David Fincher “not responsible” for Fight Club incel popularity

The first rule of Fight Club is not talking about Fight Club – but in a recent interview, director David Fincher has responded to comments about incel popularity.

The esteemed director – with other films such as Gone Girl and Seven under his belt – has new film The Killer coming to Netflix on November 10, 2023.

However, the fan base surrounding his classic flick Fight Club has now become the center of attention instead. The film’s synopsis reads “Two bored men form an underground club with strict rules and fight other men who are fed up with their mundane lives.”

While it might have been harmless on screen, the notorious nature of Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) has had a knock-on effect in the real world.

Fight Club incel hype “not” David Fincher’s responsibility

During an interview with The Guardian, David Fincher responded to Fight Club becoming a favorite movie among extreme right-wing incel communities.

“I’m not responsible for how people interpret things…Language evolves. Symbols evolve,” Fincher stated. “It’s one of many touchstones in their lexicography.”

“We didn’t make it for them, but people will see what they’re going to see in a Norman Rockwell painting, or [Picasso’s] Guernica,” he continued.

Incel is defined as “A member of an online community of young men who consider themselves unable to attract women sexually, typically associated with views that are hostile towards women and men who are sexually active.”

“It’s impossible for me to imagine that people don’t understand that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is a negative influence,” he added. “People who can’t understand that, I don’t know how to respond and I don’t know how to help them.”

Tyler Durden is characterized as wanting to dissolve societal programming, attack consumerism, and upset the established social order. His followers were thought to have “blind obedience” to his orders, which somewhat lent themselves to the idea that he was forming his own cult. In the Fight Club sequel, it’s implied that Tyler might have a mental disorder.

Back in 2022, the film made headlines after China appeared to show a censored version of it. Tencent Video, the country’s largest streaming service, instead showed a new film ending that was said to be the exact opposite of what Fincher had originally created.

If you don’t like this story, why would you license this movie?” Fincher said at the time. “It makes no sense to me when people go, ‘I think it would be good for our service if we had your title on it… we just want it to be a different movie.’ The f***ing movie is 20 years old. It’s not like it had a reputation for being super cuddly.”

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