Taoism in Fight Club
Although it is not an intuitive similarity, the motion picture Fight Club, in reality, shares a great deal of its philosophy with the Taoist mindset. A central tenet of Taoism is Wu Wei, which states that the best way to achieve good results, happiness and fulfillment in life is to step back and let things play themselves out instead of controlling every aspect of the world. This quality is exhibited throughout the film by many of the movie’s main characters, including Tyler Durden and Jack, the narrator. In the beginning, where Jack admits his addiction to consumerism, in the middle, where he realizes he should let go, and in the end when the group seeks their place in life and rebels against consumerism, Taoist ideas are exhibited. “Like so many others, I had become a slave to the Ikea-nesting instinct,” says the narrator, referring to his cellphone. “…If I saw something clever, like a little coffee table shaped like a Yin-Yang, I had to have it… I’d flip through catalogues and wonder, ‘what kinds of dining set defines me as a person?’ I had it all… We used to read pornography. Now it was the Horchardt collection.” In this narrative, Jack is referring to Western society’s downfall into consumerism. He
“I don’t know, I wouldn’t feel anything good about my life…” As can be seen, Fight Club portrays Taoist living as interpreted by two men. They follow Taoist beliefs, and eventually attain a level of inner peace and happiness. The moral of the movie is that if you let everything happen naturally, the best result is achieved. Taoism also states this. The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff, states, “When we learn to work with our own Inner Nature, and with the natural laws operating around us, we reach the level of Wu Wei. Then we work with the natural order of things and operate on the principle of minimal effort. Since the natural world follows that principle, it does not make mistakes. Mistakes are made – or imagined- by man, the creature with the overloaded Brain who separates himself from the supporting network of natural laws by interfering and trying too hard.”
Some topics in this essay:
Wu Wei,
Fight Club,
Durden Jack,
Yin-Yang Taoist,
Tyler Jack,
Sears Tower,
That’s Forget,
Inner Nature,
wu wei,
Benjamin Hoff,
Haha Meet,
fight club,
coffee table,
natural laws,
tyler jack,
trying control,
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Approximate Word count = 974
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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