Straight from the (Jack)Ass' mouth

Only after disaster can we be resurrected.

i recently finished reading the original book version of Fight Club (probably my most fave movie ever) by writer Chuck Palahniuk. the first question people would probably ask: which is better, the book or the movie?

two different forms of media should be measured accordingly different. different form = different merits. but i'd rather have read the book before watching the movie. my imagination would've gone into overdrive had i not had the impediments of a visual memory (that unimaginatively inserted scenes and faces from the movie into corresponding pages.)

without ruining the book (or the movie) by divulging the plot i'd like to get into one premise of the movie as stated by the protagonist: "Maybe self-improvement isn't the answer. Maybe self-destruction is the answer."

i'm not advocating nihilistic iconoclasm. the type of self-destruction in the book/movie has purpose. it is actually a form of pure self-gratification through a liberation of the spirit through the rejection of base materialism.

"It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything." the words of Tyler Durden. how true. think of the potential freedom that can imbue each and every act. no societal expectations. no motivation by material gain. no fear of financial reprisal.

it is an internal revolution that reviles that which do not truly matter. it is a tenet of every major religion. buddha shunned the illusions of worldly materialism to gain enlightenment. islam is a surrender of the self to the will of the one god. christianity espouses the beatitudes in the forms of the least, last, and lost. the ideal taoist sage withdraws from the world so his spirit may encompass the true way... etc.

take away the trappings and the trimmings and what we'll be left with are our selves. freedom comes when we unlock our own shackles. a true revolution is that which destroys in order to build anew.

"I'm breaking my attachment to physical power and possessions," Tyler whispered, "because only through destroying myself can I discover the greater power of my spirit."

posted by Peejay @ 5/31/2004 09:27:00 PM