“Fight for us. And regain your honor.†– The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
What’s a robot’s favorite Mexican food?  Silicon carne.
When I was a kid growing up, I read 1984 by George Orwell. This was the grim version, as opposed to the much funnier version by Mel Brooks. It had a profound effect on my worldview, as books often do when you read them in 7th grade. In it, a globalist group of communists fought each other continuously, while subjugating the entirety of the human race. Hmmm, wait, that sounds familiar?
1984 was a bleak book. I’m not sure who I talked about it with, outside of writing the chicken scrawl of a report in schoolboy block letters and handing it to my really hot 7th grade English teacher. Since my reading scores were, well, advanced, she just let me read what I wanted to read while the rest of the class all read the same book. It felt nice being a special pretty pony.
I followed 1984 with Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. I think my teacher suggested it. Whereas 1984 was a dystopia built on the subjugation of a boot eternally stomping on a human face, Brave New World was a dystopia built on frivolity.
I fell into a vat of chemicals once. My quick reaction nearly killed me.
Frivolity was where the masses were, more or less, endlessly drugged and entertained and so that their opinions never had a chance to develop, or impaired at birth so they could never think. The tyranny in Brave New World was the tyranny of a vapid public who never thought beyond the most recent mindless and sexual encounter (strongly encouraged by the state) and the latest movie.
Oh, wait, that sounds familiar too.
Yet another dystopia is the movie (and book) Fight Club. Fight Club is a 1999 movie based on a 1996 novel that (mostly) tracks the movie. It is a creation of the 1990s, but, to quote the most excellent YouTube® movie reviewer, The Critical Drinker (LINK, some PG-13 language), it is very relevant to today’s world. If you haven’t watched this 21-year-old movie and are interested, I suggest you watch The Critical Drinker’s review afterward – he includes spoilers. I’ll warn you – the R rating was earned, and there are some very dark moments to the movie.
There won’t be any spoilers here – what I have to say doesn’t require me to spoil the film.
Tyler Durden told me handcrafted soap is the best. No lye.
To really get Fight Club? You have to watch it at least twice. It is a thoughtful movie. Does it have detractors on the Right? Sure. It’s R-rated. Some have called it nihilistic (I disagree) and there are other complaints which I won’t go into here. Regardless, I won’t beat myself up for going against the grain of other folks who didn’t like the movie.
Very few movies are perfect, but this one is very, very good.
I first watched Fight Club in 2012 or so. It made over $100 million at the box office, so at least someone talked about Fight Club. When I finally watched it (which was no fewer than three basement furniture re-arrangements ago) I was stunned. How stunned? It’s the only movie that has its own tag on this blog.
Vegan Club? Everyone talks about Vegan Club.
The constant, pervasive theme of this movie is that the systems of globalism have created boxes for men that make them less than men. Here’s Tyler Durden (one of the movie characters):
“We’re consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don’t concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy’s name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.â€
This is a simple translation. A large proportion of the citizens of the United States define themselves by:
- How much and what kind of furniture do they have?
- How nice is their apartment?
- How well can they write reports in a soul-killing job where large corporations seek to avoid liability in a cold, systematic way? Â Does that kill their soul?
- How can they avoid deviating from the norm to wear the right tie to the meeting?
These things are death to the soul. As the character Tyler Durden explains:
“You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your (deleted by J.W.) khakis. You’re the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world.â€
I saw a robbery in an Apple® store once. I was an iWitness©.
Marcus Aurelius and Seneca nod in approval. They’d follow up: you are your virtue.
And you, dear reader, are not your money or your clothes. In many ways we are conditioned by society to believe that those are the things that define us. We are not. And if you believe that, you’re not alone. Tyler describes the twilight of the soul brought about by a life dedicated to consumerism and status. Live for the material world, and you’ll be swallowed by the material world. You can never achieve enough, because someone always has more, does something better.
With that philosophy? Money becomes the god that men seek:
“Damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy (stuff) we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War is a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.â€
I saw a meme (didn’t save it, don’t have the author but I’d love to credit them) that I (sort of) reproduce below:
Michigan is going to ban car sales based on popular Internet videos – the governor wants to stop car-owner-virus.
This meme gets me. It’s the essence of Fight Club. We’re a species that is, more or less, programmed to achieve. For who? For our group. It’s why the NFL® is popular today. Okay, that’s why the NFL™ was popular until they showed us that we’re really not part of their group at all.
We run races for a reason. We play basketball. We wrestle. We have swim races. Well, you guys have swim races. I was in a 100-yard swim race in sixth grade and placed 11 out of 12. I wasn’t dead last because some poor kid got the cramps. My 11th place finish wasn’t close. I think they ended up timing me with a calendar and an abacus.
Regardless, we compete.
Why?
It’s wired into us. Competition partially defines us. And the stakes have to be real. There is, of course, a religious aspect as well. A man has to serve a higher power. It’s not just competing for today. There is a bigger game, and there are bigger stakes. That’s what makes it worth playing the game. Life is more than consumption and procreation.
Q: Why did the Libertarian cross the road? A: TAXATION IS THEFT!!! Â
But men who can run a race fairly and lose with grace are men. They don’t have to like losing – no man does. But loss is a forge that makes us stronger, gives us incentives. Thomas Sowell (I think?) once said that if he were designing a car for safety, he’d put a Bowie knife pointed at the driver in the center of the steering wheel, not an airbag.
Incentives matter.
Now? We insulate children from the Great Game. Lose? That’s okay, you tried.
No, it’s really not. I lost the swim meet because I suck at swimming and am only slightly better than a car at swimming. Slightly.
Did I cry? No.
Antifa protestors – never have to take time off from work.
Did I focus my energy on something where I could be as good as nearly anyone in the state?
Yes.
Swimming was pointless. Telling me that it was okay was worse than pointless. It was a lie.
Back to Tyler:
JACK, in voiceover:Â Â On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
CLERK:  Please… don’t…
TYLER DURDEN:Â Give me your wallet.
Tyler pulls out the driver’s license.
TYLER:  Raymond K. Hessel. 1320 SE Benning, apartment A. A small, cramped basement apartment.
RAYMOND:  How’d you know?
TYLER:  They give basement apartments letters instead of numbers. Raymond, you’re going to die. Is this a picture of Mom and Dad?
RAYMOND:Â Â Yes.
TYLER:  Your mom and dad will have to call kindly doctor so-and-so to dig up your dental records, because there won’t be much left of your face.
RAYMOND:  Please, God, no!                           Â
JACK: Tyler…
TYLER:  An expired community college student ID card. What did you used to study, Raymond K. Hessel?
RAYMOND:Â Â S-S-Stuff.
TYLER:  “Stuff.â€Â Were the mid-terms hard? I asked you what you studied.
JACK:Â Â Tell him!
RAYMOND:Â Â Biology, mostly.
TYLER:Â Â Why?
RAYMOND:  I… I don’t know…
TYLER:Â Â What did you want to be, Raymond K. Hessel?
Tyler cocks the .357 magnum Colt© Python™ pointed at Raymond’s head.
TYLER:  The question, Raymond, was “what did you want to be?â€
JACK:Â Â Answer him!
RAYMOND:Â Â A veterinarian!
TYLER:Â Â Animals.
RAYMOND:  Yeah … animals and s-s-s —
TYLER:  Stuff. That means you have to get more schooling.
RAYMOND:Â Â Too much school.
TYLER:Â Â Would you rather be dead?
RAYMOND:Â Â No, please, no, God, no!
Tyler uncocks the gun, lowers it.
TYLER:  I’m keeping your license. I know where you live. I’m going to check on you. If you aren’t back in school and on your way to being a veterinarian in six weeks, you will be dead. Get the hell out of here.
JACK:Â Â I feel sick.
TYLER:Â Â Imagine how he feels.
Tyler brings the gun to his own head, pulls the trigger — click. It’s empty.
JACK:  I don’t care, that was horrible.
TYLER:  Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Raymond K. Hessell’s life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal he has ever eaten.
How many people would love to have Tyler come into their lives and make them live their dreams? How many people struggle through life, because they can’t take the next step?
You’re not too old. If you’re breathing, you can make a mark on this world. You’re not too poor.
My limiting factor is my imagination. I realize that – it’s probably yours as well.
Regardless of the dystopias of 1984 and Brave New World, Fight Club shows a dystopia where we can win. How do we win?
By understanding that our lives are in a precarious balance, just like Raymond K. Hessell. And the first step to living life? It’s letting go. Achieving.
I learned to swim when I was very young. My dad taught me. I thought I’d never get out of that bag.Â
And if you lose at swimming? Try again. Or try a new game.
At the end of Fight Club, men prove themselves to be stronger and larger than the dehumanizing systems that they serve. It’s your choice. How will your breakfast taste tomorrow?
Also:
Avoid the clam chowder.
Unrelated:
Steve is a blogger who is a FOW (Friend of Wilder). Unlike me, he’s talented. Because of the idiots who run his state, you’re lucky he has time to create something like this for you. Do it. No, I don’t get paid. Steve does. He’s Our Guy.
Do it. Here’s the LINK. There is just enough time for Christmas.
I watch every video from the Critical Drinker, he gets it and understands what is being done through popular culture. He masks it with humor and self-deprecation but I am pretty sure he gets it.
It is too bad because Fight Club is one of those cult classics that has been so meme’d and quoted that it is easy to miss the main message. If there is a sub-theme to the West today, it is that men sense there is something very, very wrong and it is really starting to mess with them. Our lives are like wearing a left shoe a size too small and a right shoe a size too big. It kind of works but it is also uncomfortable and gets worse the longer we go on. If you have to run to the mailbox with the wrong size shoes on, it isn’t a big deal. If you have to work 10 hours a day walking around? It drives you a little crazy.
The snapping point is getting closer.
Your post reminds me of a Tom Waits song. He’s a student of the human condition and he shines a light on the darker corners of our soul. Tom is a lefty, but I forgive him his trespasses. Why? Because he’s really good at what he does.
https://www.tomwaitsfan.com/tom%20waits%20library/www.tomwaitslibrary.com/lyrics/swordfishtrombones/frankswildyears.html
It is. The wealth stats aren’t encouraging.
At this point, CWII is the best possible outcome for we Americans.
Welcome to War Club. Three guys wander in, one man walks out.
(Not coincidentally, #1 Son reported to Basic Training yesterday.)
War Club – well said. Something tells me the fight will go on longer than it has to . . .
I so wanted all this to go down during the Obama years. (That man tried so hard to start it…) Now my children are grown, I am older and broken, and there are 20,000,000 more enemies occupying our country than there were ten years ago.
But here we are – standing with our backs to the river. What would Sun Tzu say about that?
Uh, I dunno. ‘Where’s my Volvo?’ perhaps.
Ha!
Great book and movie. The version of the book I own has a afterword by the author that recounts several shocking encounters with fans at book signings.
Would Project Mayhem morph into Antifa?
Antifa is much, much older than the novel. It’s decades older than the novelist.
No, the members of Project Mayhem had at least accomplished something in their lives.
I recently learned that a dear college friend died of cancer over a decade ago. Karen was in her very own Fight Club to fulfill her potential and rose above many obstacles to became one of the top scientists in the world. As you can read below, she ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that must have tasted better than the best breakfast Raymond K. Hessel ever ate. Her life was a template for what we should all strive to be.
http://unhmagazine.unh.edu/w02/deeptextw02.html
https://www.deepseanews.com/2008/10/karen-von-damm-1955-2008/
Rest in peace at the bottom of the sea, Karen.
Sounds like she pulled her weight in the world. We could use more Karens like that.
“Our Great War is a spiritual war.”
Islam has a point that there is the small and great jihad. The small one is fighting wars and blowing up French comics. The great one is fighting for our souls. I think Mohammed got that one right.
I have heard too many Christians say that God is in charge as an excuse to sit on their asses. Appears that happened this time in this election. How else does an idiot and a twit no one likes “win”? And they promised to take away everything that seems to be working.
How else does an idiot and a twit no one likes “win”?
Um, hi. Allow me to show you these 1,241 sworn affidavits.
No one got here by sitting on their asses.
We got here because a criminal enterprise stuffed ballot boxes in at least 6 swing states.
Like all chemical reactions, that can be a catalyst, or a product.
Which it becomes depends on how we chose to take it: fait accompli, or open invitation.
Choose wisely.
Which leads right back to the topic of the OP, because Fight Club, exactly like the parables of my namesake, had a greater moral lesson at the end:
If the system isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do, it’s probably time to blow it all up.
YMMV.
How far one choses to apply that lesson is the open question.
So shall we live like Tyler Durden, or like Raymond K. Hessel?
(Spoiler Alert: In the flick, even Jack couldn’t face that question openly, until he realized he was Tyler Durden, the man living inside him, screaming to get out.)
(Second Spoiler alert: the “dystopia in the film? We call that “real life”. Grasp that.)
“sitting on ass” is largely the reason there is extensive fraud in the voting system. Republicans and anyone sensible knew the 2016 election had funny business in the polling, voting, and social media. Nothing, nada was done even when 2018 election expanded the behavior, especially in social media. Just before the election, the House released a report of abuses by tech giants, however not a single Republican signed on.
The so-called Republicans allowed this screw job on us, if not encouraging it. As much as I like Trump, he shares blame in this.
So yes, the royal we sat on our asses and caused this.
The one thing that I may have found in the last 10yr that might push the politicians is a hard-hitting billboard. A local State Rep changed his behavior after I said I was going to buy an ad on one and they were cheap. Around here it is less than $1k to rent the board, and about the same for the printed paper for it. So just might do it next time on the Interstate to lecture the Yankees driving through flyover country.
A point I made to a young hot head years ago was that if the people are not mad enough to even turn out to vote to throw out a bum, how many are going to risk going to arms? Of course this time, the number of people voting in particular way is rather fuzzy.
You lead the charge where do we meet?
To be clear, Muhammad never mentions a “small” or “lesser” jihad. He talks about “jihad” (never with the modifier of being lesser) continuously and repeatedly, but only rarely mentions the “greater” jihad of the internal self. The point being that the “greater” one is an afterthought to Muhammad, the perfect Muslim.
For more on this, and a very good study of Islam for Westerners, work through the Bill Warner books on Political Islam: https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=bill+warner+islamic+trilogy
Thanks for the clarification. Reliable info on Islam is scarce. My own is experience with Moslems is limited, but they were all Arabs and hot-headed, quick to anger. So don’t know if it is religion or culture.
The Muslim religion is Arab culture.
The faith has been conquered from within by the Left, and then used as a weapon against the faithful.
American Protestantism used to preach salvation through hard work and good deeds. Now it, along with Catholicism (which always had a wide streak of this), has adopted a more “insh’allah” attitude.
100% this. Never give up. And never forget that you’re driving your own life.
The globalists are inundating us with a psyop using multiple false memes, where each lie produces its’ own cognitive dissonance, and when combined, we end up with many cognitive dissonances swirling around in our minds. I believe this is driving people crazy. If you are not capable of critical thinking, you will be lost in the maelstrom of lies and develop a mindless worldview which does not reflect reality in any sense. This is where we are today, on the cusp of the zombie apocalypse.
That’s a goal of globalists and tyrants – numb minds with trivia and intoxicants.
In Rome, it is called bread and circuses
Exactly.
I’ve found re-reading classics as an old guy are like reading a different book. Working on the Red Badge of Courage after reading that horse of a book about the Russian Revolution.
Our brains aren’t as able to grasp the books that are “good for us” in middle and high school. Sure, we grasped the words and some meaning when we were in our teens, but the imagery then is often very different from what we see now.
I agree. Excellent observation.
Great points – a book can mean different things after we’ve had more to experience. And books are the best way that the best thinkers in the world can talk to you through time.
Back in 1993, I followed a crazy dream and started my own design/illustration studio working from home. The wife joined me later that year as salesperson. I didn’t have Tyler putting a gun to my head ordering me to do it, so perhaps on my own I caught a glimmer of the dystopia lurking in the corporate ant hill and did what I could to avoid it. We’ve been living our dream for twenty-seven years.
I had an employee in the early 2000’s who was crazy about the movie Fight Club. I refused to see it because the employee was a bit of a goofball who I had to let go for making too many mistakes, so I didn’t see the movie out of spite. I sure showed him!
In truth, I’ve heard so much about the movie over the years at times I feel like I’ve already seen it. I should probably see it for real, though, as it seems to be a significant cultural touchstone for many.
These days, like many independent small businesses, Kung Flu has significantly destroyed a lot of what we built over the years. And Government seems intent on finishing the job.
I’m fighting back as best I can. It’s a tough go and I sincerely appreciate help from wherever it comes. Which brings me to the real point of this comment: to thank you, John, for the plug at the end of your column, and the link to my Pet Portrait biz.
I really appreciate the kind words!
Also, to take some pressure off the Christmas rush, I am selling Pet Portrait Gift Certificates. Many people don’t have easy access to photos of their friends and family’s pets, so a Gift Certificate makes sense as it lets the owners pick the photos.
Thanks again!
You’re welcome!!!!
I will be in touch soon
The greatest fight is the fight to preserve health before age defeats. This lead me to the desire to retire before they carry me off the job in a body bag. Do I have dreams to fulfill? I haven’t decided yet, but my commute time will probably be much shorter.
I think this approach wise. Better dreams await.
You only have so many days. Your choice is how to fill them.
You know, I liked the movie but never read the book. I should do that, the book is usually better than the screen version. I did read a subsequent book SURVIVOR that has the same train of thoughts. Bought it at a Salvation Army book sale, the best 50 cents ever spent. I think the author would like that.
The book and movie are pretty close, really. Some changes.
Fight Club was covered extensively after it first appeared, by the men’s movement, such as it was back then. That was before most of you folks were around.
Yup. I didn’t see it or hear of any of that at that time. Life seemed much more innocent then.
Hello John. I am the proud owner of the artwork from Steve of my dog Bella that you included in the post.
This is my first comment on your blog, but I have read most, if not all of your posts, and want to thank you for the great works. They are entertaining, informative and motivational. Thanks.
I just received the artwork today from Steve. It is awesome. It was a gift for my wife and she agrees. I am thankful I found Steve on this website. He has great talent and is very good to work with.
I realize this comment is on an older post and maybe that will reduce the probability that it will be read, but I wanted to wait until I got the actual piece to give an honest response.
Finally, I will end with this: I was looking for a gift for my wife. I was lucky to have an idea that a piece of artwork would be a great idea from reading the comments on this site. It also allowed me to do something that I encourage all anti-leftist to do. Find people to support. The left is weaponizing every possible thing they can and the very least I can do is to stop supporting businesses that use their power against people like me.
Thus, I got two great benefits.
Jeff, wonderful! I’ll see if we can’t (with your permission) work this into a future plug for Steve . . . let me know!
A plug will be good. You can assume you have my permission.
I’ll work it in. Thank you.