Mischief, Mayhem, In Tyler We Trust: A Textual Analysis of Personality Disorders as Depicted in the Film Fight Club

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Psychological disorders are widely represented in films, as well as in other media texts such as novels, television shows, etc. One film that portrays more than one example of a psychological disorder is Fight Club, a Twentieth Century Fox movie released with an R rating in 1999. Directed by David Fincher; and produced by Art Linson, Cean Chaffin, and Ross Grayson Bell, the movie mainly introduces Dissociative Identity Disorders (also known as Multiple Personality Disorders), but also hints at insomnia and depression. The movie is adapted from the book Fight Club written by Chuck Palahniuk. Fox marketed the movie using a “myriad of merchandise, including posters, the soundtrack, and even email addresses (yourname@fightclub.com)” (CNN). The movie’s production budget was set at $63,000,000 with the movie grossing $37,030,102 (Daily Box Office). The characters of the movie refer to themselves as the “middle children of history” with the feelings of having no purpose or place in life. They convey that they have no history-making events or real set goals and/or destiny to look forward to. They were brought up by society to believe that one-day they would be rich, famous and loved just as those depicted on television. This is symbolic of society during the surrounding time of the movie’s release. It is prevalent in modern society to strive to become someone/something that one sees in the media. The movie is directed towards Generation-X, but the “…hope was that the film would demonstrate the themes of the story to a larger audience. It would offer more people the idea that they could create their own lives outside the existing blueprint for happiness offered by society” (Palahniuk). This message was one that demanded that its viewers put all that drives them aside, and rethink what they had been taught from childhood. After the film’s release, instead of delivering the message that was intended, it was met with criticism and misunderstanding. This was due partly to the fact that it was scheduled for release shortly after the Columbine shootings. The movie became an easy target for those upset by the blatant violence which surrounded the Columbine incident. Although Fight Club is a film full of violence it is in reality one that promotes anti-violence, and points out to the audience the human impulses that cause violent behavior. Ironically, despite all of the med...

... middle of paper ...

...iative Identity Disorder (DID) Fact Sheet. http://cameronwest.com/did1.html Doak, Robert.
Studies in Popular Culture: Who Am I This Time? Multiple Personality Disorder and Popular Culture. http://pcasacas.org/SPC/spcissues/22.1/doak.html Hamilton, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Medical Encyclopedia: Sleeping Difficulty. http://www.rwjhamilton.org/Atoz/encyclopedia/article/003210.asp Maisto, Albert A, and Charles G. Morris.
Psychology: an introduction. 12th edition. 2005.
Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Palahniuk, Chuck.
Fight Club DVD booklet.

PsychNet-UK.
Dissociative Identity Disorder: Disorder Information Sheet. http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/dissociative_identity_disorder.htm University of Iowa Health Care.
Multiple Personality Disorder: Health Topics: UI Health Care.
http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/mentalemotionalhealth/ment3157.html

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