Research Proposal

After looking through all the films to choose from, the film I chose to do my research paper on was Fight Club. Fight Club is told through the eyes of Norton. He is the ambiguous protagonist. Him and his friend Tyler start fighting outside of a bar. Together them and other men form the Fight Club. Norton fits the role of the ambiguous protagonist in the fight scenes because he is trying to make how he feels on the inside match what he looks like on the outside. Marla is the femme fatale who gets involved with Tyler. Tyler and Norton turn out to be the same person. Tyler controls Norton when Norton is asleep. It shows elements of Noir with the ambiguous protagonist Norton and the femme fatale Marla. It also shows elements of Neo-Noir. One of the obvious things is it is no longer black and white but in color. It also is open about the fact the Tyler and Marla are together instead of just aluding to it like they did in Double Indemnity. Also in Noir there was some time of punishment for the ambiguous protagonist or the femme fatale. In Neo-Noir however the criminals often get away with the crimes they have committed, showing that the punishment does not always fit the crime. Tgere are a variety of things in Fight Club that show characteristics of Noir and Neo-Noir.  These are just a few things from Fight Club that show those characteristics.
Sources
Bernaerts, Lars. "Fight Club and the Embedding of Delirium in Narrative." Style 43.3 (2009): 373-387. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011

Diken, Bulent, and Carsten Bagge Laustsen. "Enjoy Your Fight!--'Fight Club' as a Symptom of the Network Society." Cultural Values 6.4 (2002): 349. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

GREVEN, DAVID. "Contemporary Hollywood Masculinity and the Double-Protagonist Film." Cinema Journal 48.4 (2009): 22-43. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

Lee, T. "Virtual Violence in Fight Club: This Is What Transformation of Masculine Ego Feels Like." Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 25.3/4 (2002): 418-423. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.

Panek, Elliot. "The Poet and the Detective: Defining the Psychological Puzzle Film." Film Criticism 31.1/2 (2006): 62-88. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.