Page 79 - Cultural Studies A Practical Introduction

Rhetoric 63

Jack ’ s existential torment is alleviated when he encounters Tyler Durden,
a charismatic anarchist who counsels him to cast away his earthly posses-
sions, and to seek spiritual clarity and redemption through subversive

action rather than obsessive self - reflection. Tyler is presented as an ironic
Christ figure, a latter - day prophet who preaches the gospel of principled

non - conformity and anti - materialism (and, of course, casual, consensual

violence). The film makes a persuasive case for Tyler ’ s ideology, only to
later, arguably, undercut it. Disenchanted by the rhetoric of capitalism,
which prompts consumers to identify with abstract entities like brand logos
rather than with real human beings, Jack is seduced by Tyler ’ s counter-
rhetoric, which takes the notion of human contact, so missing in Jack ’ s life,
to its literal extreme: the men of Fight Club forge meaningful relationships
through their exchange of blows and the intermingling of their blood. They
seem to attain what Kenneth Burke calls consubstantiality , a new kind of
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self - identity through the group or community.
Fight Club makes its rhetorical appeal through its use of visual devices
and dialogue. The fi ght scenes, which are shot in warm colors and feature
glistening flesh and intimate physicality, are portrayed with a lush sensual-

ity, even an eroticism, which stands in marked contrast to the bleak sterility

and drab tones of scenes depicting office life. Tyler ’ s words are smart,
funny, and romantic; set against the dull discourse of the workplace, they
take on added resonance. The spectator may find it difficult not to be

swayed by Tyler ’ s argument, which is essentially a diatribe against rhetoric:
Tyler frames consumer capitalism as an exercise in manipulation and dom-
ination that hides behind pretty words and images. As a substitute, he
espouses a value system that privileges free - thinking individualism and the
“ honesty ” of violence stripped of the ideological pretensions – such as
patriotism or heroism – in which mainstream society often cloaks it. Tyler
elevates action over words, and “ true knowledge ” of human nature over
the rhetorically constructed conventions of social propriety. The fi lm
aspires to step outside discourse and language altogether, into a realm of
pure nature, stripped bare, like the men ’ s bodies.

The underground fighting communities begin to change as they spread
across the country. What began as a project based on anti - authoritarianism
and non - conformity becomes something that resembles the regimentation
and uniformity of the corporate world from which Jack sought escape. In
his professional life, Jack was compelled to wear a suit and tie, and to func-
tion as a nameless cog in the capitalist machine. Fight Club initially offered
an alternative: it allowed him and the other participants to test their strength