Fight Club - Marla

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By Sarah Shepherd and Jamie Hutton

Transcript of Fight Club - Marla

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BySarah Shepherd and Jamie Hutton

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Agenda

Agenda• Revise key facts of the film • Introduce Marla’s character • Discuss what Marla’s significance is to the

narrative and the film as a whole • Is Marla Singer a figment of Tyler's

imagination?

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Fight club key facts

• Directed by David Fincher • Released in 1999• Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter• Plot summary – Edward Norton plays an unnamed protagonist, who is discontented with his white collar job. He forms a "fight club" with soap maker Tyler Durden, and becomes involved in a relationship with him and a dissolute woman, Marla Singer, played by Bonham Carter.

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MARLA“Destruction and desire”

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Marla’s character

• The film’s only woman, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), weaves in and out of the story, interacting with Jack and Tyler.

• Jack begins his relationship with Marla through the support group meetings. He notices her in several of the meetings and knows that she isn’t attending the meetings because she has the problems that they focus on.

• He feels as if Marla has exposed him and he therefore, continues to suffer from his insomnia which had stoped before he met Marla. Jack is unable to continue to just let go and cry during the group meetings. Marla is a mirror image of Jack.

• They attend the meetings because the support groups make them feel as if they are a part of something. They feel as if people actually understand what they are going through in their personal lives.

• We know that Jack is suffering with insomnia, however Marla’s problem is never clearly revealed. We could say that she has problems with being loved. She has no one in her life and attends the meetings to fill that void area of her heart.

• Since Jack can’t benefit from the meetings while Marla is there, he decides to divide the groups with Marla so that he can stop his insomnia and continue on with his life. He later realizes that he and Marla depend on each other for support.

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What is the significance of Marla

Singer within

Fight Club?

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• Narrator is attracted to Marla because she is “trying to reach bottom”, but he is also angry with her because she “reflects my lie”. Attending the support groups, pretending to be dying, pretending to be letting all the material concerns go was his lie. Marla gets in the way of Narrator’s escape and thus becomes a catalyst for his self-destruction.

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• In the scene when Tyler is teaching Narrator how to make soap, David Fincher focuses on the self-destructive goal the burn symbolizes. Narrator tries to use guided mediation to escape the pain that he feels. When Narrator goes into his cave, a shot of Narrator staring down at Marla lasts for less than a second. This is the first moment in the film that Narrator has allowed himself to give into his desire for her.

This can be seen in the following clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg3m8wRVXWg

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• This desire is flawed, by the surrounding destruction. A good example of this can be seen in the film when; Narrator leans down to kiss Marla, she opens her mouth and exhales a quantity of smoke. Narrator chokes on the smoke and a vision of fire accompanied by a small explosion of sound that represent the pain Narrator is feeling. Tyler slaps Narrator across the face exclaiming, “This is the greatest moment of your life man, and you’re off somewhere missing it”

• David Fincher does not use Marla as source of destruction, but rather as a source of desire. Marla is still connected with the destruction because it is only when Narrator is encountering destruction, facing his greatest fears and pain that he is strong enough to be with Marla.

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• It is evident that Marla is a desire to the Narrator, in scenes that show Marla leaving. The first leaving incident occurs when the Narrator tries to show a dislike attitude toward Marla, in telling her goodbye he states, “Well, let’s not make a big thing out of it, okay”.

• Another scene when the Narrator’s facial expressions gives away his true emotions is when he has kicked Marla out of the house. He has a very angry and serious facial expression, however as Marla walks away it is evident that the Narrator drops the angry purse of his lips. This is emphasized by the camera zooming in, which causes the audience to pay attention to Narrator's change of expressions. The spectator gathers the impression that he is hurt and does not like the fact that she has left, making him lonely .

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• At the end of the film, the spectator can clearly see that Marla is once again at the heart of the destruction. The Narrator and Marla stand alone, holding hands, as they are watching the buildings explode.

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Is Marla Singer a figment of the Narrator’s imagination?

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IS MARLA SINGER A FIGMENT OF JACK’S IMAGINATION?

• The reason she walks through the traffic so carelessly is because she lives by the philosophy that she might die at any moment. She actually wouldn't mind dying. It's narrated right over that part. I don't think she is a product of the Narrator's mind.

• John McCullough’s theory illustrates Marla to be Imaginary.

• We are introduced to Marla and Bob, both of whom are parodies of what Ed Norton’s character understands as feminised gender behaviour.” The conflicting characters of Tyler and Marla highlight Norton’s masculine side trying to repress his feminine side, this relates to the theme of masculinity in crisis.

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Some people have said …..

The reason she walks through the traffic so

carelessly is because she lives by the philosophy

that she might die at any moment. She actually

wouldn't mind dying. I don't think she is a product

of the Narrator's mind. There aren't enough hints

for that in the movie. She is the prototype for

Tyler Durden, though John McCullough’s theory

illustrates Marla to be Imaginary.

Through the whole process, Marla

Singer's role in the narrator's life

eventually causes him to realize that

he is the elusive Tyler Durden and he

was merely projecting a figment of

his imagination.

Through the whole process, Marla Singer's role in the narrator's life eventually causes him to realize that he is the elusive Tyler Durden and he was merely projecting a figment of his imagination.

We are introduced to Marla and Bob, both of whom are parodies of what Ed Norton’s character understands as feminised gender behaviour.” The conflicting characters of Tyler and Marla highlight Norton’s masculine side trying to repress his feminine side, this relates to the theme of masculinity in crisis.

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What do you think, is she a figment of Tyler's imagination?