Saturday, July 25, 2009
Some people would say that the reason we enjoy art is that it allows us an escape from our own lives, if only for a while. I think that's partly true but it's not the whole truth. I've also heard people say that the best way to learn is through experience and that's probably ture too but it's the only way to learn. I think we also learn when we listen to the stories told to us by our family, friends, or strangers. We crave answers for our own lives and I think that's why we look at paintings, watch theatre, read books, listen to music and watch movies. I think that all forms of art are ways for us to tell each other stories. For each of us there are some stories that ring so true to ourselves that we carry them around in our minds for the rest of our lives. For me, Fight Club is one of those stories.

Yesterday I started reading Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk for the second time. Before I read Fight Club for the first time, I'd lost count of how many times I had watched the movie. When you can say practically every line of dialogue along with the characters, I'd watched it that many times. But to me Fight Club was more than just a movie, it had taught me so much. Watching Fight Club I'd learned about how people treat each other, about what really matters, about morality and trust and acceptance. I'd learned about life. Tyler Durden was a very important part of my life as a teenager and he still is now that I'm in my early twenties. I'm still learning from this story and I suspect I will continue to for the rest of my life.

But there are some things about Tyler Durden's worldview that I disagreed with; something I would slowly realize only years after the first time I'd seen Fight Club. I know that I'm not alone in placing trust and faith in Tyler Durden. I've decided to write about my agreements and disagreements with the worldview of Tyler Durden. As I read Fight Club I'm going to make posts. Each entry will begin with a quotation from Chuck Palahniuk's novel, a sort of prompt for my thoughts. The title of this blog - In Tyler We Trusted - is not chosen lightly. Years after first seeing the movie, what I wonder now is: where has that trust lead? With that, I begin this blog.

What comes next, would even Tyler know?

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POSTED BY AARON AT 11:23 AM
SPACE MONKEY COMMENTS: 2