Introduction In the book version, the setting is Seattle Could be any overdeveloped huge American city Closest guess is Wilmington, Delaware (banking hub) Cornelius works at a sleazy job at a sleazy company Cornelius lives in a foofy high-rise He suffers from IKEA NESTING SYNDROME That is, the conspicuous consumption seen in BoC He can’t sleep because his existence is so pointless He starts hanging around in support groups He first meets Marla Singer Characters Cornelius (a/k/a Travis, etc): the unreliable narrator Bitchtits Bob (a/k/a Robert Paulson): the dead dude Marla Singer: loser death chick Chloe: a support group member who eventually dies Tyler Durden: soap manufacturer Effing Lou: nightclub owner Angel Face: too beautiful for his own good Richard Chesler: Cornelius’s supervisor at work The Mechanic: HIS NAME IS ROBERT PAULSON Space Monkeys: members of PROJECT MAYHEM Who Is Tyler Durden? Cornelius’s alter ego, whom he meets on a plan Actually Cornelius’s sleepless schizophrenic self Works as a projectionist and a banquet server Makes soap in the house on Paper Street "Meets” Cornelius in the exit row of an airplane Takes Cornelius in after his apartment explodes House on Paper Street: Liminal Experience Co-founder of FIGHT CLUB Co-founder of Project Mayhem Becomes Marla Singer’s lover Cornelius’s Job “A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.” Marla Singer “Marla's philosophy of life is that she might die at any moment. The tragedy, she said, was that she didn’t.” Marla is the primary reason why narrator‘s insomnia transforms into his personality disorder. She is the catalyst for all events in the book. Marla becomes narrator’s obsession. She is his power animal, she hides in every corner of his head. Who is Marla Singer? She is the biggest secret of this Movie! IKEA Nesting Syndrome Otherwise known as conspicuous consumption Somewhat similar to Homeric arete Owning (and using) things ostentatiously Homeric heroes are fixated on possessions Gogol mocks Major Kovalyov’s purchases Vonnegut mocks America’s fixation with brands Cornelius works hard for the car manufacturer Cornelius is traveling literally all the time Cornelius’s refrigerator has all condiments, no food Cornelius is fixated on his own IKEA furniture IKEA Nesting Syndrome “Look, nobody takes this more seriously than me. That condo was my life, okay? I loved every stick of furniture in that place. That was not just a bunch of stuff that got destroyed, it was ME!” “You buy furniture, you tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. buy the sofa, then for a couple of years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled, then the right set of dishes, then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. “Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things that you used to own, now they own you.” Who is FIGHT CLUB? Man, I see in Fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God 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 shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place... 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. FIGHT CLUB 1st RULE: You do not talk about FIGHT CLUB. 2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about FIGHT CLUB. 3rd RULE: If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over. 4th RULE: Only two guys to a fight. 5th RULE: One fight at a time. 6th RULE: No shirts, no shoe7th 7th RULE: Fights will go on as long as they have to. 8th RULE: If this is your first night at FIGHT CLUB, you HAVE to fight. Aspects of Dystopia Ramshackle house on Paper Street with the soap business down in the basement Effing Lou’s Nightclub, complete with sleazy basement and Effing Lou’s own personal katabasis Cancer support groups, where both Cornelius and Marla scoff at others’ suffering Cornelius’s job with the car manufacturer, working out the recall “formula” Cornelius’s boss, Mr. Richard Chesler Fancy banquets where Tyler Durden is a server and urinates into the soup PROJECT MAYHEM Larger, far more organized spinoff of Fight Club Recalls the organization of the Nazi Party A nice big side order of Mao Zedong, also Everything is subject to the leader, Tyler Durden The members are addressed as “Space Monkeys” They look and dress and live all the same way They are basically ROBOTS They perform major acts of violence at first They are working up to something far worse They are all around the nation PROJECT MAYHEM Project Mayhem practices by “sticking it to the man” Project Mayhem practices CULTURAL COMPETENCE by taking part in everyday life Tyler Durden practices by guiding Project Mayhem toward important public affairs tasks Destroying all of the credit recording organizations would give the entire world a new start All on a campus that is friendly, encouraging and helpful! The Tipping Point Bitchtits Bob = Robert Paulson = Sacrificed Man Shot in the head by a policeman during one of Project Mayhem’s pranks Angel Face says to “bury him in the yard” Cornelius: HIS NAME WAS BOB! Everybody: HIS NAME IS ROBERT PAULSEN! Cornelius realizes that Project Mayhem has gone completely out of control Much as Kilgore Trout realizes that Now It Can Be Told is a very dangerous book What does Cornelius decide to do? Tyler Durden’s Vision “Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.” “In the world I see - you are stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You'll wear leather clothes that will last you the rest of your life. You'll climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears Tower. “And when you look down, you'll see tiny figures pounding corn, laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of some abandoned superhighway.”
