In a recent interview with The Guardian, renowned director David Fincher gave some insight into his mindset regarding fans of one of his most celebrated films: 1999’s cult hit, Fight Club. Though he’s happy audiences appreciated the film, he fears some fans–especially men–may have ultimately missed the point Fincher was trying to make with the film, as it has evidently become quite popular among self-identified “incels” and other Red Pill-adjacent male communities in recent years.
Based on the 1996 Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name, Fight Club tackles themes of masculinity, isolation, capitalism, and rage, starring Edward Norton as a bored white collar office worker who takes a walk on the wild side after meeting an enigmatic stranger. The man, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), introduces Norton’s nameless protagonist to an underground society of men who deal with life’s frustrations by beating the living hell out of each other. The film’s theme is perhaps best summed up by a quote from Durden himself:
“Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy sh*t we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.”