rule of Fight Club is: YOU DO NOT POST ABOUT FIGHT CLUB.** Sorry, I’m sure that joke’s already been made in another thread. I too loved this movie. Great performances, unexpected plot twists. Very cool. And the 6th Sense comparison is just silly. Pure coincidence. By the same logic, may I point out that Star Wars was TOTALLY ripping off Sound Of Music? Both had actors… Both ended with the good guys winning… Come on, it’s so obvious. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/19 "2000-10-10T22:41:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kilgore Trout \* > \*\*i am not going to bother. i get carried away with fight club threads. > > \*\* Of course everyone knows that Ed Norton’s character is called Jack right? just kidding… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291/20 "2000-10-11T01:55:04Z")
I bought the DVD, based on glowing reviews from a couple of friends. I hated this movie. I thought the premise that men would get off by fighting to be stupid and wrong, and the whole split personality thing was a big joke. And the movie wasn’t even consistent within that framework. If Norton only wounded himself, why did Pitt die? I assume we’re supposed to believe some Freudian claptrap about how Norton couldn’t free himself until he was completely willing to die or something. But my wife works in a pysch ward, and she giggled through the whole thing. I’ve done lots of fighting (kickboxing), and it wasn’t exhilarating, especially if you got really hurt. It was just painful. I never knew a single person who had the type of reaction that the men in Fight Club UNANIMOUSLY had. It was just ridiculous. And the whole depression and despair thing was just WAY over done. I like movies with atmosphere, but don’t club me over the head with it, okay? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/somebody-please-explain-fight-club-to-me/36291.md?page=2)