Tag: reflection

Movie Review: A Reflection on Fight Club

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet2 Comments

Hello Readers!

I have debated on doing a reflection on Fight Club (1999) for a while now. I know I could analyze and critique hundreds of points in this film but have decided to do a small reflection on Tyler Durden’s Philosophy of Life for today. I found this short snippet labeled with this title (Philosophy of Life) on Youtube and thought it is the perfect slice from the movie to include with this post.

Youtube vid:

 

I want to address a handful of items that have stood out to me from watching Fight Club and reading the novel (published in 1996) by Chuck Palahniuk multiple of times over the years.

First,

Tyler’s Critique on Consumerism in America. In the youtube vid, Tyler comments on the evolution of man and how in modern society they have become consumers,

“We’re consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.” (rottentomaotoes.com)

Tyler also advocates, letting everything go and not fulfilling society’s standards for men. Ultimately he wants revolution,

” I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who have ever lived an entire generation pumping gas and waiting tables; or they’re slaves with white collars. Advertisements have them chasing cars and clothes, working jobs they hate so they can buy shit they don’t need. We are the middle children of history, with no purpose or place. We have no great war, or great depression. The great war is a spiritual war. The great depression is our lives. We were raised by television to believe that we’d be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars — but we won’t. And we’re learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed-off.” (rottentomatoes.com)

The social critique found throughout Fight Club is relevant especially now. We are walking advertisements, branding ourselves through our purchases of clothes, cars, and food. And the products that we buy which are made for pennies, costs us $$$$ just to own. For the middle and lower class, often working two or three jobs is necessary to survive but with the bombardment of messages that tell us ‘How to be Happy’ and How to have a ‘meaningful’ and ‘fulfilled’ life, we are left scrambling to keep up with others, buying products so that we can be perceived as ‘complete’ and ‘happy’.

“You’re not your job, you’re not how much money you have in bank, you’re not the car you drive, you’re not the contents of your wallet, you’re not your fucking khakis, you’re all-signing all-dancing crap of the world.” (rottentomatoes.com)

But what Tyler reveals (and what resounds with audiences even now) is that things don’t make people happy, working shit jobs don’t make people happy, doing what we love to do (what we’ve always wanted to do) makes us happy. This is evident in Tyler’s threat to the convenience store clerk (gun to the back to his head) “What did you want to be?!” (Movie: Fight Club 1999)

Tyler pushes men and the audience to reflect on their lives. We are what society makes us and for most of us we accept this regardless of how miserable it makes us.

Now this is only one aspect of Tyler’s seemingly evolving philosophy which eventually leads to acts of Terrorism that (pre-9/11) are intriguing acts on their own. Tyler wants to dismantle the corrupted society of modern man and free the oppressed.

In these messages, the novel and film have become a legend and cultural icons for the working class and men. Tyler Durden as a character has become a mythical figure that inspires revolution and freedom of thought in the oppressed modern society. He asks us to question our lives, what we value and our roles in society. He asks us to FIGHT BACK.

Tyler has become more than a literary presence but an ideology that has spread across the world inspiring men and women to act, and create their own ‘Fight Clubs’ (real or in other forms). This creation, Fight Club, is a remarkable achievement for Chuck Palahniuk and still inspires readers (and watchers) today.

 

There is also the discussion that Fight Club (film and novel) is for specifically male audiences. As a woman, I agree only partially with this discussion since almost everything I love is labeled ‘masculine’ by culture that I love. I can see the critique on the male role in society, I see comments on ‘hyper masculinity’ and what it means to ‘be a man’. I can see ties to the struggle of self under the pressure of society (in regards to men) and I can see that the only female role: Marla Singer represents the ‘hitting bottom’ female counterpart to Tyler (give her credit, she ‘hit-bottom’ way before Tyler and lives in it).

As a woman appreciating the film and text of Fight Club, I take away the social critique and acknowledgement of male roles in society, the grittiness (and violence, love that too!) and deep resonance with the aching modern soul that is so perfectly articulated in this legendary story. I would never advocate to change Fight Club for female viewers but I would argue against people that say Fight Club is ONLY for men.

This is only a small reflection, and I labeled it appropriately ‘PART #1’ for a reason. I want to expand more on Fight Club and plan to add more to my discussion sometime this weekend.

 

other sources: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fight_club/quotes/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/?ref_=nv_sr_2

 

If you are reading this, Thank You for taking time out of your day to read my writing and I hope you return in the future!

-Alina

 

PLEASE LEAVE ANY RESPONSES OR SUGGESTIONS BELOW IN THE COMMENTS!

Announcement: Working on Movie Review for T2

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

In response to my first post Returning to Trainspotting: The Release of T2 I am working on a reflection of T2 which I did go and see a couple days ago. All I can say right now is, heart-wrenching. 

I hope to have the reflection polished, done and posted within the next few days. It will appear on my homepage and under the tab ‘Film, Music, Art’.

Thank you!

-Alina

P.S. On a side note, I am also working on another reflection in response to a suggestion given by a follower, “...phenomenology and its effect on how we treat the body in poetry“. THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTION tmbenjamin10 !!!

Nine Inch Nails: Soundtrack to a Life I’ve Never Lived

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet4 Comments

Among the countless bands that I listen to there is not a single one that can compare to Nine Inch Nails. Founded by Trent Reznor in the late 1980’s (wiki) who has outlasted so many of his contemporaries. NIN (latter ‘N’ should be reversed) and other bands/projects by/with Reznor have a heart of their own, beating with the electric pulse of the modern world. Reznor has gone beyond as a musician, artist and composer. His unique style and technique in the production of music is like no other. From the raw hell of Pretty Hate Machine to the echoing screams of Not the Actual Events (nin.com) the works of NIN/Reznor are unmatched.

I can’t remember the first moment I heard NIN  but I feel like they must’ve been playing in the background for a good part of my childhood. My parents and relatives were always listening to music and between my Aunt, Uncle, and my Father I was exposed to a variety of music from the 1980’s on.

In High School I became deeply obsessed with bands like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Tool. I would spend hours looking through my Father’s CD collection, picking out random ones and popping them into my portable disk player. There was a huge range of music that I was exposed to thanks to my Father’s open mindedness and I credit my ability to explore and reference music to these days.

Every month I revisit multiple NIN albums and find myself re-exploring familiar territory but discovering something new every time.  I love it all to death and back but always pick up Pretty Hate Machine (spinning it on vinyl, nothing can compare), Ghosts I-IV, Hesitation Marks, and The Downward Spiral (nin.com). Usually I climb back and forth between these albums and others but always return to the brutal hearts of these four albums.

I immerse myself into the music, usually taking time out of my day to just sit down and listen to a record or a handful of songs at a time, trying to pick out parts and pieces. The words within the exploding lyrics that still echo in my mind after all these years haunt me and now I realize that these words inspired me early on to write. The time I take to do this is priceless and I feel that it is ultimately therapeutic. Next to Art and Writing, Music is as crucial part of my life that has contributed to a large collage soundtrack of memorable, horrible, dark, and wonderful moments of my life; not only echoing or playing in the background but expressing my life on a deeper level; emotionally audible.

The magnetic pull back to NIN and Reznor’s music keeps me going. Maybe I am responding to the rawness of it all, the anguish, pain and isolation that is expressed within the music. Maybe it is the tone and technique that feels like a synthetic world and an old world are colliding. Maybe it is the exploration of the digital and technological paired with the struggle of a self reflective mind and animal instincts that still possess humankind. Maybe it is the fresh wound made from living in this world that will never heal. Maybe NIN is the soundtrack to a life I’ve never lived.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Inch_Nails, http://www.nin.com/

If you’re reading this, Thank You for taking time out of your day to read my writing! I hope you return in the future!

-Alina

Reflection: Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Discussion: Returning to Trainspotting with the Release of T2

Alina H. Hansen Writer & Poet

Trainspotting Poster

(photo source: imdb.com)

Trainspotting directed by Danny Boyle came out in 1996. I was just a toddler when it was released but first saw it in my teens. It was accompanied with a slew of movies that were deemed ‘classic’ by my friends and family which included  A Clockwork Orange (1971), SLC Punk (1998) and Fight Club (1999) among others.

I remember watching Trainspotting, being disgusted and slightly horrified but intrigued by its appearance and dialogue. It would later become one of my favorite movies and I would watch it over and over again, collect Irvine Welsh books (writer of the original story)  and hang a poster up on my wall. I found myself coming back to Trainspotting periodically, attracted by its message, its grittiness and the magnetic pull it had on me.

Recently I’ve become aware that I admire things from past generations (big surprise, so does everyone else) but specifically movies and music from twenty years ago (just like everyone else my age). For me my love of this era came from my parents and relatives, they did good in letting me listen to the hundreds of CD’s they had collected and watching their favorite movies with them. I grew to admire these things not from forced exposure but from my sponge like ability to absorb and process everything I came across.

So can I relate to Trainspotting ?

Since I am twenty years younger than the generation that it was intended for, I am left out and find myself admiring from a ‘time’ related distance. But I feel like our generations are two stages of the same evolution. Youth adapting to technological advances, to drugs, crime and money (or lack thereof) due to city life and the decay that can be seen within society and the world.

The basic instincts of youth are still there. “I want to be somebody, I want money, I want satisfaction.” Mix in the addictive life associated with my generation (instant satisfaction and a life broadcasted on social media) there is a bridge between time and a connection is found.

I cannot speak for my entire generation and I am not attempting to either.

But it is my own perception (and others) that we are an addicted generation (obsessed with superficiality and technology) that we differ in degrees of extremes (we may want to fix the world and make change or make money and become famous). Maybe it has always been like this? (Yes) But it feels like because of the technology available to younger and younger generations our lives are being drastically changed at supersonic speeds. We are overloaded with information, addicted and obsessed, we are connected to millions of people through technology and exposed to them at the same time.

Blah, blah, blah. This may not make any sense. I may be rambling off into the distance and I know that if I were to back up my claim that Trainspotting is relatable for my generation because we are dealing with the same pain and decay as the characters were twenty years ago, I would need some actual evidence and research.

But this section on my blog is specifically for reflection and simple analysis. (Or I guess my horrendous ramblings!)

To put it short,

Trainspotting is an important influence on my life (creatively and personally) as a writer and artist I’ve found it and similar works to be priceless. Trainspotting helps to inspire, to expand the mind and delve deep into the darkest parts of the heart and soul.

So I plan on seeing T2 soon.

I am thrilled, hopeful and scared to see it. I cannot wait to find out just how much it’ll add up, if not, hopefully contribute to Trainspotting.

I may post a response to T2 and this post after I see it. If I decide to, it will be posted in about two weeks.

Comments are welcomed below. If you have thoughts, experiences or more to add on my brief reflection please do so.

If you are reading this, Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my writing. I hope you return in the future!

Thank you!

-Alina