4. Lose the Literature: The Trouble with Adaptations
What sets Fight Club apart from most adaptations is the fact that it rarely feels like chunks of the original text are being force-fed to the audience. So when it does, it rankles somewhat. While administering the lye burn to Jacks hand, Tyler turns an allegory about sacrifice into a diatribe against perfection, against God. Its a darkly ironic twist on a baptism, of sorts; hugely quotable and integral to the conversion of Jack. Yet this spiel seems slightly shoehorned in- a tad too literary to swallow. This is outdone by a later scene, moments before Tylers disappearance, in which he describes his vision of an agrarian utopia: Tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison in the empty car-pool lane. Admittedly, there is a rather dreamlike quality to this scene, as Jack drifts in and out of consciousness, but it doesnt quite fit with the overall tone of the film. Are these really Tylers words? Is this the end product of Project Mayhem? Are Wat Tyler and the Luddite movement to be seen as inspirations - or a mere coincidence?