Everything Is Not What It Seems

I have always argued that the media affects the way people behave, talk, dress and make decisions. Some people put these actors on a pedestal as they are sometimes the solution to people's problems or even the object of desire. Film allows people to escape from the reality of their own flawed lives. For example, in love stories, the two main characters always end up together... it is the love formula in hollywood. How can that not be appealing to the woman in the audience who recently broke up with her boyfriend? Or the man who cannot find a date to save his life? These films therefore become a guide to happiness, a solution to their problems, a way to leave their problems behind.

However, I think that films such as Fight Club are an exception to this rule. The interesting twist in the end, when the audience realizes that Brad Pitt's character exists only in Edward Norton's character's mind we find that everything is not as it seems. For me, before I realized that Brad Pitt was just a figment of imagination, there was a sense of escapism for Edward Norton. His bland and dishonest life made the audience feel sympathetic to his character, however when he finds Pitt's character he is finally freed from his miserable life... Through the blood, the sweat and the violence there is a sense of happiness for Norton's character because he seems to have found something honest that makes him feel in control of his life for once. When watching the film I almost felt the need to do something extreme in order to gain more control of life or even to just be more adventurous and once the movie took a certain turn I realized that Norton's character actually had completely lost control of his life. His ability to create an altar ego demonstrates an unstability that is no longer appealing to his audience. And even though this film does not have the happy ending formula it is still considered one of the most important films. 

What makes this film popular and affective is the cinematography. There was a sense of reality in the way this film was made; it was very dark and when there was light it was a fluorescent which made the film seem documentary-like. The opening scene where the camera is weaving through a brain, outlining the whole structure immediately  shows the audience that they are going inside the mind of a very interesting man. The most interesting cinematographic technique was the subliminal flashes of Pitt's character. It was as if he was with Norton all along, slowly but surely taking over him and consuming his very identity. The overall point is that this film expresses to the audience that EVERYTHING IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS (and to get some sleep... haha)