In What Ways Does an Understanding of Perception Have an Impact on the Work of Designers

8/3/2019 In What Ways Does an Understanding of Perception Have an Impact on the Work of Designers

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Emma Foster

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In what ways does an

understanding of

perception have an

impact on the work ofdesigners, directors

and those involved in

the art of filmmaking?By Emma Foster

CG Arts and Animation, Year 1

Monday 12th

December 2011

1,998 Words

Perception- Chris Hunt


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Contents

Introduction .3

Main Body ......4

Conclusion .11

List of Illustrations .12

Bibliography ...12


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Introduction

Perception is a significant part of the understanding of many different art

forms but particularly filmmaking where it is theprocessbywhichanorganism(in

this case the audience)detectsandinterpretsinformationfrom theexternal

worldbymeans of thesensoryreceptors(Collins English Dictionary, 2011). It

is important that there is an understanding of perception in filmmaking so that the

film is received successfully. It is not always necessary that the film is fully

understood, this is where the idea of ambiguity comes in but it is important that the

audience can attempt to decipher films through their individual perceptions. The

focus of this essay will be the film Fight Club(directed by David Fincher, Twentieth

Century Fox, 1999) where key ideas and themes of perception will be explored such

as identity formation and the alienation effect. To further research into Fight Club

and its perception key sources have been quoted such as Barry Vackers Slugging

Nothing: Fighting the Future in Fight Club(2009), and David Blakesley and Jeffrey

Hoogeveens The Thomson Handbook (2007). This assignment will explore the

importance of perception within Fight Club and how it shapes the audiences

understanding of it.


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Main Body

Capitalism1 surrounds us and our lives both explicitly and implicitly. It is

something extremely hard for the Western society to avoid as it plays such an

important role in the culture. Yet socialist Karl Marxs ideas ofMarxism2 also play a

big role in the way todays societies evolve within this capitalist consensus. It is this

idea of Marxism opposing Capitalism that is evident throughout David Finchers

Fight Cluband which impacts on how we as an audience identify and decipher the

film. Fight Clubis full of capitalist imagery but while this could be perceived as the

film permitting capitalism the narrative voiceover during these sequences of imagery

connotes otherwise. When deep space exploration ramps up, it will be

corporations that name everything: The IBM Stellar Sphere. The Microsoft

Galaxy. Planet Starbucks. (Fight Club, 1999). The borrowing of space related

qualities by the narrator to describe the

growth of well-known capitalist

corporations acts as the increase of

their power over society, it tells the

audience that the narrator feels these

corporations will become too powerful

and connotes the ideology that they will

become out of this world and rule the future. This belief so early on in the film

foreshadows later events such as those of Project Mayhem and suggests the

narrator as a sort of modern Karl Marx who is aware of the effects of capitalism and

in living through them in vain. It is also an example of playwright Brechts alienation

1

Capitalism is a type of economic system which agrees to private ownership of production and production ofgoods for profit and competitive market.2Marxism is an economic view which looks at materialism and the development of capitalism.

Figure 1 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999,

20th

Century Fox)taken from: Fight Club (DVD)Special Edition (2003)sourced 10/12/2011


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effect3 as the narrator is very analytical throughout the film and talks with a direct

mode of address which doesnt allow the audience their own interpretation and

suggests capitalism through brainwashing. There is also the importance of corporate

logos in the waste bin. This backs up the narrators belief of these companies having

too much power and the excessive showing of logos throughout the film even on

disposed products suggests to the audience that no matter where they fall victims to

the capitalist vision.

Imagery which further suggests the idea of being owned by capitalism is the

scene of the Ikea furniture. The apartment starts off as a blank canvas, one that has

no hints of how predominant capitalism is in U.S. society but as the narrator reads

from the catalogue the apartment begins to fill with branding. The important thing is,

this isnt just any furniture; it is furniture of a corporation that plays a major role in the

way we as a contemporary society run our homes. The scene is a live action

intertextual version of the Ikea catalogue and because of this acts like an in film

advertisement again injecting the audience with

the perception of todays society as an endless

advert where we cannot escape the capitalist

aims of companies who try to sell products in any

way possible that stares you in the face as much

as it can. We become a slave to the Ikea

nesting instinct. (Fight Club, 1999) The

narrator uses the idea of the nesting instinct 4 to

symbolise how Ikea has a similar effect on consumers in that it becomes a necessity

3Alienation effect is an idea of Brecht which prevents the passive loss of the audience instead leading them

to be constantly critical.4Nesting instinct occurs in females during pregnancy and results in the urge to clean and organize before the

babys arrival.

Figure 2 (still from Fight Club, David

Fincher, 1999, 20th

Century Fox) takenfrom:http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpgsourced on 10/12/2011
http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpghttp://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpghttp://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpghttp://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpghttp://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpg


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for them to have for example, the Birkeland wardrobe but also the matching items.

Without, consumers are injected through the hypodermic model 5that their home isnt

suitable for themselves, that it isnt individual to them. The scene uses this

technique to provide ironic commentary, for while the narrator attempts to add

commercial products to his home in order to individualize it he only succeeds

in making a more accurate copy of the mass-produced advertisements he

orders from. (Blakesley and Hoogeveen, 2007)This along with the catalogue

scene suggests the audience should perceive U.S. society as fake and superficial as

well as dehumanising. Unlike small sellers Ikea capitalism alongside many other

corporations follows theorist Baudrillards idea ofsimulacra6 and simulation7. Instead

of allowing consumers decision making and the chance of individualising their lives,

they fill their brains with ideas of having products and designs that are simulations of

those produced for catalogue display. The U.S. society ofFight Clubis just a copy,

of a copy, of a copy. (Fight Club, 1999).

The foundations of Fight Clubrevolve around the identities of the characters

suggestive of the identity of the protagonist of U.S. society as ideas injected from

capitalist beliefs to the state of masculine identity also affect the audience.

Anthropology8 especially cultural anthropology 9can be related to identity within Fight

Clubin that patterns of consumption and exchange in a capitalist society impact on

how the characters act. The narrator says himself I had everything in that

suitcase: my CK shirts, my DKNY shoes, my AIX ties(Fight Club, 1999)He

feels useless without these things, his identity becoming ruled by them as he

5The Hypodermic model is a media term for the full receiving and acceptance of an intended message.

6Simulacra makes anything like reality seem a part of our understanding of life.

7

Simulation is a fake perception of reality where it is not noticeable as fake.8Anthropology is a study of human life and deals with what defines us as human.

9Cultural anthropology deals with cultural or social effects on us humans.


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doesntsee himself without them. I had everything in that suitcase is connotative of

the narrators belongings being his life and now that they are gone his life is going to

spiral out of control. This could be associated with Marxs idea ofcommodity

fetishism10because the narrators worth is translated onto his belongings where

there is a sense of false consciousness and they are seen as something that brings

about life improvement. Theorist Slavoj iek talks of corporate capital dominating

our fantasy kernel and this is something

Fight Clubseems to agree with, with

suggestions from the narrator of money

becoming our fixation rather than our life

happenings. Once money became a

universal equivalent against which

everything in our lives is measured, things lost their material reality, we began

even to think of our lives in terms of money rather than in terms of the real

things we hold in our hands. (Blakesley and Hoogeveen, 2007)

10Commodity fetishism deals with the idea of becoming reliant on certain things of economic value.

Figure 3 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999,

20th

Century Fox) taken from:http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpgsourced on 10/12/2011
http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpghttp://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpghttp://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpghttp://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpghttp://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg


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The state of masculinity in the early 1990s is a theme strongly explored within

FightCluband one that leads to

the study of theorists Kellner and

Dunns identity formation

11becoming relevant.Fight Club

follows a very stereotypical

representation of masculinity with

the male characters seemingly

finding themselves through physically violent acts. The men who do not act in this

way, or didnt are represented as weak and having a part missing from their identity.

This makes sense as the narrator (Jack) is seemingly lost from the beginning of the

film, struggling to fight insomnia and unable to express his emotions fully. Alienation

effect is also evident here as the narrative tells us all about Jack so we are unable to

decipher his beliefs. However, when he joins support groups and later the fight club

he is able to let go through his masculine actions. These groups are highly

intertextual with military units and sports teams

which convey a strong masculine stance and

follow theorist Bernsteins restricted codes 12in

that anyone outside of fight club doesnt quite

understand the meaning of its existence.

However, Fight Clubwouldnt successfully get

across the idea of a lack of masculine identity if

there wasnt a reason for it. The film follows a misogynistic ideology where any

female reference is in vain, the only main female character Marla Singer is an

11Identity formation is the development of personality through the impact of certain aspects during life.

12Restricted codes are closed in that only insiders of that topic are likely to understand.

Figure 4 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20 Century Fox) taken from:http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpgsourced on 10/12/2011

Figure 5 (still from Fight Club, David

Fincher, 1999, 20th

Century Fox) takenfrom:http://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpgsourced on10/12/2011
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpghttp://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpghttp://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpghttp://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpghttp://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpghttp://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpghttp://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpghttp://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpg


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example of this especially when she joins the support groups.Marla...the big

tourist. Her lie reflected my lie. Suddenly, I felt nothing. I couldn't cry, so once

again I couldn't sleep.(Fight Club, 1999)This deals with the idea of men no

longer having traditional roles in society, seemingly a lost sense of economic

authority due to the rise in power and speech of women. Ultimately, the fights

arent about improved toughness, living more fully, or being more authentic.

They are brutal battles aimed at the destruction of reality, self, improvement

and the future.(Vacker, 2009)Fight Clubwants to show the return of masculinity

as it is thought right; where there is the separation of roles between men and women

and where the reality of today isnt true. The male characters feel disgusted in their

bodies due to the representation of current masculinity which is pinned on them and

would rather destroy themselves than stay that way.

The struggle for identity is further perceived through the films semiotics13

which are especially used when it comes to the character of Tyler Durden. Durden is

strongly against corporate corruption and therefore the

audience perceives him connoting a hero for Slavoj ieks

ideas on the fantasy kernel however, the juxtaposition

between Durdens character and the casting of actor Brad

Pitt is quite ironic in that Pitt is an actor rich in money and

fame and wouldnt be perceived as Marxist yet maybe

thats just why his portrayal of Durden is so effective. The

fact that his portrayal and image follows the metrosexual

media image of man that the typical male aspires to be

13Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols through communication.

Figure 6 (still from Fight Club,David Fincher, 1999, 20

th

Century Fox) taken from:http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/9917-tyler_durden_fight_club.jpgsourced on 10/12/2011


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like but goes against everything the media believes in. Fight Club reinscribes

freedom as an individual desire rather than the testing of boundaries and

limits as part of a communal corrective process.(Giroux and Kellner, 2003)

Pitts acting is individual in Fight Clubbecause it goes against what he normally

represents and this supports parts of the films ideology14 where individual male

characters take the chance and stand up against capitalism and consumption rather

than being brainwashed and complying to the injection of the media. There is also

the belief throughout that there are no longer authentic emotions, that we are all

some sort of robotic clones who do as capitalism tells us and have no individual

identity about us from our taste in clothes to our home dcor but the fight club

characters countertype this. Fincher does do something uncharacteristically capitalist

with the appearance of Durden though and which further explores the alienation

effect of the film. He projects an image of Durden flickering in and out of scenes

throughout the film which messes with the audiences head in that we start to

question the reality of the film and in some ways feel like we are seeing things from

tiredness which puts us in Jacks insomniac shoes. This also links in with capitalism

always staring you in the face, somewhat watching you, Durden appears during

moments of capitalist theme as if he is trying to brainwash the audience.

14Ideology is a set of beliefs or a certain individual or group.


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Conclusion

In conclusion, in what ways does an understanding of perception have an

impact on the work of filmmakers? It is important for filmmakers to get their

ideologies and meanings across to the audience successfully and even though there

are always points of films where audiences with have individual and unique

interpretations there are times when it is important that they all perceive the film in

the same way. Fight Clubhas some strong ideologies which are meant to be

perceived in a certain way through powerful imagery and the use of semiotics. These

create the films meaning from identity formation to its beliefs on capitalism. Through

these techniques as well as many others filmmakers can impact the perception

audiences have of the film and decide what they want them to focus on most and

how they want them to interpret.


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List of Illustrations

Figure 1 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20thCentury Fox) taken from:Fight Club (DVD) Special Edition (2003) sourced 10/12/2011

Figure 2 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20thCentury Fox) taken from:https://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0509/5af28df8e45ba/5af28e0357405.jpgsourced on 10/12/2011

Figure 3 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20thCentury Fox) taken from:https://reader009.{domain}/reader009/html5/0509/5af28df8e45ba/5af28e050e6fd.jpgsourced on10/12/2011

Figure 4 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20thCentury Fox) taken from:http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpgsourced on10/12/2011

Figure 5 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20thCentury Fox) taken from:http://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpgsourced on10/12/2011

Figure 6 (still from Fight Club, David Fincher, 1999, 20thCentury Fox) taken from:http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/9917-tyler_durden_fight_club.jpgsourced on10/12/2011

Bibliography

Book Bibliography

Blakesley, David and Hoogeveen, Jeffrey. L, (2007), The Thomson Handbook,

Cengage Learning, U.S.A.

Giroux, Henry. A and Kellner, Douglas, (2003), Public Spaces, Private Lives:

democracy beyond 9/11, Rowman & Littlefield, U.S.A.

Vacker, Barry, (2009), Slugging Nothing: Fighting the Future in Fight Club, Theory

Vortex Experiments, U.S.A.
http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpghttp://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpghttp://homepage.mac.com/kia/fight_club/images/edward_norton3.jpghttp://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1866/fightclubinsomnian.jpghttp://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://www.moviequotesandmore.com/image-files/fight-club-quotes-5.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011http://media.weirdworm.com/img/misc/10-weird-product-placement/fight-club.jpg%20sourced%20on%2010/12/2011


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Online Bibliography

perception. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perception(accessed: December 10, 2011).

Film Bibliography

Fincher, David, (1999), Fight Club, 20th

Century Fox
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perceptionhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perceptionhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perception

Documents

In What Ways Does an Understanding of Perception Have an Impact on the Work of Designers