英语系本科论文一篇 电影分析

1、AcknowledgementsAt the time when my paper is to be finished，first and foremost, Id like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Chen Ou, for her constant encouragement and guidance. Although my favorite relaxation was movie watching in my college leisure time, I never treated mov

2、ie as a serious learning. Then I attended the Movie Appreciation course prelected by Professor Chen, it was her teaching impressed me and changed my thoughts. Therefore, I picked Fight Club, one of my favorite movies, as the thesis of this paper. Professor Chen has been particularly helpful and supp

3、ortive，providing me constructive advices and useful guidance during my writing. Without her kind instruction, I can never finish such a complete paper. My thanks also go to all the teachers of the English Department of Shanghai University of Electric Power who have instructed me in various English c

4、ourses. It is these basic English knowledge which helped me to write this paper.Finally Id like to thank my beloved parents and my dear friends and classmates. Thanks for their companionship and encouragement during my difficult time of the thesis writing. Abstract Fight Club is a classic movie dire

5、cted by David Fincher, tells a strange experience on an insomniac office worker. In order to find the lost identity and masculinity, he opens up a club devoted to fist fighting. This paper is a study on the identity crisis in the modern commercial world, which has emphasized on the movie Fight Club.

6、 In a world surrounded by material stuffs and led by commercial trends, it is not easy to find the meaning of life. Fight Club shows the anxiety and confusion of human when they encounter their own identity crisis. As long as we find the meaning of the movie and figure out the truth of life, we may

7、have a better understanding on life and try to get a better one.The whole thesis is composed of five parts. Part 1 introduced the background of the movie, as well as the school it belongs (cult movie) and other classic movies, which had the same theme or style. Part 2 had a brief introduce on the pl

8、ot and the relationships between the main characters. Part 3 gave a detailed description on the DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) symptoms, and an analysis of its causes: the identity crisis is mainly caused by consumerism. Part 4 is a discussion on the solutions, including the one presented by t

9、he directormasculine violence and other proper ways: via obligation and responsibility. The conclusion reached at that there is no easy way to solve the identity crisis, but through the true life, we can have a better understanding of ourselves and find the right position in this world. Key words: I

10、dentity Crisis；Consumerism；violence；responsibility 摘 要搏击俱乐部是一部由大卫芬奇执导的经典电影，讲述了一个白领患上失眠症后的一段离奇经历。为了找回他失去的自我身份和男子气概，主人公成立了一个专门用来供人徒手搏击的俱乐部。这篇论文研究的正是电影搏击俱乐部中强调的现代商业社会中人们的自我身份认定危机。在一个充斥着物质商品，以消费为主导的世界中，要找到生活的真正含义并不容易。搏击俱乐部就展示了当人们遭遇到这种危机时，他们的彷徨与不安。但只要我们理解了电影的含义，悟出了生活的真谛，我们就能更好得理解生命，活得更好。整片论文有五个部分组成。第一部分介

11、绍了电影的背景，电影的流派（邪典电影）以及其它相同主题或风格的经典电影。第二部分简要概括了电影情节及主要人物之间的关系。第三部分详细描述了人格分裂的症状，分析了产生自我身份认定危机的罪魁祸首：消费主义。 第四部分探讨了解决方法，包括导演所展示的暴力手段和其它可能的方法：通过责任和义务。全文的总结是虽然解决这种危机感并不容易，但通过真正实际的生活，我们还是能更好得了解自己，找到自己在世界上的合适位置。关键词: 自我身份认定危机；消费主义；暴力；责任ContentsAcknowledgementsiiAbstractiii摘 要ivContentsvChapter 1 Introduction1C

12、hapter 2 A Brief Synopsis of Fight Club32.1 Plot32.2 Relationships between the Characters5Chapter 3 Symptoms and Causes73.1 DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)73.2 Identity Crisis in the Current Society93.3 The Big Fabulous Material World10Chapter 4 Solutions134.1 The Radical Improper Way: Violence

13、134. 2 The Guideline of Life: Obligation and Responsibility15Chapter 5 Conclusion18Notes21References22Chapter 1 IntroductionFight Club is a 1999 American feature movie adaptation of the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk, adapted by Jim Uhls and directed by David Fincher. Under the influ

14、ence of doomsday complex and the value system of advertising, the movie represented the living status of the marginalized young people, who have lost their identities and got confused about their own values, as well as their struggling attempts to change in the current society. Fincher described Fig

15、ht Club as a black comedy that applies heavy satire. For the same theme we had The Graduate (which focuses on the mental status of the graduates in the certain period) and American Beauty (which concerns on the middle-age crisis of the middle class), and the difference lies in the radical exaggerate

16、d show way, which is definitely a Fincher style. However, the tight script, the dark-colored stunning cinematography, and the blood-splashed screen obviously could not serve everybody. Many viewers, even critics had thought the movie too aggressive to buy the ticket in the first beginning, thus the

17、box office in the first round of release in cinema was quite low; yet after the new release of DVD, despite the surface meaning, people began to think about its inner significance and the movie started to gather popularity. The cost was recovered almost on the DVD sales, thus made this one a cult mo

18、vie.A cult movie is a movie that attracts a devoted group of followers or obsessive fans, despite having no success commercially and critically upon its initial release. The term also describes movies that have remained popular over a long period of time amongst a small group of followers. In many c

19、ases, cult movies may have failed to achieve mainstream success on original release although this is definitely not always the case. Although they may only have a short cinema release cult movies often enjoy ongoing popularity due to a myriad of VHS, LaserDisc and DVD releases. (1)Other cult movies

20、hold overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and perform well at the box office, but are still considered “cult”. The most famous cult movies include A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick), Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino) and Fight Club. Beside the sales mode, they also have the same unique unco

21、nventional, irreverent, edgy styles. A Clockwork Orange forces us to rethink about humans free will, while the Pulp Fiction represents us a black humor on gangs and drugs. These movies use violence as a way to achieve their main ideas, and those who can stand the horrified scenes finally get the rew

22、ards and become the faithful cult followers. Chapter 2 A Brief Synopsis of Fight Club2.1 PlotThe nameless leading character Jack (played by Edward Norton), is a car accident examiner in a major automobile manufacturer. Jacks life is monotonous and dead-end, flooded with IEKA furniture and other comm

23、ercial but non-sense materials.In the beginning of the movie, Jack found himself in the trouble of insomnia. In order to cure it, he began to attend support groups, which are only available to those who have incurable diseases. In the first testicular cancer group he attended, Jack meet Bob, a man w

24、ith big breasts but without his balls. In front of Bob, Jack eventually released his emotions and incredibly, his insomnia was cured. Finding comfort in these self-help rituals, Jack became addicted, though he did not have any illness at all. Yet this little happiness ended soon when Marla Singer (p

25、layed by Helena Bonham Carter) appears. Marla is the same kind of person like Jack; she did not have any ailments, but went to every support group Jack attends. Her lies mirrored Jacks; reminded Jack that he was not the same person in those support groups. The insomnia returned. Jack has to have the

26、 showdown with Marla, and they finally agreed with the solution of splitting the groups. Since then their relationship began to develop.Then Tyler runs into Jacks life. Tyler Durden, a cocky soap salesman (played by Brad Pitt), meet Jack during an airplane trip. After the pleasant conversation, Jack

27、 had thought Tyler a nice one-off friend. When Jack returned from his trip, he found his condominiuma house full of condiments and no real food (2), was detonated by accident. With no place to live, Jack called Tyler. At the bar, Tyler asked Jack whether he wants to live with him, and after he got t

28、he affirmative answer, as a celebration or a way to show their friendship, they began to fight. They fought with fists violently and pleasantly, as a way to release their hormones and show off their masculinity. Since then Jack and Tyler started living together in Tylers abandoned house. Jack became

29、 totally captivated by Tylers personality. Their continuous fights in the parking lot of the bar attracted a crowed of men who also want to join in. Eventually Tyler established the underground Fight Club. People fight, one vs. one, in the Fight Club, with no arms and no helps from others. They just

30、 fight, with some kind of religious faith. Only though the punches and the pain they can grab the sense of living. Tyler was the godfather. He set up the rules, organized the fights, and even assigned homework to the members. With his great efforts, Fight Club expanded in cities all over the country

31、 in a very short period.However, Tylers behavior became uncontrolled. He called his members to implement Project Mayhem, a terrorist mission aimed to destroy the corporate culture. The society has fell into chaos, many automobiles, sculptures and buildings were destroyed. As to the club members, Bob

32、 got shoot and died in a mission. At the same time, Marla came back, and the fact that she slept with Tyler shocked Jack. Jack began to reconsider the relationship with Tyler, questioning Tylers extreme behaviors. Tyler denied all these questions and disappeared from Jacks life. After a tough hide-a

33、nd-seek, Jack finally discovered that he and Tyler was the same person. He did everything that Tyler did, he fought with himself when he fought with Tyler, and he slept with Marla because Tyler has slept with her. Therefore, Jack has to prevent Tyler. He followed Tyler (also himself) into an evacuat

34、ed building, which has planted with bombs by Tyler, and a showdown took place. Jack lost the fight and was bound in a chair with a gun pointing at his mouth. Yet when realizing that they were the same person, the gun mysteriously went into Jacks hand and Jack shoot himself in the mouth. Tyler disapp

35、eared at the expense of Jacks serious wound. The club members kidnapped Marla to the building. Jack calmed Marla down and together, with hands in hands, they watched the front buildings tumble down.2.2 Relationships between the CharactersThere are three main characters in this movie, Jack, Tyler, an

36、d Marla. Fulfilled with masculinity, the gentlemen lead the roles, while Marla appeared as a stimulator.Jack and Tyler have had very subtle relationships. The director carried homoerotic overtones over from Palahniuk's novel to implement in the film. Physically they are the same person; psycholo

37、gically they are equal to homosexual lovers. The two men live together, fight together, and influence each other greatly (especially Tyler to Jack). Thus, when Marla came in, the triangle question became unconventional and revertible. Jack was not only jealous on Tyler, but on Marla too, for Tyler i

38、s his mental lover.Marla is a normal factor in this weird relationship. As the only female, she brought the outside power into Jacks small world. She is the same person like Jack, and she had cured her mental illness via the love she had fell with Jack.Therefore, the movie can be divided into two pa

39、rts. The major one is scenes with Jack and Tyler, includes the fists, the bloods and the illuminations they had left; the other part is the relationship between Marla and Jack, which concludes the end of the movie: the normal but strong love had brought Jack back to the earth. Chapter 3 Symptoms and

40、 Causes3.1 DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)Fight Club is really an excellent movie. It is incredibly stylish, sophisticated and entertaining. The plot is tight. It lured you in before turning you upside down. David Fincher is really a genius director. He planned a huge twist in the movie with no

41、bodys realization. Actually, the twist (that Jack and Tyler is the same person, Tyler is a imaginary figure created by Jack) is planned from the beginning of the movie. Tylers image flashed through the screen before Jack meets him. He appeared beside the printer, in the support groups, and each pict

42、ure is no longer than one second, just like the cigarette burns and Tylers project tricks mentioned in the movie. Moreover, through out the movie Jack and Tyler never speaks to the same person at one same time. All these indicate the final twist, and by doing this, Fincher tricks the audiences too.T

43、his twist has a formal name. What Jack really suffers from is DID (Disassociative Identity Disorder). DID (previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder MPD) is a psychological condition often found to be the result of severe childhood trauma and/or extreme and repeated physical, sexual, and/or

44、emotional abuse. During the process of mental dissociation, the individual does not properly associate her/his thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity with reality, and therefore fails to make “normal” mental connections. (3) In the case of Fight Club, Tyler is Jacks alter ego, a

45、nd Jack did not realize Tylers illusive existence until the end. Moreover, Jack never associates his thoughts and feelings with Tyler, neither at the time when he recognized the fact and wipe Tyler out by shooting himself. Since the two leading characters are the same person, we can regard Fight Clu

46、b a display of a DID patient, but a more significant one. Jack and Tyler are entirely two different person (or we can say Jack has two entirely different personalities). Jack, a white collar in a big company, lives in rich and comfort, but lacks of masculinity, lacks of life targets and the sense of

47、 belonging. His dream is to collect all those furniture in Ikea catalogue; his job is only a mean to avoid poverty. He has no idea of what kind of person he wants to be. He is the representative of the common people, who are droved by the society, while Tyler, a modern-day hippie, who lives in an ab

48、andoned leaking house, had no material belongings at all. Nevertheless, he knows his life, knows what he really wants and what he do not. He breaks the rules and does whatever he wants. To the normal society, he is an alien as well as a rebel, yet to the people who have lost their aims, he is a guid

49、e as well as a hero. He is exactly the kind Jack wants to be. What will we do if we encountered Tyler, the person we are dreaming of but totally different, leave him or follow him? Most of us choose to go away, for fear of many practical problems and social discriminations. Jack choose the latter (o

50、f course the premise might be his condo, which is also his life target, was blown up), thus offered us the chance to watch this fantastic movie.3.2 Identity Crisis in the Current SocietyIt is quite interesting that the main role in the movie, which is played by Norton, does not have a name. He is on

51、ly an average-Jack. For one thing, it is a need to serve the plot, because Jacks real name is also Tyler Durden; while for another, this arrangement shows us the loss of Jacks identity. How do we define a person? Besides his name, we usually focus on the differences people have, like their social ro

52、les, their personal traits, and their conscious self-images, etc. However, Jack is only a small individual in the big society, a common employee in a large company. He was mediocre and without any special traits before he met Tyler. Jack could be anyone in the world, and anyone could be Jack. There

53、are tens of thousands of Jacks living in this world. They born, they grow up, they work, they get married, they have children and they die. They do the same trifles in every corner of the world. All of them follow this pattern, and you cannot tell any differences beside these must-dos. People think

54、that this is all life is about, and then they give up their ambitions and play their role numbly. Life is like a game, and we do the same tasks other people do. Once stops, our life will be gone. We are the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no great war, or great depressi

55、on. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. (4) Tylers words are the best explanation. People are not considered as individuals any more. Living in milk and honey, they are basically the same; they have already lost their own identity. The world still goes on even if one

56、 of them vanished. Who is Jack becomes the most difficult question. In order to find the answer, we have to fight with the inside spirits and make our lives extraordinary. For the Jack in the movie, what he suffers are two kinds of crisis: self-identity crisis and sexual-identity crisis. Both of the

57、 solutions lead to Tyler. To Jack, white-collar is never the ideal job, but hippies as Tyler is what he is dreaming to become. The safe, secure, and bored capitalist American Dream life is not attracting at all, but a free, alive, and chaotic anarchistic vision is more challenging and interesting. W

58、hat Tyler does is what Jack wants to do. In the very first of the movie, Jack is fond of purchasing Ikea furniture, which is a behavior usually woman does. Moreover, the director planed Jack to the testicular cancer support group, another satire of Jacks loss of masculinity. It is Tyler, the typical

59、 man full of masculinity, helps Jack to solve his sexual-identity crisis in the way of continuous fighting. Jack identified himself with Ikea catalogue, then as a weak hopeless patient in support groups, and finally through self-violence. Through the process of Ikea furniture-support groups-fight club, Jack has fulfilled his role transformation