Mike Buska
Film Theory

Prof. Mirrer
Fall 2012

 

By now, I’ve seen enough movies to make choosing just one as the most influential is considerably difficult.  However If I had to pick one that was influential in the most ways, my choice would have to be Fight Club. Not only was it monumental for the careers of all the main actors, as well as a major cult classic, but it stands out to me as one of the only movies to bridge the gap of multiple genres simultaneously.  As it starts in its narrative fashion, It draws the viewer in. We can’t help but relate or at least empathize for the main character as he goes day to day living a monotonous and in his opinion pointless life. From there the plot twists and turns with elements of drama, mystery, and action that keep  us guessing and is only twice as enjoyable the second time you watch it. There is however one scene in particular that made a significant impact on me. Tyler Durdan takes a convenience store clerk into an alley at gunpoint and asks what he wished he was doing with his life. Upon finding out the clerk has dreams of becoming a Veterinarian, he gives him the ultimatum of either going back to school and taking the first step toward his dreams, or he would find him in six weeks and kill him. That scenario got me thinking about how many people decide to take the easy route and not go after what they truly want. It made me set goals for myself in order to avoid this in my life, and so far its working well. Of course there has been other “inspirational” movies but the aspect of society settling for mediocrity has never hit me like it did when viewing that scene, and for that reason Fight Club is my most inspirational movie.