This reaction is already gold. "I swear, I saw a glitch!" "About that..." "Six months without sleep? He should have gone crazy!" "... Uh, about that." "Oh, he's going to have a nervous breakdown." "... About that..." "He's too crazy for me, but at least he's real!" "UH, ABOUT THAT..."
It's not about the violence. It's about feeling alive. He can't sleep but he's sleepwalking through life never feeling alive. He was a slave of his possessions and society's idea of a good life. He mentally invented Tyler because in him he could experience freedom. The fighting as he said wasn't about winning or losing. But to feel alive and let go of the frustrations we live with. To get rid of the anger of the pointlessness in being.
I agree. The point of existence is to face challenges and modern society has removed all that which has the potential to feel worthwhile. Without challenges people die inside unless they learn how to survive, even through illusions.
Great breakdown. I think the reason it was so popular is because a lot of people feel like this. I know I did as a young adult. Having kids seems to have shifted my focus a bit, but the rampant pointless consumerism of late stage capitalism is not a pretty sight. In the end everything comes down to perspective. What is totally crazy to some people is just another Tuesday to others. What is a totally pointless existence to some people is a wonderful, entertaining life to others. Tyler was just his brain's way of shifting perspective.
@@feelthebern7662 Chuck also called it a love story and a modern Great Catsby among other things but never what you claim, so you better learn to not speak for the author out of your ass simply because your lack of masculinity lol
The scene where Tyler's image shakes all over the place caused the editor to spend a day trying to fix what he thought was a filming error. He finally went to the director who told him it was filmed that way on purpose.
@@billbabcock1833 that sounds like bullshit. It would be the editor who cut and paste that image into the reel and not the director. Those 2 scenes where obviously filmed out of sequence and spliced by the editor. Also, pretty sure the director would have told him to leave the image in if he spliced it before hand. Finally, what editor works an entire day on a film over a spliced image??? Chop, chop, goodbye!
Re: the male testosterone fighting thing: There is something liberating about being in a fight. Once you get hit hard a few times, you realize that the pain and the fear of pain aren't anywhere near the level that your psyche makes the conscious mind believe. Your heart is racing. Dopamine levels are spiking, as the natural pain killers are not only reducing the physical pain but are essentially getting you stoned. There is a sense of release of anxiety. I'm not saying it's a good idea to go join an underground fighting club...but that is what the men were getting from it.
There is also the Gex X's identity crisis of masculinity. After second wave feminism, the concept of femininity had been redifined to include many things that were previously thought of as "non-feminine". While the concept of masculinity was challenged as well, no alternative was offered in its place (and some areas still haven't been successfully redefined), so many men were feeling lost: "I'm a 30 year old boy." Doing something so primal as to fight each other and exert their strength upon one another (following Nietzsche's Will to Power) reminded them what being a man feels like. This is echoed by the men with testicular cancer early in the movie, who kept chanting "we are men".
@@fredtello Well Dirt Rules: You thinking I haven't been in a fight based on my statement..makes you at minimum wrong, and very assumptive. Where I grew up, sometimes young men had to fight. You can choose to believe and type what you want. I think most reasonably intelligent people will understand and agree with my post.
@@fredtello You sound like you once got hit when you weren't expecting it and learned to fear the pain. In a real fight, pain exists, but it becomes more and more inconsequential the more you hit back. I took up kickboxing for 20 years because it was liberating to trade blows in the ring. That said, it's not for everybody, man or not.
"You can call a public phone?" Actually, for that phone in particular, you can't. It's one of many signs about the twist ending where there is a small text on the phone that says it does not accept incoming calls. Absolutely loved your reaction to this movie!
The book ends even scarier. He wakes up in the hospital, unable to move. When the nurse leaves, a janitor who was mopping the floors leans over to him and says "don't worry sir, everything is under control."
"Am I too woman to understand that?" You joke, but the answer is yeah, probably. Fighting for men is cathartic and fun. When done with the right mindset, it's a very healthy and productive form of male bonding.
@@Krusesensei It is, but it's pretty undeniably more of a male thing than a female thing. It's just a reality of the human species, we DO have some distinct differences between the genders. Of course there's going to be overlap one way or the other, but the general trend trends to be a certain way.
Men are taught from the beginning to not feel, when you shut that part of you down the only way to get it back is by extreme methods... even then, it only happens briefly. Friends and I would fight in parking lots, the warm feeling of the asphalt on your skin, the cool night air, the one thing I don't remember is when there was contact as I hit someone... but I have always remembered the look on their faces. When you hurt someone, you never forget.
To explain how fighting is therapeutic to some: Its a release of frustration for many people, and that release far outweighs the soreness and bruises. I had a friend like this, who during a couple tough times for him, I agreed to spar him. (mostly because I thought he might kill his roommate if he didn't let out his frustration, but that's a long story) I'm not a violent guy but even I found the release of frustration by hitting someone (even a friend) a bit cathartic. Now, I think there are definitely better ways to achieve catharsis, but it does work for many people. Its not logical. You're not solving anything. But that's not the point. You also questioned why people would go along and join the crazy cult Tyler was building. Its actually quite brilliant the things Tyler says to manipulate them. He identifies problems such as materialism and lack of purpose, which these people feel. He draws them in by identifying their problems. He makes them feel part of a group. He joins them together as comrades in the same struggle. Then he gives them solutions. Want purpose by fighting materialism? Well then go blow this up! His logic might not be perfect. In fact in many ways it is very flawed. But by then it doesn't matter. They're already sucked in. You might think this is a little extreme. Go compare Tyler's monologues with the speeches of politicians. Some of the similarities are scary. In truth, Tyler is just a top tier politician.
agreed. catharsis can come in many forms and it's something lots of people are absolutely starving for, so they will grab it any way they can. and i still have friends to this day that are enthralled by tyler's philosophies and think the movie is trying to paint him as some sort of hero figure. whooosh. your breakdown on how brilliant he is at manipulation is spot on.
I'm not sure that the comparison of Tyler and a politician is entirely correct. Politicians lie about pretty much everything, whereas I get the impression that Tyler believes in what he's saying and doing 100%. I don't know if you could even call what Tyler does manipulation as he doesn't seem to be trying to convince people, he's just spouting off all the things that he believes and a certain type of person is going to respond to those beliefs. He even does most of the things he gets the space monkeys to do, and I think the things he doesn't do you can chalk up more to the fact that a movie can only show so much rather than any unwillingness on Tyler's part. I'd say Tyler is much more like the leader of a religious cult that truly believes the cult doctrine. That's what makes him such a fascinating and dangerous character.
I think another part of it is that for generations, going as far back as ancient Greece and further, a great portion of people, especially men, have been conditioned to be warriors. Now we exist in an age where the qualities that were once strongly desired are strongly discouraged. You can't turn your back on hundreds of generations of conditioning and not expect a bit of blowback. As for it solving nothing... Well it does condition one from a soft wad of cookie dough into a fighter... But what is the ultimate point? As with most things: nothing.
@@feelthebern7662 Interpreting things differently does not mean that each interpretation is wrong. Why are you so fixated on toxic masculinity? What is your agenda? (rhetorical question, we already know it)
Duaffy is my favorite reactor. Mostly because I really enjoy and appreciate the fact that she really watches and tries to understand the movie. She is not obnoxiously loud, or detracting to the film; her responses and reactions are genuine. And we can all agree, she has the most infectious laughter 😄
You're not crazy, and it's not a glitch...it's a feature. It's a joke from later in the movie..single frames... It's an interesting movie to watch a second time knowing what you know about the ending and putting the pieces together. You really hit the nail on the head about the need for mental health, but there is also a message about the dangers of those that will take advantage of the suffering of others. "Fight Club" has an interesting true-life back-story. Cults are very scary things.
These mental health, but would they be treating the right cause? In the beginning, Tyler has a very unmasculine lifestyle and starts to come alive in the fight club, where men fight. Testosterone city. If he seeked mental health, would they have tried to find a way to channel that masculine nature or suppress it more?
@@cheeseburger12 exactly. Even if they were in the wrong they had a purpose and were happy, some of us just arent mean to live in this bland, vapid world. Our true selves only live in fantasy.
damn i didnt even think about putting that together, tyler is slowly getting in his head with the flashes of him and its also a reference to tylers film job. DAMN
Duaffy: "I don't like him but, at least he's real." (describing Tyler Durden)... oh this is gonna be a fun reaction video. lolz oh, btw, Edward Norton's character is only "the Narrator," or by the fake names he used at support groups. We never heard his name.
How can you (and the 35 people who liked this) have noted that comment and rememembered it so well, but failed to notice that it revealed she knew the twist ahead of time? The comment makes no sense and is unnatural to make unless referring to the twist.
@@DmanDmax No, I did get it. There is no way someone would say that in that spot. Her rush to cover it up and (over)explain what she actually meant by that btw is the clincher that she knew the twist. If she'd meant it that way and had no pre knowledge she wouldn't have explained it like that. Most people who comment on reaction channels seem to have an IQ of about 10.
@@georgial6398 I thought that was strange too. But I went back through the plot and things she said and I correlate it to her remembering the penguin dream-state so fondly even though it was clearly not real. So this new character is 'real' in comparison. The reaction as a whole does come across genuinely so I think it was coincidental.
@@georgial6398 i took her comment to mean at least Tyler was "being real" with what he said. He spoke from the heart about what he believed in, whether she agreed with him or not... he was real.
24:47 people actually survive gunshot wounds like this somewhat frequently and it's always in the act of a botched suicide attempt. I work in the ER and I used to work on ambulances. I've personally seen two of these, both times their lower jaw was blown off. Several were in our textbooks in paramedic school, so I was prepared to see it before seeing a real life patient who had done this to themselves. Shock sets in fairly quickly so both patients were very calm, almost in a dazed state and fully conscious. It's very surreal.
Yeah, a former trainer of mine was good friends with an ambulance driver and told two similar stories... One was an actual accident though, a motorbike driver who had sheared off half the side of his lower face and was actually _so_ in shock that he had gotten back on his bike and was driving towards the hospital. Luckily, he got stopped before he could pass out and cause another accident...
This movie was designed to be watched multiple times. It has layers; like an onion. Of course I have to use the indefinite article AN onion. Never...YOUR onion.
You also failed at rule number 2, but we'll forgive that. As for the catharsis of fighting...it can be a lot of fun as long as you and your opponent know and respect your limits. The titular club in this just took it to the extreme. Sparring was probably my favorite part of martial arts. It gets the adrenaline going, you get in this zone where the sense of self disappears and your body just reacts, and it's a test of ability against someone studying the same skills as you are. Kobudo (weapons studies) drills were immensely fun. We'd spar with rubber knives and count the black marks on our gi to see who cut one another more. I remember a time when a visiting teacher brought practice blades (bladed weapons deliberately made dull for practice purposes) to our dojo, and I ran drills with her using dual one-handed swords, and we got into such a rhythm, that our weapons sparked when they made contact with each other. We'd read and react to each other's movements; down on one knee, both knees, moving to a standing position, moving backward and forward as if we were dancing to the sound of steel on steel. The focus, speed, and coordination we had at that point felt so good, I could've gone on for hours. Good times. Sorry for the rambling. I miss my old class sometimes.
What an interesting view on these characters. Most people just think about how 90's nihilistically cool it all is. But you really took to the reality of the situation and how horrific it would all be to go through. I'm glad you watched this.
You can apply this on many movies. Watch Donnie Darko(spoiler!) again, and it looks like the built up of an excuse of something terrible Donnie would do (like a school shooting or something) just because nothing means shit. That way the movie has a very weird happy ending time travel suicide
I've read a couple of other books from the same author, "Choke" about a guy who pretends to choke in restaurants and lets people "save" him and then he lives off their charity. The other one is called "Insivible Monsters", it is one about a beautiful woman whose jaw is blown off by a shotgun, so she wears a scarf around her destroyed face, but with the scarf she looks beautiful.
I've read the ones listed here but "Rant" is my favorite. It's another mind-bender. The premise is pretty silly but it's full of interesting ideas and has a great twist. "Choke" was also made into a movie--worth watching if you're a Chuck fan. I'm a big fan of Palahniuk. He has a unique, distinctive, and very cool style. The ideas he's able to extrapolate from his extensive research are very creative. The actual plots are far-fetched, but that's fine. I just get annoyed by people who take the multiple-personality plot line of Fight Club seriously. This is by no means an accurate depiction of mental illness, but a plot device to explore the desire to be someone else. Nor is it plausible to believe every person who saves a choking victim will send him money and a card on his birthday (haha that's ridiculous!). End of MY rant.
@@BrianNIL Greatest Quote ever "The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create." Chuck changed some minds
Yes, you get it. It is meant to make you uncomfortable. A lot of women seem to assume that because the movie is predominantly liked and considered impactful by men, that they somehow want to be part of it and find pleasure in violence. That's not true. It is a reminder of how dangerous the road becomes once the downhill slide begins and how important it is to find meaning in your life before you lose faith. Men who find fulfilment in their work and respect withing their circles do not get drawn into such things. Tyler's job however was to rate tragedies by monetary value for big companies. Can't blame him for losing it. Of Marla, I always think of her as grace from the universe, a challenge, truthful and determined to save him. His failure became her failure. That she thought of him as the worst thing that ever happened to her was actually a clear confession of love.
I feel that this movie can be a catalyst. A way to perceive that if there is no purpose, no ultimate goal of life, than you either spiral down until you hit bottom (drugs and other additions, anxiety, etc), or you latch onto and follow a charismatic leader (sometimes family, sometimes work/corporate ladder, or sports, or religion, or someone like Tyler), or you develop confidence in yourself and establish your own purpose in life.
The guy with the 'man boobs' is Meatloaf - a rock star of the 70's & 80's and was also in "Rocky Horror Picture Show' - a classic movie that is a cult legend. While it seems to be getting better more recently, people with mental health issues often get looked down upon here in the U.S.
Hi, Duaffy! So when this came out in 1999, there was a growing discontent among some Americans over the so called "American dream" during the Clinton Administration of having a good career, nice house, etc. "Fight Club" was a bold rebuffment of that ideology. "American Beauty" also reflects these ideas, but in a much less violent way. You should look at "American Beauty", too.
That may have occurred during the Clinton administration, but it could’ve been any president. Having a good career & nice house has been the ‘American Dream’ since the early 1920’s. Been a lot of presidents during that time & it hasn’t really changed to this day.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 True, but the nineties were particularly relevant, as America was not involved in any wars during that time (after Gulf War was over), the economy had a surplus for a change, and Americans had plenty of money but little to do with all their leisure time As a result, some of them got bored and even resentful against the prosperity. "Fight Club" was but a whisper of a much larger and uglier sentiment festering in a very large section of the population.
We watched Fight Club and American Beauty during an Intro to Existentialist Philosophy class in college. We watched a few others, too, but those were the best ones.
Because the theme of discontent couldn't possible come from any other decade? Go watch The Graduate" or any number of 100 movies from many decades with the same premise. Heck, even The Great Gatsby.
FX lead was Rob Bottin who also did RoboCop, Se7en and Total Recall, he studied under Rick Baker who's most known for leading the Star Wars FX team and changing the way FX are done, they worked together on the 1976 remake of King Kong. Rob also led the FX team that included Stanley Winston on The Thing. Stan worked on The Terminator, Edward Scissorhands, Predator, won an Academy Award for Aliens and designed the Wookie costumes for the Star Wars Christmas Special. All 3 of them were inspired by the late, great Ray Harryhausen. The guys in charge of the special effects are the unsung heroes of cinema and most people don't even know their names so I figured I'd ramble on with a few Fun Facts.
First time I watched this movie was at about 4AM when I was constantly having Insomnia and I would rent movies to kill the time. You can't imagine the reaction I had. One of my top 10 favorites. I loved this reaction
I love that you kept seeing flashes of Tyler Durden and you couldn’t figure out if it was a glitch in the movie or were you were going crazy. Also The punch in the ear was 100% real.
The mantra: You are the same decaying matter as everyone else...!" I use in my life to maintain a sort of Zen mentally. This movie seriously helped me and prob alot of men in the 90's that couldn't or DIDNT have a name for what we were feeling then....we're or I am okay now....as good as I can be anyway...heh Duaffy ur awesome.....heh
I feel the same. This was a movie I idolized when younger, and in some ways it still has a lot of points I agree with, but as I aged it was interesting to see how my perspective of the characters in the movie changed as well, and how they had a part into who I am today. I can certainly empathize with feeling lost and aimless in an ultimately pointless life. I can empathize with being frustrated and angry at the world and those that try to manipulate me, and a desire to fight against it. But I'm glad we live in an age where tolerance seems to be more and more acceptable, where even if we're not all really special and unique, we also kind of are. And even if we are the same decaying matter as everyone else, the whole universe is an exercise in entropy, at least I'm a conscious observer and participant of it.
Great reaction. I'm glad you understood the movie as it is very confusing at times. I've never seen anyone react and get it like you. You're awesome. Keep it up.
7:13 You can absolutely call a pay phone. As for the "member" being cut off and thrown out the window, that unfortunately happened to John Wayne Bobbit. It was a big news story in the late 90s.
I absolutely love Helena Bonham Carter in this movie. From the moment she walks in and asks "This is cancer, right?" This may be my favourite of her performances which is saying something.
Video: “maybe because I’m a woman I don’t understand this” Umm…yup. That’s it exactly because every single man who watches this movie gets it 100%. Because every single man is both Tyler Dursen and Edward Norton. Society makes us be like Edward Norton but deep down inside every guy is Tyler Durden. EVERY guy you have ever known deep down inside is Tyler Durden.
It’s been theorized that the Narrator’s name is Jack from the whole “I am Jack’s” sayings Some other hints about Tyler’s true nature besides the quick flashes you noticed and thought were glitches: •There’s a promotional video on a hotel tv with a group of hotel employees saying welcome. The one in the middle is Tyler. •When Lou punches Tyler, you can see Jack lower his head as if he felt it •When Jack beats himself, he says he was reminded of his first fight with Tyler. •And when they crash and the car is flipped upside down, Tyler comes out of the passenger side and pulls Jack out of the driver side I’ve also wondered what the space monkeys (cult members) were thinking when they were in the car. They clearly heard things from both sides, they both looked at each other when Tyler said he blew up the condo. I think about this all the time. He shot himself through the cheek The author of the original book wrote two comic book sequels. Tyler comes back. In interesting ways
For this movie, there are always more hints. Like, how the volume seems lowered at work after Fight Club starts, when his boss is talking to him? Where did he first hit himself? The ear.
At the end of the sex scene originally Marla said "I want to have your abortion". But that crossed the line for one of the producers and he wanted it replaced. David Fincher didn't want to do that and only agreed to it on the condition that whatever he replaced it with would stay in the movie. That's where the line "I haven't been ****** like that since grade school" came from. The producer then wanted the original line back but Fincher refused. A pity that one didn't end up in your edit.
I enjoyed your reaction to this movie very much. I was a little concerned, knowing you from other reactions that it may be too much for you, but you handled it with perfection and your analysis was spot on. It's all about mental health issues. All that aside both Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were spectacular in their roles. Brad Pitt is not just a pretty face... that man can act.
The bit with the doctor: you are absolutely correct about Insomnia. But, when Tyler went to the doctor, he was pumping the medication a bit too often, which the doctor intuited that Tyler didn't care about insomnia at all, and was just for drugs [which, in all honesty, Tyler really was there just for the drugs], so the doctor was dismissive.
The fighting thing Duaf's.. As Mike Tyson says, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Being punched hurts, and if you have empathy punching someone else feels bad.. but there are times when it has to be done. Not in this context.. When I was a child, me and every boy in the neighborhood were obsessed with fighting. We didn't have to be taught what fighting was we just sort of knew that we wanted to fight and wrestle and prove ourselves against each other.. Usually after the first time you get beaten the crap out of you realize you don't wanna do that anymore, but some men it stays in the system.. Then there are some men that have never ever been in a fight, never felt that pain and the idea from this story is that it has awakened something in them that has fullfilled them, years of doing what everyone else has told them to do and ignoring all primal instinct and suddenly a guy comes along and unlocks that cage. The adrenaline of it all, being told that its ok to lose at least you took the step and showed up and that you aren't going to be ridiculed for doing poorly.. it is literally a cult and brain washing.
There wasn't anybody in the buildings at the end. In the parking garage Tyler told the Narrator that the janitors and maintenance crews were all their people (Project Mayhem).
In the theater it was really confusing when first seeing the glitches and cigarette burns in the film. On a disc or streaming media you know for sure it had to be put there on purpose.
EXCELLENT reaction and analysis, Duffy! Well done!! The sole exception I would take with you is that, although mental health is certainly a core topic around which the plot revolves, what I love about this film is that it is NOT the only topic it confronts. A hint for another one: "His name is Robert Paulson." Bob didn't really have any major mental health "issues", but he still personified Jack's struggle between conflicting ideas about masculinity.
I actually love how they used Meatloafs real name in the move. He has always and forever been Meatloaf and thats like saying hes more than just the singer.
@9:27 that's a hard thing to explain to anyone lol. We grew up boxing in our backyard and fighting with neighborhood kids. Then I got into martial arts as an adult. There is no adrenaline rush I've found that equals what you get in a fight. For me it feels like time slows to a crawl, or like I can perceive things a lot quicker than usual. Which I think is just something the brain does. And win or lose, I always felt great afterwards. Except of course the cuts and bumps. That being said, when this movie came along, I could already relate to that message, but then I started getting into the other messages of the movie. Materialism, consumerism, etc. While everyone else thought they were Neo, I thought I was Tyler lol. This movie makes so much more sense when you watch a second time. The hints were there all along.
It IS one of the crazier movies I have seen in my life, but also one of the most memorable and another example of just how good an actor Edward Norton is.
Speaking only for myself, if you have a lot of anger, emotional pain and stress inside you, pain can feels good. It's a release. It's like a pressure valve. It releases the pressure. It's therapeutic. And once you've had enough, you feel like a new man. Reset to zero. Until the need arises again.
Yes i have insomnia some doctors are quite unhelpful or unsympathetic. Or the pass you over to a specialist and they put you on a waiting list to see someone. Which can take a very very long time . It drives you nuts .
8:58 This is only my reading of what's going on. It wasn't about the fighting, not really anyway. 'Jack' was self treating his depression with strong emotions. When the support groups when he used shared misery fell though he turned to adrenaline as a replacement. The problem with doing that is kinda like the drug problem of eventually needing to chase bigger highs.
Yeah, that's largely my read on it as well. I think it's people feeling that adrenaline and/or pain is 'real' as opposed to emotions, which is pretty common with depression, so they chase it. Fight Club is similar to someone self-harming in that way but it has this veneer of machismo added on top of it and it's a group activity which leads to toxic validation, much like many other types of unhealthy behavior.
@@JackOiswatching completely disagree, this type of physical release is so much better than the medicated suppressed alternative, this is making a point that in modern society we dont acknowledge males need for masculine release there is no veneer, these people are becoming their true selves, in a way they have a purpose and the vapid, materialistic society they are fighting to destroy is the toxic one. In the end they never killed anyone and erased millions of peoples credit card debt, freeing them in a way, they may have felt pain and fear along the way but thats par for the course in the lives we evolved from.
What I liked about this reaction was that you didn't fall under the spell of the character Tyler Derden. It refreshing seeing a perspective that sees the hypocrisy in Derden's actions. What I like about the movie is that it shows that Marla, and Norton's character, are the same. He's no better than her, and it took him awhile to see that. If you think about it, the whole fight club thing happens because Norton couldn't bring himself to ask Marla for help, or admit to himself that he liked her, and that she understood him. If he went to Marla's place after his home exploded, I think Tyler would have disappeared.
A lot of people hate the phrase but at the end of the day the heart of this movie is about how corrosive the effects of toxic masculinity are. Also a healthy dose of critique of post-Reagan capitalism. If he'd reached out for help, if there were institutions available to help him, a lot of misery would have been avoided. It's that Twitter meme about how "men would literally rather x than get therapy" in book/movie form.
NO! WRONG! Once Norton's character created Tyler he became an absolutely brilliant, charismatic, heroic leader!! He lead his men on a HEROIC CRUSADE to rescue planet EARTH!! The only way humanity will EVER rescue Earth is to, FIRST, slaughter the entire, GENOCIDAL, trillionaire class by destroying their entire banking system. FIGHT CLUB isn't a story about mental health ... FIGHT CLUB is one, of many, instruction manuals on how to force ACTUAL DEMOCRACY/JUSTICE/FREEDOM!! FIGHT CLUB demonstrates how you must become heroic/focused enough to recruit/lead/motivate enough men to rescue EARTH from the CERTAIN, near-term, human extinction that sadistic billionaires [not 'mankind'] have inflicted on humanity!
In high school (2004) we read The Catcher in the Rye and since there isn't a movie for the book my friend and I recommended this. Teacher was shocked, regretted it for most of the movie, but the next year the freshman class watched Fight Club again.
The idea of a fight club is not just appealing because of the violence, but also and mainly because of the feeling of belonging and feeling alive. The Fight Club starts as something where guys just come to take out their stress and frustrations in the form of fighting, but as the story goes on we can see the members becoming closer and closer and they feel like they belong somewhere. Then they start to become ambitious and organized, they want to fuck shit up and if you’re lost and drifting away (I mean in life in general) with no real ambitions this type of groups will seem really appealing.
"But at least he's real in that he isn't going to hide anything of himself" -Yeah, about that. "This guy needs help, and not Tyler, the main character" - ummm "Oh, a dildo!" - I died laughing "I still don't know this guys name" - yeah you do "What did the other guys think when Tyler was driving the car" - all goes back to what Bob said, that Durden was born in an insane asylum and only gets 1 hour of sleep a night. They all know he's flipped. Jared Leto knows at least and was probably told by Pitt Tyler that he's a split personality. "No, no, wheres my mind?" - She doesn't know she saw it.. but she saw it.. a nice big... yeah. The insomnia thing was recent in the story, he hadn't been suffering from it for years or anything. He was "sleeping" but the other Tyler was awake during those moments. When you saw the flashes of Tyler in the background that was the alternate personality trying to make contact with the main personality, that's why Pitt leaves while on the plane so quickly while the plane is still in flight and is only seen briefly at the airport. Norton is "asleep" after the plane lands as it's Pitt that steals the car and drives off to blow up Nortons apartment. The pay phone ringing was a thing you could do in the 90s, but that particular phone says on it that the phone doesn't receive calls. It was the phone call to the already rented home (Norton rented) that reached out to give Pitt more power to manifest for longer times until they're able to spend 24hrs a day together.
"At least he's real" kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk "I'm not talking about Tyler, I'm taking about the main character" It just gets better and better hahahahahahaha
Sometimes the movies you remember most and think highest of are the ones that make you feel uncomfortable. It often leads us to think about them more after watching them, and over time to come to an idea or understanding of what the writer/director was trying to send as a message.
Getting punched releases adrenaline, a drug made right in your own body. When you get punched the adrenaline spikes and you rarely feel the blow and are able to respond and indulge in your primal instincts, a rare treat for today's society. Fight or flight. I have personally found that people who have never been hit will always fear getting hit, those of us who have been hit don't have that fear. It's a twisted thing but it feel like a natural thing. Love you reactions.
Its simple, people fear the unknown, those that have fought, are no longer afraid of it. People are afraid of the perceived and expected pain, when reality usually is nowhere near the expectation. I used to get a primal joy out of fighting when I was younger, took having kids to settle the more bestial instincts in me.
14:24 Tyler shows the narrator the scar on his hand. Duaffy "That looks more like a cut" My brain: adds an "n" to the word "cut"... has to go back and re-play. Nope she definitely said "cut". Damn you brain. Damn you.
I have a feeling "I think I saw a glitch in the movie" was something many people began saying in their sleep when this movie was being put together. The story goes that when transferring this to film the people working on it thought the little Brads were problems with the image or film stock. Not to mention the "cigarette burn" and when the image starts going crazy during Tyler's "You're not your f__king car keys" moment. So David Fincher got endless calls about problems with the movie and "Are you sure this is supposed to be there?" emails. Probably would've been easier to send out exactly what he'd done to have these things happen at the beginning of the process but he's the genius.
You won't understand this movie. Its like being in love you can't explain what being in love is like to someone who's never fallen for someone.. You have to be in love to understand and feel it. This movie or story / book was more than mental health and fighting.
It's about mental health, yeah. But it's also about cults and the dangers of a charismatic leader. It's funny, because even though the movie is clear that Tyler is not someone you should be rooting for, they did such a good job portraying that cult of personality that it's not hard to find people that think Tyler is something to aspire to. The late comedian Patrice O'Neal said it best: "Fight Club is Scarface for white people."
theres so much more to it than that. Those people had a purpose and were happy for the first time in their lives, they were awake. Idk why race needs to be brought into it, this movie connects just as much with any black person in western society.
@@WookieWarriorz That was just a great joke Patrice said in his standup, but there's a real point behind it. Regardless of race, Scarface and Fight Club had the same effect on real people insofar as they provided a charismatic, troubled central character whom some people - stupid people - misunderstood the point of their existence and saw them as something to aspire to; Tony Montana and Tyler Durden, respectively. These movies are emblematic of what's known as the 'cult of personality' which, as it turns out, isn't just an awesome song by Living Colour. A cult of personality is used by scum to seize absolute power or large, completely devoted followings via things like propaganda, scapegoating, excessive lying, informational confusion, rallies, etc. In other words, Tony Montana and Tyler Durden, like Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler, are cult-like leaders and/or ideals in both the fictional world they inhabit and, sadly, the real world that we inhabit. Real people miss the characters' point. Another notable example is Alec Baldwin's Blake from the film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross. He's a hero among the professional salespeople and Wall Street even though he was written specifically to represent everything wrong with corporate America.
@@JnthnLnhrdtThe hero/leader archetype has existed since antiquity and it doesn't involve any of the pseudo-sociological terms you apply to it. Some mediocre people are threatened and reminded of their inferiority, others are inspired by some exceptional people that sometimes are admired and followed in real life. The ones who are not cut from the same cloth, can either fall in the follower or detractor category.
The fighting is cathartic to the members because they are numb and feel powerless. They are so desperate to feel anything that they will risk pain to feel human again. Society has moved on from humanism to commercialism and thus causing people, especially men, to feel numb and weak inside.
Hey, are you using a different camera or mic? Looks better than normal. And set piece looks great on the intro. And you look beyond radiant. This is a high quality outfit.
I'm not normally a huge fan of movies that get overly deep and philosophical, but Fight Club is one of the few I really enjoy. American Beauty is another good one with a few similar themes from around the same time period. Both movies manage to be extremely entertaining while exploring main characters who're very dissatisfied with their lives but who decide to take action to change things. You don't have to agree with WHAT they do, (I don't,) but the fact that they're doing something about it, and the circumstances that kick it all off, the WHY, are what fascinate me. I'm also someone who has frequent bouts of insomnia, sometimes rather severe ones, and I can tell you they're spot on in their depiction. You don't need to go very long with little to no sleep before everything really does seem like a copy of a copy of a copy. And while I've never gone so far as to develop an imaginary friend and start a fight club, prolonged lack of sleep can definitely mess with your emotions and thought processes.
@@AlabasterJazz Can't speak for everyone, but I've noticed that my emotional control gets a bit weaker, if something makes me happy I'm thrilled, something irritates me I'll actually get angry. Generally it's a good idea to avoid anything involving politics at that point. LOL The really annoying thing is on the relatively rare occasions when I get to around four days with little to no sleep and you start to hear things that aren't there, like you forgot to turn off a TV or radio in another room or that someone's walking around upstairs in the middle of the night. It's nothing as dramatic as hearing voices, and you almost always know it's just your mind playing tricks on you but it does make it harder to concentrate on anything, and even more difficult to fall asleep.
Once did 10 all-nighters in a month in university. While it was painful and made me feel like a living zombie with how semi-conscious I was all the time, it felt in a weird way like I was seeing the other side of the moon. You're normally supposed to sleep during most of the dark in order to wake up the next morning, which starts the new day's cycle. An all-nighter breaks that cycle and connects one day to the next without you resetting yourself for the next cycle, which throws your rhythm way out of whack and makes you go a but kooky for as long as you make it last. Your body always wins against your willpower as it needs a balanced cycle to function, and won't let you run it on fumes. It's surreal and an interesting experience, but very mentally stressful and I'm glad I've never done one again after my 3rd year till date. Do it once at most for the experience and never do it again is what I'd say to someone who's been lucky enough ti never have done it.
"I need a man to explain." Men are competitive. Most men don't want to fight. It's a display. Shouting, shoving etc. Even when they think about a fight, in their fantasy, they hit somebody who falls down and they win without getting hit. It takes a different type of man to get hit, get hurt, bad, and still want to compete and continue. Fight club weeded out the ones without heart. They found the soldiers. That's why they acted without question at the end. Fight Club was bootcamp.
About the doctor who didn't give a damn about the insomnia. IIRC he was a symbol that men's issues often do not get taken seriously. "Grow a pair." or "Others have it way worse" is a very common phrase men get when opening up with their issues, so they just keep them locked away, worsening the problem.
" I don't like him, but at least he's real." - Me: laughing incessantly.
Wata jec
I'm like, "oh, you sweet summer child."
If you’re into irony it’s funny 😂.
Who isn’t into irony? At least when it’s happening to someone else.
This reaction is already gold.
"I swear, I saw a glitch!" "About that..."
"Six months without sleep? He should have gone crazy!" "... Uh, about that."
"Oh, he's going to have a nervous breakdown." "... About that..."
"He's too crazy for me, but at least he's real!" "UH, ABOUT THAT..."
Fight Club reactions are the best because they see the clues, but they don't put it together. Something we all experienced.
9:15 and she's "not talking about Tyler", she's "talking about the main character" :)
Wata jec
@Pyloro S I saw this film in theaters. When the twist was revealed, there was a dead silence then one person yelled "what the hell just happened"
@@pyloros6906MrLboyd’s is great. Fight Club is always a great rewatch.
DUAFFY: "I don't like him. He's too crazy for me. But at least he's real."
bhahahaha i laughed my ass off when she said that :P
John Cena: "Are you sure about that?"
oh our dear sweet Duaffy...
Why am i not surprised....??????
You beat me to it.
It's not about the violence. It's about feeling alive. He can't sleep but he's sleepwalking through life never feeling alive. He was a slave of his possessions and society's idea of a good life. He mentally invented Tyler because in him he could experience freedom. The fighting as he said wasn't about winning or losing. But to feel alive and let go of the frustrations we live with. To get rid of the anger of the pointlessness in being.
I agree. The point of existence is to face challenges and modern society has removed all that which has the potential to feel worthwhile. Without challenges people die inside unless they learn how to survive, even through illusions.
Great breakdown. I think the reason it was so popular is because a lot of people feel like this. I know I did as a young adult. Having kids seems to have shifted my focus a bit, but the rampant pointless consumerism of late stage capitalism is not a pretty sight. In the end everything comes down to perspective. What is totally crazy to some people is just another Tuesday to others. What is a totally pointless existence to some people is a wonderful, entertaining life to others. Tyler was just his brain's way of shifting perspective.
The book was intended to be an indictment of toxic masculinity.
"The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race."
@@feelthebern7662 Chuck also called it a love story and a modern Great Catsby among other things but never what you claim, so you better learn to not speak for the author out of your ass simply because your lack of masculinity lol
The "glitches" are a part of the movie and not a technical mistake. It's signs that show that Tyler is starting to become a part of his mind
She knows. If you watch carefully, she put them in the video. 😉
The scene where Tyler's image shakes all over the place caused the editor to spend a day trying to fix what he thought was a filming error. He finally went to the director who told him it was filmed that way on purpose.
@@billbabcock1833 that sounds like bullshit. It would be the editor who cut and paste that image into the reel and not the director. Those 2 scenes where obviously filmed out of sequence and spliced by the editor. Also, pretty sure the director would have told him to leave the image in if he spliced it before hand. Finally, what editor works an entire day on a film over a spliced image??? Chop, chop, goodbye!
Tyler always was part of his mind. He invented him.
@@needles1987 But he didn't exist in the beginning. The flashes of Tyler are the idea being formed in the protagonist's mind.
Duaffy: "I saw a glitch"
Tyler: "Exactly"
nice, big c***
Wata jec
Tyler: "It's not a glitch, it's a feature"
Re: the male testosterone fighting thing:
There is something liberating about being in a fight. Once you get hit hard a few times, you realize that the pain and the fear of pain aren't anywhere near the level that your psyche makes the conscious mind believe. Your heart is racing. Dopamine levels are spiking, as the natural pain killers are not only reducing the physical pain but are essentially getting you stoned. There is a sense of release of anxiety. I'm not saying it's a good idea to go join an underground fighting club...but that is what the men were getting from it.
There is also the Gex X's identity crisis of masculinity. After second wave feminism, the concept of femininity had been redifined to include many things that were previously thought of as "non-feminine". While the concept of masculinity was challenged as well, no alternative was offered in its place (and some areas still haven't been successfully redefined), so many men were feeling lost: "I'm a 30 year old boy." Doing something so primal as to fight each other and exert their strength upon one another (following Nietzsche's Will to Power) reminded them what being a man feels like. This is echoed by the men with testicular cancer early in the movie, who kept chanting "we are men".
you clearly have never been in a fight when you get punched in the face a couple times and you get your nose broke..u feel it bad
@@fredtello Well Dirt Rules: You thinking I haven't been in a fight based on my statement..makes you at minimum wrong, and very assumptive. Where I grew up, sometimes young men had to fight. You can choose to believe and type what you want. I think most reasonably intelligent people will understand and agree with my post.
It's also a search for freedom. I've come to realize in my old age that in general, men long for freedom and women long for safety.
@@fredtello You sound like you once got hit when you weren't expecting it and learned to fear the pain. In a real fight, pain exists, but it becomes more and more inconsequential the more you hit back. I took up kickboxing for 20 years because it was liberating to trade blows in the ring. That said, it's not for everybody, man or not.
His fight with himself in his boss' office reminded himself of his first fight with Tyler. Well yeah.
Wata jec
"You can call a public phone?" Actually, for that phone in particular, you can't. It's one of many signs about the twist ending where there is a small text on the phone that says it does not accept incoming calls. Absolutely loved your reaction to this movie!
You was able to recall.There was buton when you tapped then phonecall was resented to last call
It's not possible anymore in part (if not mainly) because it was abused for crimes. Not quite as bad as in "Phone Booth", but still...
Back in the day you could call most pay phones no problem.
The book ends even scarier. He wakes up in the hospital, unable to move. When the nurse leaves, a janitor who was mopping the floors leans over to him and says "don't worry sir, everything is under control."
Whoa!! 😳
What a movie. This was such a mindfuck when it came out. And very stylish.
The Pixies' Where is My Mind is the perfect finale.
At that time not every movie had twists.
"Am I too woman to understand that?" You joke, but the answer is yeah, probably. Fighting for men is cathartic and fun. When done with the right mindset, it's a very healthy and productive form of male bonding.
Nope: Its a human thing.
I know enough women, who feel the same.
@@Krusesensei It is, but it's pretty undeniably more of a male thing than a female thing. It's just a reality of the human species, we DO have some distinct differences between the genders. Of course there's going to be overlap one way or the other, but the general trend trends to be a certain way.
Men are taught from the beginning to not feel, when you shut that part of you down the only way to get it back is by extreme methods... even then, it only happens briefly. Friends and I would fight in parking lots, the warm feeling of the asphalt on your skin, the cool night air, the one thing I don't remember is when there was contact as I hit someone... but I have always remembered the look on their faces. When you hurt someone, you never forget.
To explain how fighting is therapeutic to some: Its a release of frustration for many people, and that release far outweighs the soreness and bruises. I had a friend like this, who during a couple tough times for him, I agreed to spar him. (mostly because I thought he might kill his roommate if he didn't let out his frustration, but that's a long story) I'm not a violent guy but even I found the release of frustration by hitting someone (even a friend) a bit cathartic. Now, I think there are definitely better ways to achieve catharsis, but it does work for many people. Its not logical. You're not solving anything. But that's not the point.
You also questioned why people would go along and join the crazy cult Tyler was building. Its actually quite brilliant the things Tyler says to manipulate them. He identifies problems such as materialism and lack of purpose, which these people feel. He draws them in by identifying their problems. He makes them feel part of a group. He joins them together as comrades in the same struggle. Then he gives them solutions. Want purpose by fighting materialism? Well then go blow this up! His logic might not be perfect. In fact in many ways it is very flawed. But by then it doesn't matter. They're already sucked in. You might think this is a little extreme. Go compare Tyler's monologues with the speeches of politicians. Some of the similarities are scary. In truth, Tyler is just a top tier politician.
agreed. catharsis can come in many forms and it's something lots of people are absolutely starving for, so they will grab it any way they can.
and i still have friends to this day that are enthralled by tyler's philosophies and think the movie is trying to paint him as some sort of hero figure. whooosh. your breakdown on how brilliant he is at manipulation is spot on.
I'm not sure that the comparison of Tyler and a politician is entirely correct. Politicians lie about pretty much everything, whereas I get the impression that Tyler believes in what he's saying and doing 100%. I don't know if you could even call what Tyler does manipulation as he doesn't seem to be trying to convince people, he's just spouting off all the things that he believes and a certain type of person is going to respond to those beliefs. He even does most of the things he gets the space monkeys to do, and I think the things he doesn't do you can chalk up more to the fact that a movie can only show so much rather than any unwillingness on Tyler's part. I'd say Tyler is much more like the leader of a religious cult that truly believes the cult doctrine. That's what makes him such a fascinating and dangerous character.
I think another part of it is that for generations, going as far back as ancient Greece and further, a great portion of people, especially men, have been conditioned to be warriors. Now we exist in an age where the qualities that were once strongly desired are strongly discouraged. You can't turn your back on hundreds of generations of conditioning and not expect a bit of blowback. As for it solving nothing... Well it does condition one from a soft wad of cookie dough into a fighter... But what is the ultimate point? As with most things: nothing.
The book was intended to be an indictment of toxic masculinity. Clearly lost on many guys.
@@feelthebern7662 Interpreting things differently does not mean that each interpretation is wrong. Why are you so fixated on toxic masculinity? What is your agenda? (rhetorical question, we already know it)
Duaffy is my favorite reactor. Mostly because I really enjoy and appreciate the fact that she really watches and tries to understand the movie. She is not obnoxiously loud, or detracting to the film; her responses and reactions are genuine. And we can all agree, she has the most infectious laughter 😄
You're not crazy, and it's not a glitch...it's a feature. It's a joke from later in the movie..single frames...
It's an interesting movie to watch a second time knowing what you know about the ending and putting the pieces together.
You really hit the nail on the head about the need for mental health, but there is also a message about the dangers of those that will take advantage of the suffering of others. "Fight Club" has an interesting true-life back-story. Cults are very scary things.
These mental health, but would they be treating the right cause? In the beginning, Tyler has a very unmasculine lifestyle and starts to come alive in the fight club, where men fight. Testosterone city. If he seeked mental health, would they have tried to find a way to channel that masculine nature or suppress it more?
@@cheeseburger12 exactly. Even if they were in the wrong they had a purpose and were happy, some of us just arent mean to live in this bland, vapid world. Our true selves only live in fantasy.
Wata jec
damn i didnt even think about putting that together, tyler is slowly getting in his head with the flashes of him and its also a reference to tylers film job. DAMN
"I don't like him. But at least he's real." LMAO
Duaffy: "I don't like him but, at least he's real." (describing Tyler Durden)... oh this is gonna be a fun reaction video. lolz
oh, btw, Edward Norton's character is only "the Narrator," or by the fake names he used at support groups. We never heard his name.
How can you (and the 35 people who liked this) have noted that comment and rememembered it so well, but failed to notice that it revealed she knew the twist ahead of time? The comment makes no sense and is unnatural to make unless referring to the twist.
@@georgial6398 Because the "real" comment reffers to Tylor being honest or true, telling it how it is. It's you who didn't get it.
@@DmanDmax No, I did get it. There is no way someone would say that in that spot. Her rush to cover it up and (over)explain what she actually meant by that btw is the clincher that she knew the twist. If she'd meant it that way and had no pre knowledge she wouldn't have explained it like that.
Most people who comment on reaction channels seem to have an IQ of about 10.
@@georgial6398 I thought that was strange too. But I went back through the plot and things she said and I correlate it to her remembering the penguin dream-state so fondly even though it was clearly not real. So this new character is 'real' in comparison. The reaction as a whole does come across genuinely so I think it was coincidental.
@@georgial6398 i took her comment to mean at least Tyler was "being real" with what he said. He spoke from the heart about what he believed in, whether she agreed with him or not... he was real.
24:47 people actually survive gunshot wounds like this somewhat frequently and it's always in the act of a botched suicide attempt. I work in the ER and I used to work on ambulances. I've personally seen two of these, both times their lower jaw was blown off. Several were in our textbooks in paramedic school, so I was prepared to see it before seeing a real life patient who had done this to themselves. Shock sets in fairly quickly so both patients were very calm, almost in a dazed state and fully conscious. It's very surreal.
Yeah, a former trainer of mine was good friends with an ambulance driver and told two similar stories... One was an actual accident though, a motorbike driver who had sheared off half the side of his lower face and was actually _so_ in shock that he had gotten back on his bike and was driving towards the hospital. Luckily, he got stopped before he could pass out and cause another accident...
This movie was designed to be watched multiple times. It has layers; like an onion. Of course I have to use the indefinite article AN onion. Never...YOUR onion.
But....I don't own an onion....
I think the only thing better than watching Fight Club, is watching someone as sweet and innocent as you reacting to it.
You also failed at rule number 2, but we'll forgive that.
As for the catharsis of fighting...it can be a lot of fun as long as you and your opponent know and respect your limits. The titular club in this just took it to the extreme. Sparring was probably my favorite part of martial arts. It gets the adrenaline going, you get in this zone where the sense of self disappears and your body just reacts, and it's a test of ability against someone studying the same skills as you are. Kobudo (weapons studies) drills were immensely fun. We'd spar with rubber knives and count the black marks on our gi to see who cut one another more. I remember a time when a visiting teacher brought practice blades (bladed weapons deliberately made dull for practice purposes) to our dojo, and I ran drills with her using dual one-handed swords, and we got into such a rhythm, that our weapons sparked when they made contact with each other. We'd read and react to each other's movements; down on one knee, both knees, moving to a standing position, moving backward and forward as if we were dancing to the sound of steel on steel. The focus, speed, and coordination we had at that point felt so good, I could've gone on for hours. Good times.
Sorry for the rambling. I miss my old class sometimes.
One of my all time favorite movies. I had a feeling though that you wouldn't like it.
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
Duaffy: Let’s react to Fight Club
Everybody else: First rule of Fight Club, you don’t talk about Fight Club.
"Whoa, whoa... No, no, no, no... Where is my mind?" I wonder if she responded like this when the last glitch showed up at the end. 😅
What an interesting view on these characters. Most people just think about how 90's nihilistically cool it all is. But you really took to the reality of the situation and how horrific it would all be to go through. I'm glad you watched this.
You can apply this on many movies. Watch Donnie Darko(spoiler!) again, and it looks like the built up of an excuse of something terrible Donnie would do (like a school shooting or something) just because nothing means shit. That way the movie has a very weird happy ending time travel suicide
@@tims2697 I'm still about 87.328% sure that the script for Donnie Darko was dropped and got put back together out of order but nobody ever noticed.
@@existenceisrelative might be true haha
If you want more childish stupid nihilistic vibes, watch KIDS from 1995,
I've read a couple of other books from the same author, "Choke" about a guy who pretends to choke in restaurants and lets people "save" him and then he lives off their charity. The other one is called "Insivible Monsters", it is one about a beautiful woman whose jaw is blown off by a shotgun, so she wears a scarf around her destroyed face, but with the scarf she looks beautiful.
You should check out Survivor. It's my personal favorite, but I'm a huge fan and read everything Chuck Palahniuk writes.
I've read the ones listed here but "Rant" is my favorite. It's another mind-bender. The premise is pretty silly but it's full of interesting ideas and has a great twist. "Choke" was also made into a movie--worth watching if you're a Chuck fan.
I'm a big fan of Palahniuk. He has a unique, distinctive, and very cool style. The ideas he's able to extrapolate from his extensive research are very creative. The actual plots are far-fetched, but that's fine. I just get annoyed by people who take the multiple-personality plot line of Fight Club seriously. This is by no means an accurate depiction of mental illness, but a plot device to explore the desire to be someone else. Nor is it plausible to believe every person who saves a choking victim will send him money and a card on his birthday (haha that's ridiculous!). End of MY rant.
Somebody needs to react to Chuck reading "Guts" Just one! That will make my life complete
@@BrianNIL Greatest Quote ever "The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create."
Chuck changed some minds
Choke was a good film adaption
Yes, you get it. It is meant to make you uncomfortable. A lot of women seem to assume that because the movie is predominantly liked and considered impactful by men, that they somehow want to be part of it and find pleasure in violence. That's not true. It is a reminder of how dangerous the road becomes once the downhill slide begins and how important it is to find meaning in your life before you lose faith. Men who find fulfilment in their work and respect withing their circles do not get drawn into such things. Tyler's job however was to rate tragedies by monetary value for big companies. Can't blame him for losing it. Of Marla, I always think of her as grace from the universe, a challenge, truthful and determined to save him. His failure became her failure. That she thought of him as the worst thing that ever happened to her was actually a clear confession of love.
I feel that this movie can be a catalyst. A way to perceive that if there is no purpose, no ultimate goal of life, than you either spiral down until you hit bottom (drugs and other additions, anxiety, etc), or you latch onto and follow a charismatic leader (sometimes family, sometimes work/corporate ladder, or sports, or religion, or someone like Tyler), or you develop confidence in yourself and establish your own purpose in life.
The guy with the 'man boobs' is Meatloaf - a rock star of the 70's & 80's and was also in "Rocky Horror Picture Show' - a classic movie that is a cult legend.
While it seems to be getting better more recently, people with mental health issues often get looked down upon here in the U.S.
Jared Leto is also a rock star.
Hi, Duaffy! So when this came out in 1999, there was a growing discontent among some Americans over the so called "American dream" during the Clinton Administration of having a good career, nice house, etc. "Fight Club" was a bold rebuffment of that ideology. "American Beauty" also reflects these ideas, but in a much less violent way. You should look at "American Beauty", too.
That may have occurred during the Clinton administration, but it could’ve been any president. Having a good career & nice house has been the ‘American Dream’ since the early 1920’s. Been a lot of presidents during that time & it hasn’t really changed to this day.
@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 True, but the nineties were particularly relevant, as America was not involved in any wars during that time (after Gulf War was over), the economy had a surplus for a change, and Americans had plenty of money but little to do with all their leisure time As a result, some of them got bored and even resentful against the prosperity. "Fight Club" was but a whisper of a much larger and uglier sentiment festering in a very large section of the population.
We watched Fight Club and American Beauty during an Intro to Existentialist Philosophy class in college. We watched a few others, too, but those were the best ones.
Because the theme of discontent couldn't possible come from any other decade? Go watch The Graduate" or any number of 100 movies from many decades with the same premise. Heck, even The Great Gatsby.
🤣🤣🤣 girls in confusion is PURE GOLD
your face when they reveal the twist was worth watching alone
FX lead was Rob Bottin who also did RoboCop, Se7en and Total Recall, he studied under Rick Baker who's most known for leading the Star Wars FX team and changing the way FX are done, they worked together on the 1976 remake of King Kong. Rob also led the FX team that included Stanley Winston on The Thing. Stan worked on The Terminator, Edward Scissorhands, Predator, won an Academy Award for Aliens and designed the Wookie costumes for the Star Wars Christmas Special. All 3 of them were inspired by the late, great Ray Harryhausen.
The guys in charge of the special effects are the unsung heroes of cinema and most people don't even know their names so I figured I'd ramble on with a few Fun Facts.
I'm jealous how fast she got the thematic points
First time I watched this movie was at about 4AM when I was constantly having Insomnia and I would rent movies to kill the time.
You can't imagine the reaction I had.
One of my top 10 favorites.
I loved this reaction
One of my absolute favorites. This movie gets better every time you watch it and it does need to be watched at least twice.
“At least he’s real.” Lol. That got me.😂
I gotta say, the penguin scene is without a doubt, the most SILLIEST but RANDOM part of this film.
Slide …!
I love that you kept seeing flashes of Tyler Durden and you couldn’t figure out if it was a glitch in the movie or were you were going crazy. Also The punch in the ear was 100% real.
The mantra: You are the same decaying matter as everyone else...!"
I use in my life to maintain a sort of Zen mentally. This movie seriously helped me and prob alot of men in the 90's that couldn't or DIDNT have a name for what we were feeling then....we're or I am okay now....as good as I can be anyway...heh
Duaffy ur awesome.....heh
I feel the same. This was a movie I idolized when younger, and in some ways it still has a lot of points I agree with, but as I aged it was interesting to see how my perspective of the characters in the movie changed as well, and how they had a part into who I am today. I can certainly empathize with feeling lost and aimless in an ultimately pointless life. I can empathize with being frustrated and angry at the world and those that try to manipulate me, and a desire to fight against it. But I'm glad we live in an age where tolerance seems to be more and more acceptable, where even if we're not all really special and unique, we also kind of are. And even if we are the same decaying matter as everyone else, the whole universe is an exercise in entropy, at least I'm a conscious observer and participant of it.
Great reaction. I'm glad you understood the movie as it is very confusing at times. I've never seen anyone react and get it like you. You're awesome. Keep it up.
"Guys, tell me I'm nutz!" OK, ur nutz.
Not sure what we accomplished there but there u go.
That was really good nice job. The 1st time I saw this one it got me too with the ending. Keep up the great work Duaffy.
“But at least he’s *real*.”
Ahh.. this is the stuff I come here for.. XD
7:13 You can absolutely call a pay phone. As for the "member" being cut off and thrown out the window, that unfortunately happened to John Wayne Bobbit. It was a big news story in the late 90s.
One of the fun easter eggs in the movie is that payphone has a sticker on it that says 'No incoming calls'
@@tarlane And you can't *69 on a rotary phone, which are the only phones Tyler has in his house.
I absolutely love Helena Bonham Carter in this movie. From the moment she walks in and asks "This is cancer, right?" This may be my favourite of her performances which is saying something.
Watching DUAFFY have her mind blown over and over watching this movie is exactly the reaction they wanted to invoke.
So watch Alien 3 and give us your opinion.... Simples
@@apears77 Read Haunted or listen to guts simple
"This man needs help, I don't mean Tyler, I mean the main character..." 🤨
Video: “maybe because I’m a woman I don’t understand this”
Umm…yup. That’s it exactly because every single man who watches this movie gets it 100%. Because every single man is both Tyler Dursen and Edward Norton. Society makes us be like Edward Norton but deep down inside every guy is Tyler Durden. EVERY guy you have ever known deep down inside is Tyler Durden.
It’s been theorized that the Narrator’s name is Jack from the whole “I am Jack’s” sayings
Some other hints about Tyler’s true nature besides the quick flashes you noticed and thought were glitches:
•There’s a promotional video on a hotel tv with a group of hotel employees saying welcome. The one in the middle is Tyler.
•When Lou punches Tyler, you can see Jack lower his head as if he felt it
•When Jack beats himself, he says he was reminded of his first fight with Tyler.
•And when they crash and the car is flipped upside down, Tyler comes out of the passenger side and pulls Jack out of the driver side
I’ve also wondered what the space monkeys (cult members) were thinking when they were in the car. They clearly heard things from both sides, they both looked at each other when Tyler said he blew up the condo. I think about this all the time.
He shot himself through the cheek
The author of the original book wrote two comic book sequels. Tyler comes back. In interesting ways
For this movie, there are always more hints. Like, how the volume seems lowered at work after Fight Club starts, when his boss is talking to him? Where did he first hit himself? The ear.
If you never read a Chuck book you hate life
The summary you gave at the end is the best I've heard for this movie. You get it, and I appreciate your honest reaction.
Best dark comedy of the 2000's, laughing so loud each time I watch it, and the more you see it and more you see all the little details, perfection !!
At the end of the sex scene originally Marla said "I want to have your abortion". But that crossed the line for one of the producers and he wanted it replaced. David Fincher didn't want to do that and only agreed to it on the condition that whatever he replaced it with would stay in the movie. That's where the line "I haven't been ****** like that since grade school" came from. The producer then wanted the original line back but Fincher refused. A pity that one didn't end up in your edit.
I enjoyed your reaction to this movie very much. I was a little concerned, knowing you from other reactions that it may be too much for you, but you handled it with perfection and your analysis was spot on. It's all about mental health issues. All that aside both Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were spectacular in their roles. Brad Pitt is not just a pretty face... that man can act.
She does however prove the radical difference between men and women, psychologically speaking.
The bit with the doctor: you are absolutely correct about Insomnia. But, when Tyler went to the doctor, he was pumping the medication a bit too often, which the doctor intuited that Tyler didn't care about insomnia at all, and was just for drugs [which, in all honesty, Tyler really was there just for the drugs], so the doctor was dismissive.
The fighting thing Duaf's.. As Mike Tyson says, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Being punched hurts, and if you have empathy punching someone else feels bad.. but there are times when it has to be done. Not in this context.. When I was a child, me and every boy in the neighborhood were obsessed with fighting. We didn't have to be taught what fighting was we just sort of knew that we wanted to fight and wrestle and prove ourselves against each other.. Usually after the first time you get beaten the crap out of you realize you don't wanna do that anymore, but some men it stays in the system..
Then there are some men that have never ever been in a fight, never felt that pain and the idea from this story is that it has awakened something in them that has fullfilled them, years of doing what everyone else has told them to do and ignoring all primal instinct and suddenly a guy comes along and unlocks that cage. The adrenaline of it all, being told that its ok to lose at least you took the step and showed up and that you aren't going to be ridiculed for doing poorly.. it is literally a cult and brain washing.
no one was in the buildings, they had sounded the alarm.
It was about destroying the bank data of debts.
I was laughing and laughing while just waiting for the revelation. Then you laughed too. It was what I was waiting for. I loved it!
There wasn't anybody in the buildings at the end. In the parking garage Tyler told the Narrator that the janitors and maintenance crews were all their people (Project Mayhem).
This was not your typical reaction but for that reason and because it’s a totally legit/justified reaction, I really enjoyed it.
XD I never considered that the doctor literally prescribed other's suffering to alleviate his own pain...
In the theater it was really confusing when first seeing the glitches and cigarette burns in the film. On a disc or streaming media you know for sure it had to be put there on purpose.
''PILLOW FIGHT CLUB'' -- 'First rule of 'Pillow Fight Club' is that, for obvious reason, we don't talk about 'Pillow Fight Club'
One of the great films. It makes you THINK! There is a lot of struggle going on out there. Think of it as an allegory more than a literal tale.
'Uh this man needs help, and I'm not talking about Tyler, I'm talking about the main character" :D
EXCELLENT reaction and analysis, Duffy! Well done!!
The sole exception I would take with you is that, although mental health is certainly a core topic around which the plot revolves, what I love about this film is that it is NOT the only topic it confronts. A hint for another one: "His name is Robert Paulson."
Bob didn't really have any major mental health "issues", but he still personified Jack's struggle between conflicting ideas about masculinity.
I actually love how they used Meatloafs real name in the move. He has always and forever been Meatloaf and thats like saying hes more than just the singer.
"Why is that doctor like that?"
Welcome to the American healthcare system.
I love art that goes "too far." And I love that some people won't like it. It all helps make the world a little more interesting. :)
who is telling us this goes 'too far'
likely those that dont want us to see the truth behind the vapid, dull society we sleep in.
@9:27 that's a hard thing to explain to anyone lol. We grew up boxing in our backyard and fighting with neighborhood kids. Then I got into martial arts as an adult. There is no adrenaline rush I've found that equals what you get in a fight. For me it feels like time slows to a crawl, or like I can perceive things a lot quicker than usual. Which I think is just something the brain does. And win or lose, I always felt great afterwards. Except of course the cuts and bumps. That being said, when this movie came along, I could already relate to that message, but then I started getting into the other messages of the movie. Materialism, consumerism, etc. While everyone else thought they were Neo, I thought I was Tyler lol. This movie makes so much more sense when you watch a second time. The hints were there all along.
It IS one of the crazier movies I have seen in my life, but also one of the most memorable and another example of just how good an actor Edward Norton is.
“No fear, no distractions, the ability to let that which does not matter… Truly slide.” Some of the wisest words that never really got understood.
And I just now for the first time made the connection of the Penguins saying slide
Speaking only for myself, if you have a lot of anger, emotional pain and stress inside you, pain can feels good. It's a release. It's like a pressure valve. It releases the pressure. It's therapeutic. And once you've had enough, you feel like a new man. Reset to zero. Until the need arises again.
Whoa that new setup really pays off... such blue eyes! O_O
This one's a lot of fun to watch again after you know the twist.
"I'm not talking about Tyler, I'm talking about the main character"
*cackles*
Great reaction!
"But at least, he's real" XD
"Oh no, no. Where's my mind ?" XD
Yes i have insomnia some doctors are quite unhelpful or unsympathetic. Or the pass you over to a specialist and they put you on a waiting list to see someone. Which can take a very very long time . It drives you nuts .
Try The Sleep Book by Dr Guy Meadows - changed my life. I developed insomnia during a painful time in life and that booked helped so much.
8:58 This is only my reading of what's going on. It wasn't about the fighting, not really anyway. 'Jack' was self treating his depression with strong emotions. When the support groups when he used shared misery fell though he turned to adrenaline as a replacement. The problem with doing that is kinda like the drug problem of eventually needing to chase bigger highs.
Yeah, that's largely my read on it as well. I think it's people feeling that adrenaline and/or pain is 'real' as opposed to emotions, which is pretty common with depression, so they chase it. Fight Club is similar to someone self-harming in that way but it has this veneer of machismo added on top of it and it's a group activity which leads to toxic validation, much like many other types of unhealthy behavior.
@@JackOiswatching completely disagree, this type of physical release is so much better than the medicated suppressed alternative, this is making a point that in modern society we dont acknowledge males need for masculine release there is no veneer, these people are becoming their true selves, in a way they have a purpose and the vapid, materialistic society they are fighting to destroy is the toxic one.
In the end they never killed anyone and erased millions of peoples credit card debt, freeing them in a way, they may have felt pain and fear along the way but thats par for the course in the lives we evolved from.
What I liked about this reaction was that you didn't fall under the spell of the character Tyler Derden. It refreshing seeing a perspective that sees the hypocrisy in Derden's actions. What I like about the movie is that it shows that Marla, and Norton's character, are the same. He's no better than her, and it took him awhile to see that. If you think about it, the whole fight club thing happens because Norton couldn't bring himself to ask Marla for help, or admit to himself that he liked her, and that she understood him. If he went to Marla's place after his home exploded, I think Tyler would have disappeared.
A lot of people hate the phrase but at the end of the day the heart of this movie is about how corrosive the effects of toxic masculinity are. Also a healthy dose of critique of post-Reagan capitalism. If he'd reached out for help, if there were institutions available to help him, a lot of misery would have been avoided. It's that Twitter meme about how "men would literally rather x than get therapy" in book/movie form.
NO! WRONG! Once Norton's character created Tyler he became an absolutely brilliant, charismatic, heroic leader!! He lead his men on a HEROIC CRUSADE to rescue planet EARTH!! The only way humanity will EVER rescue Earth is to, FIRST, slaughter the entire, GENOCIDAL, trillionaire class by destroying their entire banking system. FIGHT CLUB isn't a story about mental health ... FIGHT CLUB is one, of many, instruction manuals on how to force ACTUAL DEMOCRACY/JUSTICE/FREEDOM!! FIGHT CLUB demonstrates how you must become heroic/focused enough to recruit/lead/motivate enough men to rescue EARTH from the CERTAIN, near-term, human extinction that sadistic billionaires [not 'mankind'] have inflicted on humanity!
In high school (2004) we read The Catcher in the Rye and since there isn't a movie for the book my friend and I recommended this. Teacher was shocked, regretted it for most of the movie, but the next year the freshman class watched Fight Club again.
The idea of a fight club is not just appealing because of the violence, but also and mainly because of the feeling of belonging and feeling alive. The Fight Club starts as something where guys just come to take out their stress and frustrations in the form of fighting, but as the story goes on we can see the members becoming closer and closer and they feel like they belong somewhere. Then they start to become ambitious and organized, they want to fuck shit up and if you’re lost and drifting away (I mean in life in general) with no real ambitions this type of groups will seem really appealing.
"But at least he's real in that he isn't going to hide anything of himself" -Yeah, about that.
"This guy needs help, and not Tyler, the main character" - ummm
"Oh, a dildo!" - I died laughing
"I still don't know this guys name" - yeah you do
"What did the other guys think when Tyler was driving the car" - all goes back to what Bob said, that Durden was born in an insane asylum and only gets 1 hour of sleep a night. They all know he's flipped. Jared Leto knows at least and was probably told by Pitt Tyler that he's a split personality.
"No, no, wheres my mind?" - She doesn't know she saw it.. but she saw it.. a nice big... yeah.
The insomnia thing was recent in the story, he hadn't been suffering from it for years or anything. He was "sleeping" but the other Tyler was awake during those moments. When you saw the flashes of Tyler in the background that was the alternate personality trying to make contact with the main personality, that's why Pitt leaves while on the plane so quickly while the plane is still in flight and is only seen briefly at the airport. Norton is "asleep" after the plane lands as it's Pitt that steals the car and drives off to blow up Nortons apartment. The pay phone ringing was a thing you could do in the 90s, but that particular phone says on it that the phone doesn't receive calls. It was the phone call to the already rented home (Norton rented) that reached out to give Pitt more power to manifest for longer times until they're able to spend 24hrs a day together.
"At least he's real"
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
"I'm not talking about Tyler, I'm taking about the main character"
It just gets better and better hahahahahahaha
'You met me at a very strange time in my life' should be my life motto.
"I met you at a very strange time in your life" basically describes all of my romantic relationships... :/
Sometimes the movies you remember most and think highest of are the ones that make you feel uncomfortable. It often leads us to think about them more after watching them, and over time to come to an idea or understanding of what the writer/director was trying to send as a message.
I love that you always mention the director at the beginning.
Getting punched releases adrenaline, a drug made right in your own body. When you get punched the adrenaline spikes and you rarely feel the blow and are able to respond and indulge in your primal instincts, a rare treat for today's society. Fight or flight. I have personally found that people who have never been hit will always fear getting hit, those of us who have been hit don't have that fear. It's a twisted thing but it feel like a natural thing. Love you reactions.
Its simple, people fear the unknown, those that have fought, are no longer afraid of it. People are afraid of the perceived and expected pain, when reality usually is nowhere near the expectation. I used to get a primal joy out of fighting when I was younger, took having kids to settle the more bestial instincts in me.
14:24 Tyler shows the narrator the scar on his hand.
Duaffy "That looks more like a cut"
My brain: adds an "n" to the word "cut"... has to go back and re-play. Nope she definitely said "cut". Damn you brain. Damn you.
Fight Club is one of the few movies every young man should watch as a rite of passage ... Dead Poets Society is another one.
Amazing movie :)
I have a feeling "I think I saw a glitch in the movie" was something many people began saying in their sleep when this movie was being put together. The story goes that when transferring this to film the people working on it thought the little Brads were problems with the image or film stock. Not to mention the "cigarette burn" and when the image starts going crazy during Tyler's "You're not your f__king car keys" moment. So David Fincher got endless calls about problems with the movie and "Are you sure this is supposed to be there?" emails. Probably would've been easier to send out exactly what he'd done to have these things happen at the beginning of the process but he's the genius.
That's khakis, not car keys. Unless you're from Boston.
You won't understand this movie. Its like being in love you can't explain what being in love is like to someone who's never fallen for someone.. You have to be in love to understand and feel it. This movie or story / book was more than mental health and fighting.
The reveal when he says "or rock stars" the exact second we see Jared Leto is still so great to me 🤣
I love how Duaffy addresses the glitches during the film!
About calling a public phone, it's a bit tricky but you can.
It's about mental health, yeah. But it's also about cults and the dangers of a charismatic leader. It's funny, because even though the movie is clear that Tyler is not someone you should be rooting for, they did such a good job portraying that cult of personality that it's not hard to find people that think Tyler is something to aspire to. The late comedian Patrice O'Neal said it best: "Fight Club is Scarface for white people."
theres so much more to it than that. Those people had a purpose and were happy for the first time in their lives, they were awake. Idk why race needs to be brought into it, this movie connects just as much with any black person in western society.
@@WookieWarriorz That was just a great joke Patrice said in his standup, but there's a real point behind it. Regardless of race, Scarface and Fight Club had the same effect on real people insofar as they provided a charismatic, troubled central character whom some people - stupid people - misunderstood the point of their existence and saw them as something to aspire to; Tony Montana and Tyler Durden, respectively. These movies are emblematic of what's known as the 'cult of personality' which, as it turns out, isn't just an awesome song by Living Colour. A cult of personality is used by scum to seize absolute power or large, completely devoted followings via things like propaganda, scapegoating, excessive lying, informational confusion, rallies, etc.
In other words, Tony Montana and Tyler Durden, like Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler, are cult-like leaders and/or ideals in both the fictional world they inhabit and, sadly, the real world that we inhabit. Real people miss the characters' point.
Another notable example is Alec Baldwin's Blake from the film adaptation of Glengarry Glen Ross. He's a hero among the professional salespeople and Wall Street even though he was written specifically to represent everything wrong with corporate America.
@@JnthnLnhrdt Charles Manson would be a good example.
@@IvanTheFourth Ah, yes! He was a master of manipulation. A truly terrifying human being.
@@JnthnLnhrdtThe hero/leader archetype has existed since antiquity and it doesn't involve any of the pseudo-sociological terms you apply to it. Some mediocre people are threatened and reminded of their inferiority, others are inspired by some exceptional people that sometimes are admired and followed in real life.
The ones who are not cut from the same cloth, can either fall in the follower or detractor category.
The fighting is cathartic to the members because they are numb and feel powerless. They are so desperate to feel anything that they will risk pain to feel human again. Society has moved on from humanism to commercialism and thus causing people, especially men, to feel numb and weak inside.
Hey, are you using a different camera or mic? Looks better than normal. And set piece looks great on the intro. And you look beyond radiant. This is a high quality outfit.
I loved it when near the beginning you said "Tyler is real".
Yo nada mas paso a decirte que te amo!!!!! 💓💓💓 Y que me gustan tus reseñas y tu risa. 🤘🏻
I'm not normally a huge fan of movies that get overly deep and philosophical, but Fight Club is one of the few I really enjoy. American Beauty is another good one with a few similar themes from around the same time period. Both movies manage to be extremely entertaining while exploring main characters who're very dissatisfied with their lives but who decide to take action to change things. You don't have to agree with WHAT they do, (I don't,) but the fact that they're doing something about it, and the circumstances that kick it all off, the WHY, are what fascinate me.
I'm also someone who has frequent bouts of insomnia, sometimes rather severe ones, and I can tell you they're spot on in their depiction. You don't need to go very long with little to no sleep before everything really does seem like a copy of a copy of a copy. And while I've never gone so far as to develop an imaginary friend and start a fight club, prolonged lack of sleep can definitely mess with your emotions and thought processes.
I feel distant and hazy after a single all-nighter. I can only imagine the feeling after several nights in a row of no sleep
@@AlabasterJazz Can't speak for everyone, but I've noticed that my emotional control gets a bit weaker, if something makes me happy I'm thrilled, something irritates me I'll actually get angry. Generally it's a good idea to avoid anything involving politics at that point. LOL The really annoying thing is on the relatively rare occasions when I get to around four days with little to no sleep and you start to hear things that aren't there, like you forgot to turn off a TV or radio in another room or that someone's walking around upstairs in the middle of the night. It's nothing as dramatic as hearing voices, and you almost always know it's just your mind playing tricks on you but it does make it harder to concentrate on anything, and even more difficult to fall asleep.
Once did 10 all-nighters in a month in university. While it was painful and made me feel like a living zombie with how semi-conscious I was all the time, it felt in a weird way like I was seeing the other side of the moon. You're normally supposed to sleep during most of the dark in order to wake up the next morning, which starts the new day's cycle. An all-nighter breaks that cycle and connects one day to the next without you resetting yourself for the next cycle, which throws your rhythm way out of whack and makes you go a but kooky for as long as you make it last. Your body always wins against your willpower as it needs a balanced cycle to function, and won't let you run it on fumes. It's surreal and an interesting experience, but very mentally stressful and I'm glad I've never done one again after my 3rd year till date. Do it once at most for the experience and never do it again is what I'd say to someone who's been lucky enough ti never have done it.
"I need a man to explain." Men are competitive. Most men don't want to fight. It's a display. Shouting, shoving etc. Even when they think about a fight, in their fantasy, they hit somebody who falls down and they win without getting hit. It takes a different type of man to get hit, get hurt, bad, and still want to compete and continue. Fight club weeded out the ones without heart. They found the soldiers. That's why they acted without question at the end. Fight Club was bootcamp.
About the doctor who didn't give a damn about the insomnia. IIRC he was a symbol that men's issues often do not get taken seriously. "Grow a pair." or "Others have it way worse" is a very common phrase men get when opening up with their issues, so they just keep them locked away, worsening the problem.
That is awful... Especially if it's coming from a "professional" in the fields of medicine or psychology