Before the cult 1999 film began streaming in China, censors drastically changed the ending so that the anarchist narrator is caught and punished for his crimes.
This is one of the better descriptions of the intent of the book I've ever read. It really is a satire of fragile masculine ego about a bunch of dudes having a tantrum. Oh boo hoo I can't be a strong hunter gatherer warrior in modern sissy society
There's also a persistent theme that having individuality is feminine. Durden hates individual expression in all regards, using the term snowflake as a disparaging term for anyone believing themselves to be unique. He uses the term space cadet positively for initiates who hang on his every word and follow commands unflinchingly. Initiates in project mayhem are even denied names, with Robert Paulsen regaining his name only after becoming a martyr.
it really is a scathing bitter criticism of whiny toxic masculine pride from the perspective of a gay guy
some people are extremely confused when they read Durden as a positive role model or that project mayhem has leftist goals
No, I think the movie makes the same point but maybe there's some kind of mistranslation when it went to a visual medium. Because Brad Pitt is cool and handsome, so perhaps it's difficult to see he's presented as a weird fascist. I don't really know honestly. I saw the movie first and read the book later and they're essentially the same thing. The movie just has a particular aesthetic style and makes the characters seem cool. Perhaps the narrator (Norton's character) is portrayed more sympathetically too?
The only difference in the plot from the book and the film are the narrator explicitly ends up in a psych ward at the end and project mayhem has been foiled. Although it perhaps hasn't been, because it's suggested the orderlies and nurses working at the psych ward are also project mayhem members who believe this is still part of some scheme. The film ends with project mayhem succeeding at blowing up all the corporate headquarters, but Tyler Durden has been exorcised.
No, the movie is still a scathing satire. They just cast Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, so everyone thought "Wow cool sexy guys doing cool sexy guy stuff", instead of focusing on how this dude starts a fascist death cult in the basement of a rotting abandoned house.
This is one of the better descriptions of the intent of the book I've ever read. It really is a satire of fragile masculine ego about a bunch of dudes having a tantrum. Oh boo hoo I can't be a strong hunter gatherer warrior in modern sissy society
There's also a persistent theme that having individuality is feminine. Durden hates individual expression in all regards, using the term snowflake as a disparaging term for anyone believing themselves to be unique. He uses the term space cadet positively for initiates who hang on his every word and follow commands unflinchingly. Initiates in project mayhem are even denied names, with Robert Paulsen regaining his name only after becoming a martyr.
it really is a scathing bitter criticism of whiny toxic masculine pride from the perspective of a gay guy
some people are extremely confused when they read Durden as a positive role model or that project mayhem has leftist goals
So in that case the movie essentially makes the opposite point? The author wrote a satire but the movie goes all "yes but unironically"?
No, I think the movie makes the same point but maybe there's some kind of mistranslation when it went to a visual medium. Because Brad Pitt is cool and handsome, so perhaps it's difficult to see he's presented as a weird fascist. I don't really know honestly. I saw the movie first and read the book later and they're essentially the same thing. The movie just has a particular aesthetic style and makes the characters seem cool. Perhaps the narrator (Norton's character) is portrayed more sympathetically too?
The only difference in the plot from the book and the film are the narrator explicitly ends up in a psych ward at the end and project mayhem has been foiled. Although it perhaps hasn't been, because it's suggested the orderlies and nurses working at the psych ward are also project mayhem members who believe this is still part of some scheme. The film ends with project mayhem succeeding at blowing up all the corporate headquarters, but Tyler Durden has been exorcised.
No, the movie is still a scathing satire. They just cast Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, so everyone thought "Wow cool sexy guys doing cool sexy guy stuff", instead of focusing on how this dude starts a fascist death cult in the basement of a rotting abandoned house.