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Gender Studies
The central premise of gender studies is that gender is a socially constructed category that is not always aligned with biological sex. Gender traits are those that are deemed appropriate or acceptable by a culture or society. Discuss the presentation of masculinity in Fight Club. What traits are deemed ideal for males in the novel? What are the men in fight club searching for? What is the significance of this being "a generation of men raised by women" (50)?
The gender studies field is composed of a multi-disciplinary approach that tries to look at the roles genders play in cultures from different perspectives. Many area of interest in this field include perspectives such as in the fields of literature and language, history, political science, sociology, anthropology, cinema and media studies, human development, law, and medicine (The University of Chicago, N.d., p. 1). In the realm of literature, the book Fight Club represents one of the most cited and talked about fiction novels of the late twentieth century. The book contains many philosophical concepts that pertain to gender themes.
The book encompasses a broad range of themes however gender roles set the foundation for the entire plot. The gender roles of the characters in the plot are shown as nearly polar opposites in the beginning and then begin to evolve over time throughout the course of the novel. The novel contains graphic sex, violence, and strong gender roles that support the...
This analysis will look at the themes in the Fight Club plot from a gender studies perspective and see what literature cinematic representations of gender are expressed.
Jack, the narrator and main character in the novel, is portraying initially as pretty much being devoid of any real masculinity and exhibiting man feminine characteristics in the beginning of the book. He is prominently interested with the style of furniture in his apartment. The obsession with decorating in his apartment and the attention given the furniture would be most consistent with the stereotypical female in modern culture that is into consumerism. He is entirely non-violent and passive by nature as well. There is also an element of depression or discontent with the progression of his life that is related to the stereotype and feminine gender.
"You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you (Palahniuk, 2005, p. 44)."
Marla, the leading female character by contrast, is portrayed early on as more masculine. The characters first meet at a self-help group and are both irritated by the fact that they have learned to fill the…
Works Cited
Palahniuk, C. (2005). Fight Club W.W. Norton & Company.
The University of Chicago. (N.d.). About. Retrieved from CSGS: http://gendersexuality.uchicago.edu/about/
He is just as surreal as Palahniuk's Tyler Durden, and yet he is not freeing any hero from consumerist enslavement but -- on the other hand -- burying the reader behind a false and deluded masculine mythology -- namely, that a masculine hero is virile not because he "knows himself" and seeks virtue but because he knows how to drive fast cars, win at cards, be physically fit and
Fight Club The 1999 feature movie, Fight Club, directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton seemed as if the entire film was dedicated to the phenomenon of antisocial behavior. This exploration into the mind of an apparently normal man demonstrated the significance and the trials of an individual dealing with the pressures of society. The purpose of this essay is to explain antisocial behavior as it is
It is also important to note that major offenses within the fight club are punished through castration, as if to imply that the punished person is no longer a man and therefore no longer worthy of being part of the violent organization. The roles of women in Fight Club are extremely limited. Marla Singer is the only female character in the film. She shares qualities that are present in "Durden,"
Project Mayhem on the other hand focuses outwardly towards society, rather than the members of the organization. The secrecy of Project Mayhem has evolved to being a secret even from its own members, and particularly from the protagonist, suggested by its first and repeated rule "You do not ask questions." This also suggests that Project Mayhem is a far more sinister entity than its predecessor, in that the rules no
They lived in a derelict building with the other white males they recruited -- the army they recruited. They created their own world where everything was masculine and they plotted against the capitalists in order to redefine their masculinity. They continued to engage in violent acts which grew more and more destructive. Through these, they were able to gain back their power, the power they have lost through the
Fight Club" and the creation of a false urban masculinity in cinematic and real life One of the most interesting aspects of the narrative art is seen in the unpredictable ways in which individuals are apt to embrace filmic narration and cinematic narrative techniques and to transfer them into the narrative texture of their own lives. Also reflected in this phenomenon is the fact that viewers can develop ways of