Fight Club Consumerist Culture

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The Social Constraints Bestowed Upon Society through a Consumerist Culture The film Fight Club (1999), directed by David Fincher, is based off of the novel of the same name written by Chuck Palahniuk. This action packed drama delves into the life of an insomniac caught up in the cyclical mainstream lifestyle many have grown accustomed to. The narrator of this story, Jack, played by Edward Norton, is a pencil pushing desk jockey completely consumed by the frivolous materials he possess, working only to meet this incessant demand of unnecessary things. It is only when the main character meets Tyler Durden, played by Brad Pitt, is he enlightened to the point of realization that his life offered little to no meaning. Tyler manifests these ideas …show more content…

However, it takes a critical lens and an in-depth interpretation of Fight Club to elucidate these societal quagmires. Charley Reed, an author in the Journal of Religion and Film, explores the concept that Fight Club incorporates the tenants of Zen Buddhism within the plotline in order to offer an answer to the complications a capitalist society presents. In order to escape the cyclical suffering caused by consumerism, the Buddhists believe: “it is precisely the attachment to material possessions that keeps a person attached to this world, the soul must liberated from that attachment if they hope to attain some form of inner peace, and ultimately nirvana” (Reed). This tenant of Buddhism is something the movie teaches in numerous ways. One of the most prominent personifications of this teaching is when Tyler creates a chemical burn on the Jack’s hand. Tyler kisses Jack’s hand successively pouring lye on the kiss resulting in an excruciating chemical burn in order to make him accept the pain, symbolically let go of all his worldly possessions. It is in this scene, Tyler says the infamous line: “It is only after we lose everything, that we’re free to do anything” (Fight Club). This conforms entirely to the teachings of Zen Buddhism as once someone lets go completely and loses attachment to their material possessions; their soul attains a newfound freedom. The other way Fight Club proposes a solution to break off from the mundane consumer-materialist lifestyle, is through violence. This violence can be seen throughout the entirety of the film as a way the men reclaim their masculinity which was lost along the way to the consumerist culture they grew so accustomed to. Lynn Ta, a contributing author to the Journal of American Culture, has come to the conclusion that: “The end of Fight Club suggests that with the return of

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