Liminality is the transition period or phase of a rite of passage, during which the participant is between two phases of life; adulthood and adolescence. Liminal space can be the struggle between a physical and a physiological stage of one's life. In the film Fight Club, the main character Tyler and Robert Paulsen both occupy a kind of liminal space. In Guyland Kimmel explains that liminal space is the area of ​​life that both men and boys can occupy to escape the responsibilities that come with the territory of growing up; bills, career, family, work, girlfriends, etc. basically, all the things they will eventually have to face at some point in their lives prolong their stay in this liminal space to move away from. In the film Bob Paulsen is a male who was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had high levels of estrogen which caused his breasts to form, therefore placing him in a liminal physical space. Tyler is a man who over the course of the story will go through a mental change from passive and unstable to assertive and balanced, thus placing him in a liminal psychological space. I argue that Tyler represents liminality better than Robert, but Robert represents castration anxiety better than Tyler. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Tyler represents liminal space better than Robert. Liminality can be described as a conflict that a person experiences while in a transition phase of their life, perhaps a physical or mental transition. Michael Kimmel defines Liminal as “an indefinite interval of time between adolescence and adulthood” (Kimmel 4). In Flight Club we can observe how Tyler goes through his mental transition, from allowing his life to be determined by what others say about him or what people tell him to do without thinking twice, it is evident in the film when: (Fight Club 1999 ). This event is significant because it shows the weakness or passive characteristics that Tyler portrays during the first half of the film; shy, calm and intrusive. So Tyler represents liminal space better than Robert. Robert doesn't portray liminality as well as Tyler. Robert's liminal physical space is due to the fact that he is caught in the middle of a gendered situation, i.e. since he is a testicular cancer patient and now has no testicles, which is how men identify as men . Now he has nothing to guarantee his masculinity, besides the lack of testicles, he is also experiencing high levels of estrogen which causes him to grow "bitch tits". In Westerfelhaus’s article “At the Unlikely Confluence of Conservative Religion and Popular Culture: Fight Club as Heteronormative Ritual” he explains: “At the beginning of the film. Jack regularly visits a support group for men dealing with testicular cancer. These men reassure themselves that they will remain men despite the chemical and surgical castration used to treat their cancer” (Westerfelhaus 312). This is significant because it shows why Bob is in his liminal space, that is, why he can no longer reassure himself that he remains a man despite his surgical castration. Another example to explain Bob's dilemma or why he is trapped in this liminality was explained by Clark, J. Michael in his article "Faludi, Fight Club, and Phallic Masculinity: Exploring the Emasculating Economics of Patriarchy" states: Faludi (1999 ) argues that the dynamics destabilizing American masculinity are primarily economic: consumer culture has emasculated men, pushing them increasingly into ornamental and passive rolestraditionally associated with the feminine sphere... Not a stable state of bliss, the so-called good life has accelerated towards a "surge of mass consumerism", in which, according to Faludi (1999), male value has become increasingly " measured only by participation in…consumer culture” (Clark65). This is significant because Robert Paulsen is a victim of “consumer culture” and how it “emasculated men.” Robert Paulson, former bodybuilder and wrestler. Due to his excessive use of steroids, he developed testicular cancer. It should be evident that from this information Robert has fallen victim to consumer culture and social construct, wanting to replace others in his work he used steroids to get ahead because by doing so he also established his dominance as a man. So Robert doesn't represent liminal space any better than Tyler. Robert Paulsen embodies castration anxiety better than Tyler. Castration anxiety can be defined as fear of emasculation in both a literal and metaphorical sense. In a literal sense, castration anxiety is the conscious or unconscious fear of losing all or part of one's organs. In a metaphorical sense, castration anxiety refers to the feeling of being insignificant. It also refers to the fear of being degraded or dominated. 'it is the need to avoid being dominated; both socially and in a relationship. In the article written by Robert Westerfelhaus, Westerfelhaus suggests that “The fear of castration, the obsession with potency… The concern with emasculation – symbolic and literal – is expressed early and often in Fight Club” (Westerfelhaus311). This is significant because in the first 15 minutes of this film Robert's castration anxiety is made clear in the support group scene, when Robert was crying hysterically and holding Tyler in a big hug, telling his tragic castration story (Fight Club 1999). This liminal space in Roberts' life led him to become part of Fight Club because, although he had already been physically castrated, he did not want to let others know that he had been metaphorically castrated again, to establish his dominance or provide reassurance. his masculinity has turned to violence which is a demonstration of brute force and strength, which due to social construction is the defining factor of a man. So Robert represents castration anxiety better than Tyler. Tyler no more embodies castration anxiety than Robert Paulsen. In his article, J. Michael Clark states: The Betrayal of the American Man and the film Fight Club insist that men have been emasculated by consumerism; that the post-war legacy of the so-called good life has moved men from active, heroic, conflictual roles to passive, ornamental roles usually assigned to women. (Clark 65) This quote is significant because it explains why Tyler has not only taken on the “passive ornamental roles usually assigned to women,” but also why Tyler does not describe the severity of the castration anxiety that Bob does, yes, through -outside the movie Tyler has shown minimal concerns about castration anxiety, but who wants his balls cut off? Tyler's metaphorical castration is made evident in the film, such as how he limits his self-worth to the things he orders from the IKEA catalog (Fight Club 1999), which is an attribute more related to a female role only because of the Social Construct. Only when Tyler's apartment was blown up was Tyler forced to focus on his masculinity. So Tyler doesn't represent castration anxiety any better than Robert. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, it is evident that Tyler embodies the liminal space better than Robert due..