Transcendentalist Ideas Of Individualism In Fight Club, By Jim Uhls

In today's society, the teachings of transcendentalist figures such as Emerson, Fuller, and Whitman are both thriving and dead. Many commonly practiced activities are the opposite of what these men preached, such as social trends. However, one place we do see a continuous use of transcendentalist ideals is in the movie business. Films are brimming with messages of anti-conformity, the importance of individualism, and the idea that society corrupts people. One movie that does this is Fight Club, written by Jim Uhls and released in 1999. This movie encapsulates all of the above themes and delivers them in a way that shows how these core concepts are still a part of our lives although being written over 100 years ago.
One main point of the movie

is that self reliance and anti-materialism is key because of the fact that it allows you to be independent and learn about yourself. The narrator, a suffering insomniac, learns that society is too easily captured with belongings, instead of individuals and their thoughts. This is done with the help of Tyler Durden, a figment of his imagination. Durden often speaks about the irrelevance of materials, and how they limit individual's potential. This is apparent when he explains, “The things that you own end up owning you.” In addition to this, Tyler also says, “Reject the basic … especially the importance of material possessions.” This mind set is much like that of Thoreau’s. Like Durden, the transcendentalist was very invested in the fact that a man should be self reliant, and not swayed or impacted by frivolous things such as furniture and decoration. This is demonstrated when he says, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” Above all, he, like Durden, believed the ideas and thoughts of people were what mattered, rather than consumeristic tendencies.
Non conformity is a main theme in both transcendentalist writings and Fight Club.

In the beginning of the film, “The Narrator” tries to conform to society. But, upon joining fight club, he realizes that the world he lives in will never fully satisfy what he is after. This leads him to become his own person, and fall into his own rhythm. He discovers that he must save himself by reassuring his individualism, something he had lost by conforming to everyone else around him. Over the course of him realizing this, Tyler Durden says, “I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say … let's evolve, let the chips fall where they may.” Instead of blending in with that around you, you must be constantly thinking things over in new ways. This will allow you to be able to discover new truths about both yourself and the world around you. This may remind you of Emerson, and that is because these two characters share shockingly similar ideas on the topic of non-conformity. Emerson once said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Like the narrator, He believed that by sacrificing individualism and conforming, people sacrifice culture. He thought that people must deviate from the road of society in order to make their own mark on the world. In his writings of Self-Reliance, Emerson says, “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.” This quote shows how essential nonconformity is, and how highly is was regarded to impact

people. This core transcendentalist idea is very transparent throughout the entire film, and shows how these teachings are still being interpreted in different ways.
Lastly, the film illustrates the transcendentalist concept that society corrupts you and your creativity. Emerson and Durden both believe that society limits people's abilities, and compromises development. Emerson said, “Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the water.” He believed that the people who made up the community were mindless in a way, since their surroundings had taken away their solo thoughts and actions. This was a very common transcendentalist way of thinking, since many of their concepts stemmed from the idea that people should be reliant on themselves, and not on those around them. Subsequently, Emerson strongly believed in the power that society has to deprave someone of their individuality. This way of the thinking is something that parallels that of Tyler Durden's throughout the film. He says, “Reject the basic assumptions of civilization.” In addition to this, Tyler constantly acts on his hatred for the binding nature of society in general. At one point in the movie, Tyler hatches a plan to destroy multiple buildings in the city all for the sake of toppling the economic chains of society. He is appalled by the employees who work for the companies in the buildings because they are stuck in their own little world. They are unable to realize how meaningless their lives truly are, because of the fact that they are being controlled by society. He believes they have lost all of their inventiveness. Although rather radical, this demonstrates Tyler and Emerson's similar ways of thinking on the topic of society.