How Useful Have Particular Critical Approaches Been in Gaining a Deeper Understanding and Appreciation of Your Chosen Film?

Religion:

Buddhism and Christianity is demonstrated in the film Fight club.

The main characters alter ego, Tyler Durden seems to be a messiah of some sort  - similar

to Jesus, coming into someones life and changing how they live and providing a purpose.

Tyler's physique is also God-like, which also suggests that the members of Fight Club & Jack look up to Tyler because they want to look the way he does.

Another reason why we think that Tyler Durden is somewhat like Jesus is because he has healed Jack  - he has made him a whole person, healing his insomnia and healing his resistance to Marla Singer, which is reminiscent of Adam and Eve.

When Tyler came along Jack renounced all his possessions and his socially accepted lifestyle burning it all down and giving it up in order create his own religion in the form of the fight clubs and project mayhem. He also inducted all the members of fight club and converted them into his chosen way of life, making them live the way he wants society to live.

Another religion/cult like feature in the film was that they all shaved there heads and wore the same uniform, creating an image of togetherness and sacrfice - as these men are sacrificing themselves, their individualism and their possessions to become part of Project Mayhem.

The only time religion is really shown in the film directly is when Tyler is burning Jack's hand with a chemical of some sort and not letting him rinse it, making him suffer through the pain - telling him to "face his pain" which can  be a reference to Buddhism because in Buddhism they see pain as inevitable and that we should all recognise it. (Show Clip Here)

Tyler seems to be working for some God like figure and all the members of Project Mayhem are working for Tyler this mirrors the system of the hierarchy of society or even the hierarchy of Christianity.

Gender:

Marla Singer is the only lead female character in the film and she also represents the   female version of both Jack and Tyler. As an audience we are exposed to two sides of Marla - the softer side when she is with Tyler and her fierce side when she is with Jack.

Marla is a metaphor for something bigger - which links to 'the generation of men raised by women' - She represents ALL women, as well as Jack's mother, as Tyler represents his absent father.

Fincher paints all women with the same brush, portraying them as a threat.

Jack has treated women with respect and equality throughout his life, and as this has not been successful, his reinvention into Tyler is his way of breaking out and finally gaining the attention of a woman: Marla. The misogyny Tyler displays towards Marla also entices her more, which is ironic as  the inequality of gender in society is something which has been fought against repeatedly.

Fincher relies on pre-conceived stereotypes of gender to an extent - Marla, as a woman is objectified frequently by Tyler ("Sport Fuck") and the theory that ALL men are violent and brutal. (Logan Philips)

The thesis that men are being feminised is apparent in Fight Club: references to the men at Jack's work favouring the colour "corn flour blue" - representing the fading of men and their masculinity as blue is traditionally associated with men. (J.Kesler)

The doctor suggesting that Jack should chew on Valerian Root to cure his insomnia which is an old witches cure, suggests that he is not masculine enough to handle prescription drugs and that his problems are irrelevant. (J.Kelser) (Show Clip Here)

Fincher presents the effect the breakdown of society has on both genders, through the Fight Clubs for men and Marla Singer. Their self destruction is apparent and it seems to be the only thing that is able to truly liberate and rid them of the restraints of corporate America. Also, Fincher demonstrates that it is indeed the hierarchy of power which is the real concern. (J.Kelser)

Chloe is the only other female character which is given any focus - She has had everything taken away from her and all she desires is sex, which is a basic human desire. This sequence could also be a foreshadow of Jack's transition into Project Mayhem as he has been exposed to her raw, human emotion which essentially makes him re-evaluate his own life and the worth/quality of it.

Marla's erratic behaviour and thieving ways support the idea of being independent and choosing not to conform within society, and whilst Fincher demonstrates this happening through the Fight Clubs/Project Mayhem for them men, Marla also represents how women handle this and Kelser believes that this is something worth supporting as the independence in society should be embraced by both genders.