I pulled out the relevant nuggets from a rather long-winded essay because I think the movie touches on some important themes relevant to all the violence/addictions/spiritual malaise plaguing our country right now.
I've watched this movie a couple of times. It has a lot going on in it. I don't think Fincher means it when he says his film should be taken as comedy or satire. I agree with you that the movie's themes are relevant to the violence & addictions we currently see. It also points out one of our culture's current blindspots: how to help boys become men. The first step would be for society to value true masculinity. Unfortunatley, I don't know how to get there from here.
I’ve probably seen the movie 40-50 times.