An unusual reading of a movie that’s usually seen as a call to masculinity. Here the author focuses on the subversive role of the always hard-to-place Marla Singer. Marla “becomes Jack’s new power animal replacing the proletarian penguin that riddled his thoughts before. She has become the source of his power, the reserve from which he draws his healing energy, the eventual solution to his problems.” (Alex Bernhardt, “Fight Club’s Femininity,” 24 Frames Per Second, August 2003). Compelling argument, but a friendly note to Mr. Bernhardt: skip the disclaimer at the end.
Great angle! Who'd of thought you could get a feminist perspective from Fight Club? With the exception of the Derrida toned (there is no final reading of an author's work) finish, Alex Bernhart presents a convincing new twist on a fascinating flick.
Poor solitary Marla; sh's the only consequential female character in Fight Club. One (woman) against so many (men). What better way to backlight the feminist cause? One woman pit against an army (Tryler's troops) of men. All the time we thought Fight Club was a successful realization of Susan Faludi's 'Stiffed' premise: the failed promise of postwar (WWII) manhood. Thanks to Alex we see that it's actually a feminist pitch.
But wait! Maybe there's a better final reading of Fight Club. Why must it be a feminist/manhood tug-of-war? Instead, it might offer a viable solution to the age-old conflict: sharing. Before you laugh, think about it. The 'sharing' solution is actually proposed by Jack when he suggests to Marla that they split the week's worth of support group nights. Hey, even if men are from Mars, and women are from Venus, at least their orbits don't have to clash. Do they?
a fine article, but i don't find it unusual at all. clearly a large chunk of "jack's" problems revolve around his inability to cope with things feminine. that's why the masculine gets so overexaggerated in fight club. marla is clearly the factor which catalyses his neurosis and his inability to cope with everything she represents (and her femininity is a large part of that) causes EVERYTHING. palanhiuk himself says as much in the DVD commentary. kind of sad that it wasn't obvious anyway.