What puts the Fight in Fight Club?

Let me start by saying that Fight club is one of my all time favorite movies. I am a huge Edward Norton fan, which helps to explain my love for fight club. The story is so thought provoking. I can still remember the first time that I watched Fight Club; the plot twist was so amazing. I had to watch it again just to think about everything being done only by Edward Norton. But what else contributes to Fight Club outside of the actors and the plot? I mean for example, Ocean’s 13 has a ton of famous actors, but I don’t enjoy watching it nearly as much as Fight Club.
Basically, I feel like Fight Club creates a mood in addition to telling a great story. Everything about Fight Club is dark. From the behind the bar fights, to the derelict house in the middle of nowhere, to the disgusting basement. Even the opening credits are dark. This only augments the already dark subject matter of the plot.
The other thing that creates the “Fight Club Mood,” is the music. The musical setting created is absolutely perfect for the scenes depicted. My particular favorite is the song that is played after Edward Norton (Tyler) discovers he can sleep after attending the testicular cancer support group. A song that is very chamber musicesque plays in the background as he circles various support groups in the paper, while narrating about what a life changing experience this has been. The song follows the chord progression I, V, ii, iv. For those of you out there who are not music buffs, this chord progression is very odd. It is odd because it starts off sounding very happy, and then sort of “morphs” into something very sad. This fits perfectly with what is happening in the movie. Tyler has discovered something that makes him happy, but the only way he can gain this happiness is through other people’s pain and suffering.
The music, the subject matter, and the cinematography all leave me feeling saddened, and yet somehow driven at the end of the movie. Every time I watch fight club I feel like I need to get up off the couch and do something meaningful with my life (instead of the usual sit around and play video games chapter I seem to be stuck in.) I think that this is the message that the movie is trying to convey, with the production value embedded within the film.

1984... or is it?

Rock the Junta paints a different picture of what it is like to live in a fascist state. I found this short story very interesting. When I hear someone mention 1984, “V for Vendetta,” or Fahrenheit 451, I paint the same basic picture of oppression, poverty, and violence in my head. The same goes when I hear about Afghanistan, Darfur, and anywhere else in the world that is suffering a “Conflict.” It won’t come as a surprise then when I say that based on the first paragraph, I expected Rock the Junta to be yet another story of poverty, violence, and oppression. But it was not. Whereas the normal “Orwellian” picture’s colors are vibrant and stark, this picture of Fascism was filled with muted colors.
The Government control method in Myanmar is very different from the typical fascism (if there is such a thing.) Here, the government rules by supreme censorship. In Myanmar, you are allowed to listen to music. You are allowed to watch American television. You are even allowed to be whatever religion you please. But the government forces you to take everything in moderation. At first I thought that this sounded like an okay deal, until I learned later in the story, that everyone was afraid that they were being watched by the government at all times. This would disturb me greatly. Everyone in the United States seems to take “Freedom of Speech” for granted. What I mean by this is; I say a lot of things, to a lot of people, about a lot of stuff regarding the government. Basically the only thing that I fear is that the person I am talking with disagrees with me. Never have I had to worry that person I am talking to, or that the person standing 10 feet behind them, could potentially report me to the government, ensuring that I get arrested. What a scary thing this would be, not knowing who you could talk to openly, and who might be listening in on your conversation.
So while the situation in Myanmar might seem tamer than those situations portrayed in books, or talked about on TV, I think that the people suffer equally. Just the fact that Scott Carrier (or whoever actually went to Myanmar) didn’t really get a straight answer from anyone is evidence to the total mind control that the government there has exercised on its people.