Hypocrite.

Tyler Durden is a stylized deconstructionist. No, literally- here's a list of all the things he says to reject ideas of self based on consumerism:

• "It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything" 
• "The things you own end up owning you" 
• "You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world"
• "Is that what a real man is supposed to look like?" (looking at the male model in the underwear ad on the bus)

But for a man who scoffs at the idea that things bought can define a person better than inherent characteristics, Tyler dresses pretty sharp. Knee-length fur coat or red leather jacket, patent leather loafs with gold buckles, statement type sun glasses, and the classic bro tank. What is more, his body is very similar to that of the underwear model's. Tyler has the look of a person who stands out in the crowd, not of the anonymous pragmatic hunter-gatherer type that he professes to be. 

Tyler's hypocrisy of using symbols of wealth to distinguish himself from the other characters in the film points to the issues of destructionism. The idea is nice, of course, but it is damned near impossible to have a completely equalized system. There has to be a leader somewhere, and often times that leader employs exactly the practices he is fighting against in order to retain his power. In the end, the narrator fails to dissociate success from consumerism. Does this mean that at the end of it all, Fight Club is actually saying that material power is the only tool that works? Is it supporting the very same system seen destroyed throughout the film? 

While exhilarating in a twisted kind of way as these men all come together to fight and destroy and hit rock bottom, ultimately it left me feeling very hollow inside. The end is so flippant, and though I really enjoyed the humor, I was left without an answer about how we should define ourselves, what success or satisfaction really is, and whether we should really conquer our demons. I guess that's something we all have to figure out for ourselves, step by destructive step.

-Becca