Freedom
Fight Club
In Fight Club, the issue of freedom is bluntly addressed in Tyler Durden’s saying “only when you’ve lost everything are you free to do anything.” According to Tyler by disconnecting ourselves from the materialistic society that we are brought up to follow, we can transcend the barrier between ourselves and truth (or God). Though Tyler holds a very nihilistic view of religion and God, a parallel can be drawn between his “freedom to do anything” and the enlightenment of Buddhism or baptism of Christianity. By ridding yourself of worldly possessions, we cleanse ourselves of our original sin. We are left to become one with God.
BJM
In Being John Malkovich, all but two characters never become free. For example, Lester continues to pass his soul from vessel to vessel only further encasing himself in the physical world. He is to afraid to leave this world and be freed from his cycle (Samsara if you want). By further limiting himself he is only forcing himself farther away from the freedom of death. Craig never becomes free either. In the last scene of the film he is shown hiding in the skin of a child to stare at Maxine. His ties to Maxine only further connect him to the physical world. The only two characters that are free in the climax of the story are Maxine and Lotti because they have accepted their mortality and have made peace with that.
Identity
Fight Club
The narrator in Fight Club only finds true identity by accepting his own imperfection. Jack's visions of Tyler Durden are a projection of his own hopes and idea of perfection. In the final scene of the film Jack "kills" Tyler by essentially almost killing himself. By casting away Tyler Durden, Jack is realizing his own humanity, and learns to accept his imperfection.
BJM
Being John Malkovich discusses the question of whether we are defined by our physical or intangible qualities. At the beginning of the film, maxine defines identity mainly by physical properties. She tells Lotti "only John," when she tries to establish a relationship as herself. Lotti on the other hand always understands the importance of one's soul in identity.
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You point out that although Tyler is presumably against organized religion, his interpretation of the "freedom to do anything" is very similar to the concept of a Christian baptism or Buddhist enlightenment. Top-notch. I find that juxtaposition intriguing-- namely, that as much as Tyler rejects a conventional Judeo-Christian notion of "God," he is possibly defining that same God more clearly than ever.
Again in BJM, you key in on the interesting juxtapositions. That the characters who become free are the ones who embrace their mortality-- it's cool to think about! Kind of Daoistic, really, to synthesize very opposite concepts. Most people go through life trying to find freedom by evading death as much as possible, but as you say, in BJM the ones who find true freedom are those who accept their mortality and act accordingly. I mean, I think that Maxine and Lotte finally get together in the end because they realize that it's best to live a natural life, and since life is short, they should do what will make them happy. The end.
-Camila
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