Fight Club vs. Organized Religion

[Teufel ZeKK]

Due to my oh-so-humorous new title which I was given in the midst of a phone three way between ICJ, Vitriola, and I, I feel compelled to submit for your reflection my perspective on why Fight Club is NOT a religion, or maybe it is?

Fight Club, for those of you that don't know, is a book written by Chuck Palahniuk. You can read all you need to know about this book here. Fight Club

It was eventually turned into a movie staring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf Aday, and Jared Leto. You can read more fascinating Amazon-approved diatribes on this movie here. Fight Club DVD

Now in the movie a man, known throughout the Fight Club congregation, as Jack; is dissatisfied with life. He works a shit job, has shit for friends, and is basically an all around shit. He has Insomnia for what we'll term, having the weight of his life on his shoulders, and he finds an eventual release in addicting himself to support groups. This finally leads to nights of peaceful sleep until the arrival of Marla Singer.

Marla Singer is much like him, "A faker" as they put it in so much as she is not dying of any of the diseases the support groups are for, but as she puts it, "It's cheaper than a movie and there's free coffee"

So once again our protagonist is without sleep. Her lie reflects his lie so now the support groups have no affect on him. Back in the daily grind of an automoton he comes across a man known as Tyler Durden. Tyler informs him of a lot of intruiging stuff you can find in any basic copy of the Anarchist's Cookbook and comments on the sick desperation in Jack's laughter.

After returning to his apartment, Jack finds that it has been blown up while he was away on a buisness trip. Everything he's ever owned, held dear, and paid a lot of fucking money for is gone. So with a lark and a whim, he ends up moving in with Tyler Durden, but not before a really cool fight scene.

Now, to compare this to religion I simply have to say, WHEN YOU MAKE A BOOK INTO A MOVIE, IT RUINS ALL HOPE OF EVER BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY. For comparison, I ask you all to look at Jesus Christ Superstar and That "Moses" movie with Charlton Heston and the sexual revolution occuring during those times.

The fact that it is a work of fiction does nothing to sway the argument in favor of Fight Club being a religion either. If this movie really happened. I must of blacked out for it, because Jack pretty much lives my life. (Yes that makes Marla Singer Vitriola, and explain why it's 6:30 in the morning as I am posting this.) Ego a bit? No. This movie is meant to cause a degree of introspection in the lives of 23-35 year old white males. It's more of a social commentary in my opinion likining it to the works of Marcus Aurelius and Mindless Self Indulgence. But I digress, what really matters is wether or not the movie inspires one to motion. To strive to be a better person, to improve one's life as one see's fit. And maybe those of you didn't make this connection, but as the book/movie says, "Self Improvement is Masturbation." Well, you know what? I like to MASTURBATE! Ask Vitriola, she'll tell you just how many akward situations have arrisen since our breakup with me whacking it to Barnyard Fantasies Not that that's important but possibly food for thought. Anyways, back to the debate.

To set forth an example, we see Tyler Durden as the Messiah, the fount of knowledge throughout the whole story. and we see Jack as the disciples/Mohammed/Blah blah blah. Now taken into strict context of the movie, Tyler Durden's take on spirituality is, "If our Fathers are our role-model for God, and our fathers bailed, what does that tell us about God?" So, the first precept of Fight Club is FUCK GOD! That can be basically a reason to ignore any spiritual sides one may have. The moral of the story according to Tyler is, "Stop caring, give up, stop being afraid." The actual moral of the story is, "We are not the all-singing, all-dancing, crap of the world, and we are not Beautiful and Unique Snowflakes. We just ARE." It just wasn't spelled out for you in the movie.

As far as the reason I find Fight Club to be such a focus of my life? Well, I do feel a lot of empathy with Jack as a character, I've been sitting around waiting for my Tyler Durden to show up, and I'm not going to support groups, I'm posting on Jolt Country. Vitriola is my Marla Singer and Matedire probably has bitch tits. This guy I work with would be Jared Leto and yes, I would FUCK HIS SHIT UP!

There's so much more to this than I am capable of writing at this moment so I'm gonna end this here, get responses, and see if this warrants a more thorough dissection of the film and/or the book.

Tonight's Z Factor has been brough to you by the Good Guys at Stoned-Off-My-Fucking-Ass, and the number one, for how many bowls I had to smoke to write this.

[Matedire]

Well, aint that some shit? I think its (Fight Club) is atleast a cult to you. When you make some unhealthy takings from your parents, just to have the shirt, it may also be viewed as an addiction, or escape. Due to the fact when anything dramtic happens in your life, (i.e. argument, relationships, jerking off over porn) for some wierd fucking reason there is a Fight Club quote spatted off.

People, this is what I have to live with everyday.

An average conversation goes like this:

Matedire: "Whats up dude?"
Zekk: "If you could fight any one in history, dead or alive who would it be?"
Matedire:"What?........uh-huh..........John Ritter????"
Zekk:"Self-improvement is masturbation, self-destruction, now there we might have the answer......"
Matedire"Yep....could you pass me the Honey Nut Cheerios?"
Zekk:"I am Jacks colon cancer."
Matedire:"I am scared shitless............don't they have, like a cure for that or something?"
Zekk:"This conversation is over."
Matedire:"Ok, but you are the one that started it?"


So yeah thats it. As for Vitrecola being Marla Singer.........this must be 7th time in Zekk's life that Marla Singer is a woman that was in his life.