Textual Analasis of Fight Club

Fight Club Opening

In the entire opening credits of Fight Club, special effects have been used. Computer imaging has also been used to generate a constant pull away shot to run through what appears to be the synapses to someone’s brain. This has relevant to the rest of the film where it turns out the lead character(the narrator) is a schizophrenic. Also, the music in the opening credits is fast pace technological rock, adding to the sense of panic. As the credits come to an end, a series of extreme close up of hair follicles, sweat and a metallic object (a gun) is used to establish the scene. In addition to this the music fades away and instead the music is replaced by what the narrator is thinking. The narrator, who has a gun in his mouth, and the rest of the opening scene is told through the narrators thoughts as another character (Tyler Durten) harasses him.

The first shot the audience is able to properly see in focus is a close-up of the narrator; this directly shows the terror in his eyes and detail such as the sweat dripping off his head. Also, it enables the audience to see that the bottom half of his face is obscured by a gun. Due to this, it automatically drags the audience in as they begin to question what is going on. The next shot seen is an establishing shot, which shows the audience exactly what’s going on but still they disorientated, as there is no sustained plot at this point. Several point of view shots are used from Tyler’s point of view. A high angle shot is used to show Tyler's dominance over the narrator. As the camera moves out it reveals a dark, bare room, which is generally stereotypical of a thriller. The lack of bright colours and ominous surroundings creates an air of darkness that the opening scene creates. Throughout the entire scene, the audience is unable to completely identify Tyler. This use of mid-shots creates an air of mystery about Tyler and his character, so it enables the audience to question who is Tyler Durten, which is the opening line to the film. The final shot with the characters in site is effective. It is a medium low angle shot of Tyler’s torso but in the reflection of the glass the audience can see what he is looking out over. The rest of the shots are fast moving shots creating imagery in time to with the narrator is saying.

Unfortunately, I am unable to upload a video on to the blog since it has been taken off youtube due to copyright issues.