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Aswad -> RE: Fight Club? (4/28/2007 5:57:57 AM)
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ORIGINAL: LadyEllen
Some interesting replies, thank you - though it seems a lot more gals are up for a scrap than guys LOL!
You think men have a feminine mold to break out of? Sheesh, women have been living in that mold for ages, no wonder some of them are more driven to break out of that mold than the men are. I'm really curious where the mold comes from, because I don't think it originated with women themselves, even if many of them reinforce it.
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My questions really amount to whether guys in particular, feel that they need an outlet for themselves in a suit and tie, repressed and sanitized world where they feel under rigid societal control?
I think we can sum the issue up in "outlet for themselves".
Society takes away individual sovereignty, control and the direct effort-result coupling, while giving comfortable illusions in return. Between norms, mores and laws, there isn't a whole lot of room left for oneself. And I don't think this is specific to men, in any way.
It's kind of, but not quite, related to what Paul Graham said in "What You Can't Say". You make a kind of space (the "fight club") where you can express parts of yourself that you can't express in the company of anyone but people of like mind; munches are another example of this. For some things, like those Graham mentions, one can make a mental space for it, although many fail to take the time to do so, but in some cases, you need a physical space, and sometimes even a physical outlet.
And in some cases, you may want to just "unleash" some primal aspect of yourself that can't be safely brought off that leash, but heck, we're all consenting adults and can make the risk-benefit arithmetic for ourselves, right?
Fighting, to take the example from the movie, doesn't really need to pose a large risk in order to be satisfying in that regard. And it brings pain to the table, something that most people in regular society carefully isolate themselves from and frame as something "bad" that shouldn't be part of their lives.
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And whether this outlet is rage and anger at their situations which might benefit from the catharsis depicted, of mutually agreed aggression?
Meditation. Catharsis. Outlet. Pick 0-3 of the above. [:D]
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And as shown later in the film, whether this catharsis might be derived from strong bonding on a tribal basis with a violent aim against others, with a charismatic leader as the unifying factor?
Actually, that's kind of where it starts going the wrong way, which is what causes him to confront himself and realize what is going on. It turned into just another machine, with the people reverting to oppressed sheep again. New flavour, different wrapping, but still the same shit.
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Whilst I can agree with a lot of the dialogue in the film about the state of society, and the overall moral of the story, I just dont see anything much agreeable about participation in the action.
Art is only meaningful in the context of the person experiencing the art. Everyone brings their own interpretation to the table, which is what gives it value, and part of what defines quality art, for some definition of art.
As for the action, it isn't about the surface; it's a somewhat absurd-ish example to give a canvas upon which to put the message, parts of which will be blanks that need to be filled in.
Think of it as a koan.
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