The Cycle Of Consumerism In Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club

The soap is made out of human fat, IKEA catalogues are desired, and fighting is equated to salvation. Chuck Palahniuk is the author of the book, Fight Club that in the late nineties was adapted into a film that would soon grow to have a cult following. Palahnuik develops characters that are very human with several flaws and animal instincts. The entire novel revolves around a secret fight club that takes place in bars. The protagonist goes here to escape his mundane life with other men who feel lost. The film uses lighting and moments of visual symbolism to further Palahniuk’s vision. Although the film and novel revolve around fighting, it is actually about the negativity of society’s consumerism, and the loss of identity in a changing world

Palahnuik uses one persons desire to buy things to represent all of society at the beginning of the millennium. In the novel Tyler Durden makes soap out of fat from people who have had liposuction. This disgusting, yet beautiful symbol shows the cycle of consumerism. In the movie there is a scene where the narrator and Durden steal fat. This is done cleverly with a use of lighting that emphasizes the city being without light, or in the dark about the cycle of abuse. Contrastingly Tyler Durden understands this cycle, which is shown as he is lit up when he steals the fat. This desperation for consumerism, and for a quick fix of happiness is a burden on the narrator who suffers insomnia and calls everything in life, “ A copy, of a copy, of a copy” (Fight Club, 1996). He recognizes that nothing is original, yet continues to be in a trance as he flips through the magazines and catalogues. He goes to his doctor who ignores his need to consume more medicine and tells him he is not in pain. The narrator agrees, but clearly he desires to feel something more. He sees his consumption as a vicious cycle that society has caused and when he realizes he is stuck he changes his tactic by attending cancer support groups and later fight

In Fight Club it is clear the narrators lack of sleep is a result of feeling artificial. As he goes to cancer group and fight clubs he begins to feel more free but the looming torture of society is still around. The readers learn that the narrator is actually Durden. This split personality is a result of the narrators’ lack of identity and feeling like he must live partially with society and partially rogue. When Project Mayhem is created he begins to entirely lose himself, and becomes Durden entirely. He believes that if society is not stopped space will be filled with Starbucks and Microsoft. He sets bombs in major credit card companies in hopes of erasing debt and having society be forced to start over. He is incredibly dissatisfied with self-preservation and believes that everything has to be lost in order to be free. This image is done beautifully in the film when Durden kisses the narrators hand showing the burning skin to symbolize the pain needed despite advertisement companies constantly trying to numb the pain. As Project Mayhem grows out of control some readers may become concerned with the message being told. It seems like there is no end to the violence. This repetition and desire for pain physically is also used to represents the emotional pain as the characters all try to figure out what their masculine