Hi steemian, this is the second entry for a series of blog about something that I really love: Movies. The idea is simple. I will write about movies that left a deep emotional impact for me. It’s not a review, nor critics, just a personal sharing about what happened, or thoughts and feels after I watched the movie. It will be a short series though. And most of the movies are coming from the 90s and early 2000s decade.
For this entry, I’m gonna talk about “Fight Club”.
When Fight Club was released, I didn't watch it in the movie theater. I watched it on VCD (DVD was not popular back then). I remember that year was one of the lowest points for cinema in Indonesia. There were many factors in it. We were hit by the biggest monetary crisis, our political climate was uncertain, many many people were losing their job, the inflation rate was crazy...
We were just recovered from a national crisis, where the news was full of stories about riot and mayhem. We lived far from Jakarta--the capital city, and we saw all the bad things happened on our TV news; the fire, the clash, the massive demonstration...
This was what we saw on the news on 1998 (image source)
This was what we saw on the news on 1998.. sort of... (view video)
During those bad times, I was hoping for some kind of inspiration. That was the time when I saw this movie title at a Video rental. It showed two actors name: Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Oh yeah, Brad Pitt was the man back then. All of his movies were brilliant! Same goes for Edward Norton. But Brad Pitt was more popular, because, well, that was the era of Jennifer Anniston too, and “Friends” was aired every Saturday on national TV...
I had this strange habit about movies: I didn't bother to dig up about who's the director. I only care about the characters, the actors, the story, and the memorable quotes or scenes. So, even though I've watched "Se7en", I can only remember that Brad Pitt was good on that movie. I didn't know that Fight Club was directed by the same talented director, the one & only David Fincher. Later on, I began to understand the style of Fincher's direction, his love of dark tone, and I become a fan (well, of course).
The thing about Fight Club: Tyler Durden.
The macho man (image source)
My god, Tyler Durden, he was really da bomb! The way he dressed, the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he thinks, that was a true definition of macho. His ideas were so cool and made a lot of senses. He was speaking the truth, he was so real. A flamboyant anarchist, a nihilist, bohemian, modern gypsy. Give him any clothes to wear and he will make it cool. I couldn’t imagine myself wearing such fancy jacket without looking like a total douchebag. I would need some pieces of Tyler Durden great charisma.
Hell, let's cut the shit and start to beat each other, mano a mano, with these strict rules: The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: You DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB!
Boom! The idea of a fight club was really got me. I was only a teenager with teenage angst. Of course to solve a problem with fighting fist would seem so rational. This great guy taught us how to start a chaos, with soaps, turned it to bombs. Hit those capitalists sporadically! Can you imagine how this idea was so relatable for me after all of the news I saw on TV...
And The Narrator. My god Edward Norton! What a great actor!
The perfect narrator (image source)
I read Chuck Palahniuk novel years after I watched the movie, and IMHO, Edward Norton is really the perfect cast. Since the very first scene of the novel, the image of Edward Norton comes so vividly, damn, even I read the narration of the novel in the voice of Edward Norton. Lol.
Aside from the casts, I also loved the storytelling of this movie. When we learned that The Narrator is the same guy with Tyler Durden, the plot was crafted so well it becomes so satisfying in the end. And with the easter eggs here and there, most notably, where the characters Tyler Durden is shown in a blink of eyes since the very start, that was a good bonus.
I think this is a movie of a generation. It closed the 90’s era with a heavy punch. And I always believe that 90’s is the best times for pop culture. I once saw a Girl with Marla Singer tattoo on her arms.
Marla Singer tattoo, just an illustration (image source)
“Ah, so you’re a fan of Fight Club?” I asked.
“No, not really...” She answered.
“Whats with the Tattoo, then?”
“Ah, this... I saw her pics on Tumblr. She’s so cool, I like her fashion statement...”
Hmmm. Okay...
