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Fight Club Conformity Analysis

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Conformity Conformity is a major theme in Fight Club, and there are a number of specific scenes that display the rejection of it and characters falling victim to it, sometimes unbeknownst to them. The Narrator, our main character, is a complex individual. He fits into almost every textbook example of social psychology. He is a complete nutcase. In fact, he is so incredibly insane, that he creates an imaginary friend with whom he transforms himself into a different person, free from the bonds of society, free from conformity, free to change the way he lives. Or does he? The film starts off with the Narrator losing sleep, for what reason we aren’t sure. He then proceeds to tell us how he lived his life. He works a 9 to 5 job in a cubicle …show more content…

Are they rejecting social norms as well? Or has this fight club in turn become the norm, and therefore members are joining it to fit in? Perhaps it is a case of minority influence, when a few influence the many. Tyler and the Narrator have held the same viewpoint for a while now, months even, that they do not care about clever art or Swedish furniture, and they are comfortable admitting that they have scars from fighting. With this unwavering view, others start to take notice, and even begin to respect their ideology. They join fight club to become loyal members. After a while, Tyler decides that they have to expand or “move out of the basement,” and hence creates Project Mayhem. People do not always cave into peer pressure. If that is true, then when do we break? When do we give in and conform? According to Bibb Penis Latané’s social impact theory, it all depends on three specific factors: strength, how important the group is to you; immediacy, how close the group is to you in space and time; and the number of people in the group. The last factor operates differently than you might think however—the larger a group is, the less each additional person has an influence on others. Ever since starting the first fight club, Norton’s character has garnered such a reputation that he has gained a following. People start showing up on his doorstep,

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