Achievement Standard 3.4 Respond Critically to Oral or Visual Text

2. Achievement Standard 3.4Respond Critically to Oral or Visual Text David Fincher’s ‘Fight Club’ Lets go back to the beginning …

3. What does it mean to be a man? If If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"; If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

4. The Masculine ideal in Elizabethan England • Upper-class Elizabethan men in particular were expected to be very accomplished. The ideal Elizabethan gentleman was both an athlete, good at riding , hunting and fencing etc, and also well-educated and able to play music, write poetry, speak foreign languages etc.

5. Honour and the title of "Gentleman" were more valuable to them than life itself • Each man of noble or gentle birth is charged with maintaining his honor at all cost, for as Vincentio points out. "What is to defend your reputation. but so to hurt your enemye, as your selfe may escape free?" But why did the Elizabethan gentleman value honor and reputation so highly? There are a couple of important factors to consider. First we should note that gentlemen of quality were forbidden by custom from engaging in anything that might be considered "work". Their only socially acceptable ambition in life was to gain noble rank by winning the favor of their Soveriegn. Only a few out of hundreds of gentlemen in each generation would attain this ambition, so the competition was fierce. Dueling provided each gentleman with a means to demonstrate his skill and courage, prove his willingness to die for noble ideals, and dissuade anyone from disparraging his other virtues (including his good judgement or "taste").      Second. we should remember that the life being risked was already in peril . If you are fairly likely to die soon from plague or warfare, why not gamble your life on a chance for glory and honor? One Elizabethan observed, "For these and such like offenses the law can make no adequate retribution - in such a state life is a burden, which cannot be laid down or supported, till death either terminates his own existence or that of the despoiler of his peace and honor."

6. Masculinity – 1960s • Defying Their Fathers: Hippy Opposition to Straight Manhood • Digger men defined their differences from the generation of their fathers along multiple dimensions. When it came to the cultural politics of appearance, they shared a stance with other hippie men. For example, the Diggers defended the "freak flag"—long hair—with the same vigor (though not always the same tactics) as did other hip men. Harassment of long-haired men quickly became a ritual of straight male bonding. Reporter Clay Geerdes recorded one such incident in May 1969: • I recall a Be-in in Fresno at Roeding Park one Sunday afternoon. I was sitting near a group of young farm boys, all crewcut, a few wearing cowboy shirts and levis, engraved boots, and all drinking beer. A young man with shoulder-length hair walked by. "Hey lookadat. Isn't she cute? Hey, little girl, does yore mama know you're out?" Lots of laughs. The young man went on his way, paying no attention, on his own trip. One of the cowboys called out after him: "Hey, honey, how about gettin' in ya?" For the cowboys, longhair meant femininity and nothing else.6 8Hippie men responded to such challenges to their manliness in a variety of ways. Mystically oriented hippies usually responded with the same studied indifference practiced by the man in the vignette. In their writings, they took an almost purely Rousseauvian approach, defending their "natural" appearance as truly superior in terms evocative of the Noble Savage, whose return would mark the collapse of an unnatural way of life. "Clearly," wrote Geerdes, "the Tac[tical Squad] cop with his baton is the modern counterpart of the bone-wielding killer ape, while the longhaired hippy represents . . . a regression to an earlier, primitive level of development"—but one that promised "intellectually a progression into the future." Is this what a real Man looks like?

7. The McGlashan Man • Strength • McGlashan Men are Strong Independent individuals • They … • Know right from wrong • Stand up for what they believe • Work for the good of others • Practise courtesy and cooperation • Learn to enjoy solitude • Use their time wisely

8. Is this what a real man looks like?

9. Is this what a real man looks like?

10. Is this what a real man looks like?

11. Or This?

12. Or this??? A bit of writing - If McMurphy exemplifies manliness in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, how would Kesey Define masculinity? To what extent does that definition still fit the men of today?

14. Fight Club: Viewing • Goal: View the text thoughtfully, responsively and critically, engaging with the themes, purpose, characters and motifs. • 3 Lessons. Complete the viewing record as you watch. • Think!!!

15. Fight Club: Where to from here? • Goal: To have an overview of the narrator’s character, and begin to explore how narrative and production features help shape the viewers’ response to him. • Starter: What do you think is Fincher’s main purpose in directing ‘Fight Club?’ Aside from telling an entertaining story, what did he want to do? • The Big Question

16. Through Characterisation: Of the narrator The Big Question: How do the narrative and features Of ‘Fight Club’ help to provide social criticism

17. The Ford Pinto • So the Ford Pinto went on sale with dangerous design faults in the position of the fuel tank and nearby bolts, and the tendency for the fuel valve to leak in rollover accidents.  Design and production was rushed and cost of the vehicle kept down to sell it at $2000.  It sold well, until 1972 when four people died and one young boy was horrendously burned and disfigured; these are only a few of the incidents that resulted from the Pinto’s flaws, many more followed, costing Ford millions in compensation.  The cost-benefit analysis demonstrated an abuse of utilitarian principles, and the engineers were fully aware of the flaws, yet the company continued to sell the car as it was, without safety modifications.  They “weighed the risk of harm and the overall cost of avoiding it.” Leggett, (1999). • The government figure, mentioned earlier, was made up of 12 ‘societal components’ that included $10,000 for ‘victim’s pain and suffering’ and was meant to determine the cost to society for each estimated death.  Ford decided to predict or estimate 180 deaths, 180 serious burn injuries, 2100 vehicles lost, and calculated $49.5 million overall, a figure that would be a benefit to the company, if they put things right with the car.  The estimated cost of doing so came to $137 million, for 11 million vehicles at $11 dollars per tank and $11 per unit for other modifications.  So costs outweighed benefits and the value of human life was quantified as an economic commodity.

18. Character: The Narrator’s Journey • Viewing – stages in the • journey: • Insomniac, emotional leech, fighter • Questions: • The narrator’s life is full of material wealth and possessions. What is missing from this? • What does the narrator do for a living? What does this suggest about his attitude towards others? • Why does he go to support groups? Why does he ‘become addicted? What need is he trying to meet? • Why does he hate Marla so much – what does he recognise about himself when looking at her? • What does fighting offer him? How does it change him? Is this a change for the better?

19. Y S X SXY Paragraph Time: Either: Discuss how production features help in the characterisation or the narrator OR: Challenging Question: Evaluate the Effectiveness of the production features contribution to characterisation Production Techniques, Characterisation and Purpose Viewing – The Insomniac

20. Production Techniques, Characterisation and Purpose Viewing – The Insomniac

21. Points to consider • …. • The lighting – use of green filter, and predominance of artificial, florescent lighting create mood of sterility and blandness. This is further reinforced by the mis en scene – the colour scheme in particular which draws on a bland, neutral palette. • The CGI sequence which zooms out of the trash can, making the rubbish within appear like space debris, combines with the voice over –‘When deep space exploration ramps up, it will be the corporations that name everything: The Microsoft galaxy… planet Starbucks.’ This shows the wandering mind of the narrator – again reinforcing the emptiness and boredom inherent in his life. This is a product of his sickness – he is an insomniac because he has no meaning, purpose, sense of community or intimacy in his life. Moreover, the power of multinational corporations is established here – they wield so much influence in our vacuous society that they will be the names of new planets, as opposed to the Roman Gods, who our own solar systems planets are named after. • The shot/reverse shot editing, dialogue and camera angles are significant in the interaction between the narrator and his boss. Firstly power levels are established through the use of low and high angles, establishing the superiority of the boss. More significantly however, the business jargon and cliché that forms the dialogue, as the narrator asks, ‘You want me to deprioritise my current status updates and make these my primary action items?’ again help to present the theme of the emptiness of modern life – words are spoken but mean little, and those that have power do not have our respect. • As the narrator moves into his apartment, a striking visual sequence poignantly depicts how shallow his life is. CGI is used by Fincher to have his empty apartment fill with fashionable, chic furniture, and the text from the catalogue from which these were ordered appears on the screen. As this shot nears an end, the narrator walks through what appears to be an IKEA catalogue

22. One feature of the production of Fight Club which is telling in the characterization of the narrator is lighting. In the scenes Insomnia and Ikea Nesting Instinct, a green filter is use extensively. This is complemented by artificial, fluorescent lighting and a very sterile palette of colours to create an atmosphere that is bland, sterile and somewhat sickly – much like the narrator himself. ‘Jack’ evidently has no joy in his life – he is disconnected and ambivalent – in a sense he is a reflection of his environment, in that the atmosphere parallels his personality. Through his protagonist, Fincher is clearly criticizing society. He satirizes the empty values and begins to develop his thesis: we are living in an unnatural state – and it is making us physically and emotionally sick.

23. Fight Club Characterisation: Tyler Goal: To have an overview of Tyler’s character, and begin to explore how narrative and production features help shape the viewers’ response to him. Starter – who do you like best – Tyler or the narrator? Why? Viewing – let me tell you a bit about Tyler Durden. Keep a viewing record

24. Y S X SXY Paragraph Time: Either: Discuss how production features help in the characterisation of Tyler OR: Challenging Question: Evaluate the Effectiveness of the production features contribution to characterisation Production Techniques, Characterisation and Purpose Viewing – Tyler Durden

26. Tyler Durden – words of wisdom? • Viewing – The convienience store robbery – Tyler’s Plan, Tyler’s World View –Tyler says goodbye You had to give it to him – he had a plan. What does Tyler Want? WHY? What does he value? Why? • “No fear! No distractions! The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide!” • “I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let’s evolve, let the chips fall where they may.” • “It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” • “You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. “This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time.”

27. The Narrator ABCD C – Initially accepts the values of consumerism – defines himself as a consumer, tries to live an Ikea catalogue lifestyle Tyler Durden ABCD C – Rejects the values of consumerism and the quest to be complete Thinking Character and Contrast

28. Question How does Fincher use contrast in characterisation to help provide social criticism? • Thinking – Response to ‘Jack’ at the start • Response to Tyler at the start • Upwards progression and healing of ‘Jack’ • Downwards progression of ‘Jack’ • Change in response to Tyler

29. Fight Club: Theme – the emptiness of modern consumerism • Goal: To explore how Fincher presents this theme through dialogue, action and cinematography. • Starter: Copy and complete: • The stuff you own ends up owning …… • That was not just a bunch of stuff that was destroyed, that was my ….. (I’d like to thank the academy) • Working jobs we hate so we can buy s**t we don’t …. • It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do …..

30. Explosive Viewing • The Ikea catalogue still, No More condo, lament for a sofa • How does these scenes present the theme of the emptiness of modern consumerism? • Viewing – The Paper Street Soap Company Headquarters • Question: How do production features present contrasting settings? How does this in turn help present the theme of the emptiness of modern consumerism? (Hint – the respective settings symbolise the characters’ values

31. Fight Club: The search for meaning and purpose Goal: To analyse how Fincher explores this theme through ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Project Mayhem.’ Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off. Theme – search for meaning and purpose – Fight Club and project mayhem – WHY – what needs are being met? Links to breakdown in community

32. Finding Meaning Through Rejection The great irony of fight club and project mayhem Viewing – Tyler’s Army What do those who are a part of these two REJECT? What do they give up? What do they get in return? What is Fincher’s attitude towards this – His name was Robert Paulson How does this contribute to the director’s purpose? Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.

33. Shared SXY Paragraphs Time Explore how the theme of ‘The Search for Meaning and Purpose’ is presented in Fight Club, and how this helps the director to achieve his purpose. Remember – specific examples of production features. Can we use the word irony?

34. Shared SXY Paragraphs Time Explore how the theme of ‘The Search for Meaning and Purpose’ is presented in Fight Club, and how this helps the director to achieve his purpose. The search for meaning and purpose is, in part, presented through the use of dialogue and costume. While the men of Project Mayhem are searching for meaning and purpose one of the men, Bob is shot in the head. At this point a monotonous chant breaks out – ‘His name was Robert Poulson’ - by the shaven headed men, costumed in black uniforms. The vacuous manner in which this dialogue is delivered, and the fact that they willingly adopt a uniform which strips them of their individuality, suggests that the men have lost their sense of self, so desperate were they to become a part of something with some meaning. Through this, the director is providing sophisticated social criticism: Fincher is critical of the society into which these men opt; yet their need to become part of some sort of community arises from the profound flaws that are inherent within individualistic contemporary society

35. Fight Club - Symbolism • Goal: To explore how symbols are presented, and how they contribute to the director’s purpose. • Starter – what symbols can you remember from Cuckoo’s Nest??? • Can you think of any objects or acts that have a symbolic currency in Fight Club?

36. Symbols … • Viewing – ‘The fatta the lan’ • Objects – draw a quick sketch of the following: • Paper St Soap • The Fridge full of condiments and no food, • The burn scar on the narrator’s wrist.

37. Symbolic Actions • Viewing – Ricky was a God when … Symbolic Acts – draw a quick sketch of the following: • fight club in action ‘You weren’t alive anywhere like you were in fight club’ • project mayhem ‘pranks’ • And … brace yourself … castration

38. Symbolism’s significance Your group will be allocated one symbol You MUST answer at least two of the following: • How does it help present one of the key ideas in the film? • How does it add to the development of a character? • How does it help Fincher achieve his purpose? Essay Question: Symbolism is a significant element within film. Discuss the extent to which you agree with this.

39. Fight Club and the Corporate Devil • Goal: To broaden your understanding of Fincher’s social criticism, looking at the who’s at fault. • Starter: Planet Starbucks. What purpose does this short sequence have?

40. Anti-Corporation Consider how each of the following is critical of multi-national corporations: • ‘Planet Starbucks’ • The IKEA nesting instinct. • The narrator’s job and his ‘single-serving friend’s’ reaction. • Killing two birds with one stone.

41. The Ending • Close Viewing – Where is my mind … • Project Mayhem Triumphs, the evil credit card companies are destroyed – is this an uplifting ending?? • Question – How do production features at the ending emphasise Fincher’s criticism of the power of multi-nationals. You’ll have to think carefully about the intended audience response to this scene.

42. Fight Club - Conflict • Goal: To explore the external and internal conflict, and how these contribute to the director’s purpose • Starter: Definition – define external and internal conflict. • Mind Map set up – Internal and external conflicts

43. The irony of conflict within Fight Club One of the major conflicts that grows within the film is the apparent external conflict between the narrator and Tyler. After initially being ……….. by Tyler’s values and actions, the narrator becomes increasingly ……………… with what is happening as ……………. ………….. gains momentum. The great irony of the growing conflict is that the n………..e leads us to believe it is an …………. conflict, whereas it is in fact …………… as Tyler is a psychological p…….. of the narrator’s conflict with s……….. That comes to dominate and almost c…………. him.

44. The irony of conflict within Fight Club One of the major conflicts that grows within the film is the apparent external conflict between the narrator and Tyler. After initially being enamoured by Tyler’s values and actions, the narrator becomes increasingly uncomfortable with what is happening as Project Mayhem gains momentum. The great irony of the growing conflict is that the narrative leads us to believe it is an external conflict, whereas it is in fact internal as Tyler is a psychological projection of the narrator’s conflict with society that comes to dominate and almost consume him.

45. Viewing and note taking Two colours – one for the WHAT, one for the HOW (production features) • External Conflict – self vs society - Jacks smirking revenge

46. The Narrator’s internal conflict • Dragged Kicking and Screaming Key idea – the distinctive way that internal conflict presents in this film, is through the two distinct personalities – which come into conflict as their values diverge.

47. SXY Paragraph time • “Dramatic conflict lies at the heart of a film.” • To what extent do you agree with this view? • Respond to this question with close reference to one or more films you have studied. • DRAMATIC CONFLICT • Dramatic conflict is created when a character is prevented from getting something he or she wants. Action is the result of conflict: I want, I cannot have, therefore I act.

48. Essay Writing Master Class • Goal: To make substantial progress in your ability to express sophisticated ideas in essay form. • The question in question … • Symbolism is a significant element within film. Discuss the extent to which you agree with this. • Did you lie?

49. Self evaluation – • re-read your essay. • Below are a selection of comments made on your essays. Which apply to you? • A clearer sense of the genre is needed - achievable through more specific analysis of how the production features are used to emphasise the symbols. • Be clear about justifying what is a symbol - especially if it is an act, rather than an object. • Revise the rules of the academic voice - quite a few informal lapses here. • Social criticism is purpose - not theme - take care with the distinction. • You MUST refer to production techniques - specific camera shots, lighting techniques, the voice over, special effects etc - TWO distinct references are needed to achieve this standard • More of a sense of the director shaping the response of the viewer is needed - mention his name, use phrases such as 'Fincher employs … • More focus on some of the visual production features would be of benefit - the cinematography, lighting and mis en scene for example.

50. ‘No Achievement’ may be characterised by some of the following: •  weaknesses in organisation and / or stylistic / mechanical control • random and uncritical response – may be short and / or simplistic • insufficient knowledge of the text(s) • insufficient link with / to the question • reliance upon plot lack of references to, or detail from, the text(s) • some relevant points, but without much support for them • little personal response or appreciation • gratuitous off-loading of notes that fails to respond to the question • likely to be shorter than 400 words.