Applying Freudian's Theory - Fight Club

Applying Freud's "The Self" Theory to Fight Club - Kitchen Scene:

In the 1999 film 'Fight Club', directed by David Fincher explores the narrative of "An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soapmaker form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more."(IMDB, 2018). In this scene, we see the narrator (Jack) washing his clothes with a toothbrush, whilst also seeing Marla enter the scene with him having a conversation. I will be applying Freudian's theory of "The Self" using the three characteristics of the mind the 'Id', the 'Ego' and the Super-ego.

It is vital I feel to explore the ending of this film before I start analysing. The ending of this film reveals that Tyler Durden is in fact Jack, they are the same person. Opening up a window to explain that Jack (well, Tyler) has DID = Dissociation Identity Disorder - "a severe form of dissociation, a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity"(WebMD, 2018). It could be argued that Freud used the characters of Marla and Tyler to convey the ego and the ID (of the real Tyler) with the Super ego being the character 'Jack'. Furthermore, I believe that Freud purposely made these connections, due to his belief in to the disorder "Freud may have been onto something with his early theories surrounding ideas of dissociative identity disorder. He originally thought that childhood trauma resulted in hysteria as an adult. He later refuted this as it gained controversy, but did not give up on it entirely. The diagnosis became more accepted once researchers discovered it was likely a cause of childhood abuse. This made it possible for therapists to recover the buried memories and be able to treat the patients" (Paris, 2012).

The scene starts with the narrator explaining that Tyler and Marla are never in the same room unless they are 'humping'. I believe this is a subliminal underlining message for the Id and the ego, as they can often conflict unless due to compromise. We see Jack also brushing his shoes in the scene with a toothbrush, this emphasises the super-ego's characteristics of being self-aware of presentation and social stance. This furthermore links to Jack's past of living in a safe/controlled lifestyle, prominently controlled by the super-ego (Due to the love of IKEA furniture in his apartment); when his apartment is blown up, this is where the super-ego has lost its power as its desire has been wiped, leaving a balance between the id and the super-ego. Within technical elements, the close up shots and the positioning of Marla and Jack convey a level of intimacy, but the lack of diegetic sound also insinuates an element of tension, as Jack is not conversing with Marla. This is furthermore reinforced by the close up shot of the two's feet, with Marla on her tiptoe's, following the close up shot of Jack with his back turned against Marla.

Marla often portrays elements of the ID in this scene, with the temptation of sexual references, however, she shows compromise to the ego compared to Jack due to the sense of knowing that Jack doesn't want to have sex with her, the id will continue to pursue their desires, unlike the ego who will balance their desires with sensibility. Jack eventually enters the scene as Marla leaves, with the lines "Get her out of here" - like a command, which ultimately enforces my previous point of Tyler being the ID, telling Jack that he wants her out, which Jack wants also. The scene ends with Tyler smoking a cigarette which ultimately conveys and reinforces the idea of corruption the Id has upon Jack's life.

The mise-en scene in this scene is interesting to analyse in conjunction to Freudian's theory of the self. The building in which the three characters are living in is rundown, dirty and cluttered. This to myself is used by Fincher purposely, in order to represent Jack's 'state of mind' as "They appear to be incapable of any true emotions, from love to shame to guilt. They are quick to anger, but just as quick to let it go, without holding grudges. No matter what emotion they state they have, it has no bearing on their future actions or attitudes." (Mccafe, 2003) - we see Jack portray this in the scene towards Marla. The shots of Marla and Jack in this scene shows a level of intimacy, but it also creates tension due to the silence, there is a shot of the twos lower half which displays how close Marla is to Jack whilst he is washing up. The non-diegetic sound of silence reinforces the tension between the two in the scene.

Bibliography:
IMDB, Accessed 10th December 2018, [online] - Fight Club (1999) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137523/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt

Mcafee, 2003, [online] - Profile of the Sociopath. https://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html

Paris, 2012, The Rise and Fall of Dissociative Identity Disorder: Journal

of Nervous & Mental Disease. 200(12):1076-1079, December

WebMD, Accessed 12th December 2018, [online], Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder) https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder