Fight Club

[Crispy]

I have heard people say it was a good movie, especially for guys, but I have also heard that its excessively violent, crude, and vulgar. I don't mind fighting in general, but I'm cautious about what movies I decide to enjoy. Excess is excess, and these excesses (if it's a fair assesment) sound like they could cross the line.

Can anyone comment on this?

[kafka]

[quote name='Crispy' timestamp='1289623548' post='2186836']
I have heard people say it was a good movie, especially for guys, but I have also heard that its excessively violent, crude, and vulgar. I don't mind fighting in general, but I'm cautious about what movies I decide to enjoy. Excess is excess, and these excesses (if it's a fair assesment) sound like they could cross the line.

Can anyone comment on this?
[/quote]
what it boils down to is a modern schizophrenic maniac who rebels against the systems in place, eg corporate life, what sinful secular society teaches, etc.
it has some humorous parts, and is a sort of sociological commentary on the problems of modern life with some truth and some memorable lines, but in the end it is an empty and immoral raucous bereft of Jesus Christ.

so be it.

Edited November 13, 2010 by kafka

[tinytherese]

I've only sat through two scenes of the film during my sophomore year of college, when someone wrote a paper about it and presented her findings to the class. In one of the scenes, Brad Pitt's character says that God doesn't care about us. That was enough for me not to want to see the rest of it.

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='tinytherese' timestamp='1289681590' post='2186930']
I've only sat through two scenes of the film during my sophomore year of college, when someone wrote a paper about it and presented her findings to the class. In one of the scenes, Brad Pitt's character says that God doesn't care about us. That was enough for me not to want to see the rest of it.
[/quote]

I'm sure this is probably just me, but I don't reject movies (or books) just because one or more characters in the movie/book doesn't believe in God or has a view of God that conflicts with me. (I do reject movies for excessive violence, bad acting, boring scripts, etc.--because I don't enjoy watching them.) Watching a character in a movie isn't making the character my best friend. (As people always remind me--it's just a movie.) The reality of the world is that lots of people don't believe in God. But, I find people interesting, and seeing movies (but more especially reading) about different kinds of people helps me learn more about how other people view life. For myself, I feel like I have a strong enough Christian belief that seeing a movie or reading a book in which a character is not Christian is not going to influence me to rject Christianity. Instead, I find a movie or book with well-written characters helps me understand people and what makes them "tick." Heck, none of my family are Christians and a couple are strong atheists, and I don't reject my family, and still hold Christian beliefs no matter what my family chooses to believe.

Jesus didn't limit himself to only being around or talking to people who already believed in his message. Because Jesus understood people, he knew what to say to "reach" people who lived lives that were much against what God wants for us. We can choose to live in a little world where we only talk to people who think the same way we do, but I think that doing so, in the end, hurts our ability to help people and to reach them. When I went to Berkeley, I met students from small Christian schools who didn't understand how I could live in an environment where most people weren't Christian and many were atheist. In reality, I found that my faith and that of my Christian friends was actually as strong or stonger than those of students who went to very "sheltered" colleges, because our faith was tested every day. And, I think that, because I went to Berkeley (and I could be wrong about this) I have a much better understanding of what the "non-Christian" world is like and how to treat and talk to non-Christians than if I went to a small school that sheltered me from anything that didn't exactly match Christian beliefs.

Caveat: I have gone through times in my life when I was having a rough time emotionally when, for my own protection, I limited my reading and what movies I watch, because negative images were harmful to me. And, for example, I still avoid violent movies for my own protection, because, unlike most people, I don't have the ability to "separate" myself from a move, and the violence in a movie can make and leave me very upset, even though I know full well that the violence wasn't real, and no one actually died or was hurt. But, that's me, and I don't think it applies to most people.

Constantly seeing negative images or reading books with negative messages, or only seeing movies or reading books with negative messaages could be harmful, but most of us don't have enough time to spend our lives constantly watching movies or reading negative books. So, I don't think these books or movies are damaging or most people. Obviously, images shown to children is another matter. But, I don't see most adults needing to reject an otherwise excellent movie or book simply because one or more characters rejects God. That is simply reflecting life. We can close our eyes and pretend that the world is a happy place where everyone loves Jesus, but that isn't reality. And, I think, in the long run, rejecting the reality of what the world is really like can be harmful. (But this post is too long already and it would take another essay explaining what I mean by that.)

[IgnatiusofLoyola]

[quote name='Era Might' timestamp='1289485185' post='2186445']
It means that "Fight Club" is not just about people who like to fight.
[/quote]


[quote name='Era Might' timestamp='1289572175' post='2186702']
I think I was trying to suggest something about the duality of man, sir.

(More later...)
[/quote]

Era--Maybe I'm obtuse (likely) or maybe you're just not in the mood to write more, but I am really interested to hear your views because I think this is an interesting subject. If you're not in the mood to write more, that's cool. But, I don't "get" what you're saying from your single line posts. That's probably because I'm a woman and not 25, but I'd be seriously interested if you wanted to explain your thoughts a little more. Thanks.

[Era Might]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' timestamp='1289683980' post='2186934']
Era--Maybe I'm obtuse (likely) or maybe you're just not in the mood to write more, but I am really interested to hear your views because I think this is an interesting subject. If you're not in the mood to write more, that's cool. But, I don't "get" what you're saying from your single line posts. That's probably because I'm a woman and not 25, but I'd be seriously interested if you wanted to explain your thoughts a little more. Thanks.
[/quote]
I will write some more (I appreciate that you've contributed substantive posts). I just didn't have time during the week, and right now I'm lazing on a Saturday afternoon, but if I get the energy I'll post tonight.

[Gregorius]

[quote name='pvtmiller' timestamp='1289485643' post='2186448']
Hey We dont talk about fight club!
[/quote]
This.

[tinytherese]

[quote name='IgnatiusofLoyola' timestamp='1289683578' post='2186932']
I'm sure this is probably just me, but I don't reject movies (or books) just because one or more characters in the movie/book doesn't believe in God or has a view of God that conflicts with me. (I do reject movies for excessive violence, bad acting, boring scripts, etc.--because I don't enjoy watching them.) Watching a character in a movie isn't making the character my best friend. (As people always remind me--it's just a movie.) The reality of the world is that lots of people don't believe in God. But, I find people interesting, and seeing movies (but more especially reading) about different kinds of people helps me learn more about how other people view life. For myself, I feel like I have a strong enough Christian belief that seeing a movie or reading a book in which a character is not Christian is not going to influence me to rject Christianity. Instead, I find a movie or book with well-written characters helps me understand people and what makes them "tick." Heck, none of my family are Christians and a couple are strong atheists, and I don't reject my family, and still hold Christian beliefs no matter what my family chooses to believe.

Jesus didn't limit himself to only being around or talking to people who already believed in his message. Because Jesus understood people, he knew what to say to "reach" people who lived lives that were much against what God wants for us. We can choose to live in a little world where we only talk to people who think the same way we do, but I think that doing so, in the end, hurts our ability to help people and to reach them. When I went to Berkeley, I met students from small Christian schools who didn't understand how I could live in an environment where most people weren't Christian and many were atheist. In reality, I found that my faith and that of my Christian friends was actually as strong or stonger than those of students who went to very "sheltered" colleges, because our faith was tested every day. And, I think that, because I went to Berkeley (and I could be wrong about this) I have a much better understanding of what the "non-Christian" world is like and how to treat and talk to non-Christians than if I went to a small school that sheltered me from anything that didn't exactly match Christian beliefs.

Caveat: I have gone through times in my life when I was having a rough time emotionally when, for my own protection, I limited my reading and what movies I watch, because negative images were harmful to me. And, for example, I still avoid violent movies for my own protection, because, unlike most people, I don't have the ability to "separate" myself from a move, and the violence in a movie can make and leave me very upset, even though I know full well that the violence wasn't real, and no one actually died or was hurt. But, that's me, and I don't think it applies to most people.

Constantly seeing negative images or reading books with negative messages, or only seeing movies or reading books with negative messaages could be harmful, but most of us don't have enough time to spend our lives constantly watching movies or reading negative books. So, I don't think these books or movies are damaging or most people. Obviously, images shown to children is another matter. But, I don't see most adults needing to reject an otherwise excellent movie or book simply because one or more characters rejects God. That is simply reflecting life. We can close our eyes and pretend that the world is a happy place where everyone loves Jesus, but that isn't reality. And, I think, in the long run, rejecting the reality of what the world is really like can be harmful. (But this post is too long already and it would take another essay explaining what I mean by that.)
[/quote]

Oh I agree with you. I just got the vibe that the notion of God not caring for us was a lesson that needed to be taught to Brad Pitt's little pupil and the film itself just seemed psychological in a disturbing way. The tone of the film seemed pessimistic and angsty and I didn't want to watch that.