David Fincher is someone who makes films about modern organic society – also largely dealing with the perhaps one of the main dilemmas prevalent in it: stigma. Influenced by the observations of Erving Goffman, each of his films (from Fight Club onwards) explores the dynamics of stigma and the hardships of being stigmatized. We see repeatedly characters differently alienated by society. Alienated by the division of labour: Fight Club, the welfare system: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, marriage: Gone Girl, etc.

When speaking of stigma, it should be noted it is established through relation to “normals,” who is normal and stigmatized through relation to society. In Fincher’s films, a society is established, the social dynamics and how it functions revealed as the film unfolds, alongside showing how the stigmatized protagonist doesn’t fit in. We see this early in Zodiac: Robert Graysmith, entering his workplace at a clear distance from everyone else, listening on conversations he’s not a part of, then in a boardroom meeting being talked down too by his bosses.

Stigma being an inherent part of society’s functioning, the films don’t necessary show it as something to overcome, but the complexities of stigma and how the protagonists deals with it. For example, often there will be a character who acts, as the protagonists’ “shadow” (a cautionary figure who reveals the darker parts of the protagonists’ nature.) For instance, Arthur Leigh Allen (Zodiac,) shows many similarities with Greysmith – like him, he seems to fall on the spectrum and has had clear troubles interacting with norms. We are left to imagine similar to Greysmith, Allen had a similar experience of being outcast, ostracized, belittled. Allen then acts a cautionary tale, through the way he dealt with his stigma. To escape the strain of dealing with norms, he left society, moving away to a desert trailer. As Goffman notes though: hiding can only lead to further anxieties and meditation on inefficiencies. Allen turning them into premeditated revenge against society, acting as a clear cautionary tale for Greysmith.

As Goffman observed, being stigmatized is a taxing practice, involving an active control and assessment of social performance in the presence of norms. This being so, a common tactic of Fincher’s characters is what Goffman calls “disidentifies,” more commonly known as “reaction formations,” where the stigmatized will use cues contrary to their stigma to try and pass as normal. Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network for example, with feelings of inferiority constructs an image of power and alpha-male stance. Him rarely letting his guard down. The closing lines of the film recognizing this perfectly: “You’re not an arsehole Mark, you’re just trying so hard to be.”

It’s usually only ‘backstage’ relationships (ones not meant for the public-eye,) where the protagonist doesn’t have to worry about contriving an appropriate facade, them giving a redeeming/ regenerating quality for the protagonist. Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for example, by wearing unwelcoming attire and refusing to reciprocate to social niceties, ply’s a persona that wards off interaction. This is relaxed though when she forms a relationship with Mikael Blomkvist. Critically this also forming because of the location: the Swedish countryside, opposed to the busy, interconnected city where Blomkvist must maintain a particular image. Highlighting further how stigma is a label imposed by society.

Even in Fincher’s most sentimental work, stigma is present. The curious case of Benjamin button opens amongst the mist of the collective joy of crowds in New Orleans, we then jibbing down to see a lone character ostracized by this, who we follow to the birth of Benjamin Button. Born a social indifferent, throughout the film he has to swim against the tide of social convention, from birth to death.

Often feeling in some way that society doesn’t work in their favor, characters see ordinary social convention as not enough to meet their needs, resulting in unconventional methods. Unable to enter the desired social circles for example, Zuckerberg had to crash the Harford network to get recognized by his peers. Similarly, Salander, repetitively being let down by government authority, takes matters into her own hands with violence to stop a sex attacker who reins higher on the social hierarchy.

An extreme instance is the nihilistic and narcissistic actions in both ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Gone Girl,’ where characters fight back against society. In Fight Club, the characters try to disparage and burn down the current social conventions, Tyler Durden’s mantra being: “You’re not your job, you’re not the car you drive, you’re not the contents of your wallet.” Where Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, exposed to the fickleness of social convention, uses the same conventions to nihilistically manipulate Nick Dunne into a masqueraded marriage.

In short, Fincher has used the frameworks of many stories and settings, to explore stigma in different ways. Fincher’s next film “Mank,” chronicling the struggle of Citizen Kane’s screenwriter to get credited, seems the carry on this tradition, leading to the assumption that there’s more commentary on stigma still to come.