A Lonely World

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the films "The Matrix" and "Fight Club", which present a materialistic and distracting world where the characters seek radical ways to break away from its limitations. The paper explains how, at the heart of both films, is the idea that man has essentially become enslaved to the desires implanted in him by society. The paper highlights the films' message that modern society promotes an other-directed lifestyle that diminishes individuality and leads to personal isolation.

From the Paper:

"Modern American man is, according to the theories concerning post-modern existence, an existentially empty creature. Materialism and the imposition of systems and forces larger than himself have conspired to alienate man and distance him from his will, his desires, his instincts and his individuality. David Riesman, in his 2001 sociology text The Lonely Crowd, addresses this issue of isolation and conformity, referring to our lives as being other-directed. Here, he intends to note that there are large societal forces at hand which control our thoughts, actions and our view of reality, even as we believe ourselves to be free. This is an idea which is explored with interesting depth in the 1999 films The Matrix and Fight Club. In both, we find a 'real world' that is materialistic and distracting, with the characters therein seeking radical ways to break away from the limitations thereby levies."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Durham, M.G. & Kellner, D. (1991). Media and Cultural Studies. Wiley-Blackwell, 2nd Edition.
• Fordham, G. (2003). Hitchcock's place in film theory. The Open University. Online at <http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/Articles-Spring05/Hitchcock.html>
• Riesman, D. (2001). The Lonely Crowd. Yale University Press.

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