Politically, Fight Club can fall on the spectrum wherever you want it to, depending on your own personal interpretation of the film's views. The violence and glorification of individualism is vaguely right-wing, while the idea of the collective and rebellion against the rich would appear to put it on the left. It deals in libertarian ideas about freedom, but displays the power of controlled regimentation in a borderline-fascist manner. Ultimately, however, the film is strongly nihilistic, critical of everything and everyone, every creed and any gender, calling for disorder and devastation as a way to assert one's own value. Is there a more cynical message buried in that ending, though, one that subtly alludes to the idea that to hope for change and a better world is futile? Tyler talks about the "greater good" and freeing people from themselves, but through Fight Club and Project Mayhem he becomes just another oppressor manipulating his 'subjects' - in short, power corrupts him into the personification of everything he rails against. Then, in the film's closing moments, the hopelessness of revolutionary idealism is spelled out once and for all, as Project Mayhem is left rudderless and presumably at an end, with the Narrator having abandoned Tyler, likely forever. Where do the Narrator and the Fight Clubbers go from here but back into that stifling society, or a jail cell, once the authorities have discovered who's behind the bombings? The revolution has failed to bring about change or self-fulfilment for the Narrator or the other Fight Club members, all of whom have already turned back into drones anyway, only in thrall to Tyler and Project Mayhem rather than to their jobs.
Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the dashing young princes. Follow Brogan on twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion: @BroganMorris1
