Fight Club

"Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken"- Tyler Durden

Realizing that the rise of science was siphoning away peoples faith, Matthew Arnold, a Victorian Poet, promoted the study of literature because he believed that reading made people more moral. In a way literature became a replacement for religion for those who chose science over God. A famous literary critic, Northrop Frye, contended that literature is nothing more than displaced religion.

Only a fool would believe that all literature is all benign. Palahniuk's novel, Fight Club, takes vicious swipe at the conventions of American society, which, in turn, informs much of the values of Barbadian society.

The story is about a psychologically disturbed man whose alter ego forms a terrorist organization that tries to rip apart the very fabric of modern civilization.

The novel, which later becomes a film in 1999 starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, has roots in Nietzsche's philosophy that challenges the conventional notions of right and wrong that only thinly veils the 'will to power'. The alter ego, Tyler Durden, personifies the concept of the 'over-man' who does not conform but sets about creating his own values.

Movies and novels like these in the hands of the young can undermine all the basic tenets of primary and secondary socialization. However, they can create a culture of critical re-evaluation of assumed values. In this sense, they throw people back to the constructive questioning mentality that got philosophy started in the first place.

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can" Tyler Durden

Durden contends that people are all social prisoners, and the only way to free yourself is to self-destruct. It is only through this destruction that people can learn anything real about themselves. Then after a person has hit rock bottom they are then truly free to do whatever they want.

Maybe this isn't good way to gain control over your own life in the real world, but that's excuse not too try to live an 'authentic' life. This positive reading of Palahniuk's controversial work can only come from a legitimate attempt to examine self-examination. The best part is, unlike the ancients, you don't give up your religion.

Equally, religion should never be used as an excuse for ignorance, which is what prompted all the questioning in the first place. To quote a less controversial philosopher, Socrates, the important thing is to 'know thyself'.

Kwame Slusher

Img Credit: Inside The Brain