Creating Enigma - 'Fight Club'

Fight Club

The opening sequence of Fight Club starts with a close up shot of a gun barrel, which then zooms out to reveal a face nervously sweating behind it. The audience at this point knows neither who the person is nor why they are about to be shot.

We are then introduced to the name "Tyler Durden", which reveals a little more information for the audience, but not quite enough to figure out exactly what is happening. Even though we later find out that Tyler was the character holding the gun, at the moment we are witnessing "effects" without first seeing "causes".

The main protagonist (Jack) is also narrating everything thats happening to him, which alerts the audience to the fact that he probably makes it out alive in order to tell this story, which in turn, makes the viewer want to carry on watching in order to find out how he does this.

The director has created enigma as the protagonist brings up topics that the viewer has heard nothing about before and which are completely alien to them.

There is then a swift camera movement out through the window and down into the car park of the building. As this is happening, Jack describes how "the Demolitions Committee of Project Mayhem wrapped the foundation columns with blasting gelatine", which is due to blow up in two minutes. This makes the audience question what will happen in those two minutes.

The opening sequence then ends with Jack saying all this has to do with a girl called Marla Singer. Which creates a huge mystery for the viewer, and makes them want to know who she is and what she did. 

By withholding information, the director has hooked the audience, making them desperate to continue watching so that they can make sense of the events they have been introduced to.