Subliminal Brads - David Fincher explains that the idea behind the subliminal Brads was to convey a sense of exasperation on the part of Tyler Durden; it is as if The Narrator has already created Tyler, but is hesitating to release him. The subliminal Brads are an attempt to illustrate Tyler’s frustration with The Narrator - if The Narrator would simply allow him free reign, Tyler could tackle many of the problems holding The Narrator back. Significantly, all four subliminal Brads appear at times of stress, as if Tyler is choosing these precise moments to remind The Narrator that a solution is within his grasp, he just needs to follow through with it.

“We started thinking about what is the thing that’s lacking at the beginning of this? We need to know that there’s a guy out there doing weird, fucked up stuff. So maybe the title sequence should be about the weird, fucked up stuff that he’s doing.”

315/365 - Se7en | 1995
Dir David Fincher