The movie Fight Club has recently had a 4k re-release in both theaters and on blu-ray as of April 22nd. The movie Fight Club (1999), an adaptation of the novel Fight Club (1996) by Chuck Palahniuk, opens with the narrator tied to a chair inside of a skyscraper, causing him to tell the story of how he met “Tyler Durden” eventually coming full circle and bringing the viewer back to the skyscraper. Tyler Durden comes to explain how consumerism has become so ingrained into society that “The things you own, they end up owning you.”
Out of the reported average from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics of $36,995 spent per household in the U.S. in 1999, an average of 23.7 percent was spent on things such as takeout, alcohol/tobacco, and entertainment. However, with new technological advancements and even more efficient manufacturing methods consumerism has risen exponentially in the almost three decades since the film was originally released. Recently, in 2024, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that out of an average spending of $78,535 per household in the U.S. an average of 15.5 percent was spent on similar items. As is apparent from these statistics consumerism is a rising issue that only gets worse year by year. With this re-release it may bring new attention to the ideas proposed by Palahniuk, in turn causing people to reconsider the consumerism in their own lives.
Eventually, after he returns to his condo which has exploded, the narrator is able to break free from his cycle of consumerism and live a more simplistic life. Although some might consider the later minimalist life of the narrator to be barely living, the narrator finds he is content with less rather than the previous cycle he describes as having “become a slave to the IKEA nesting instinct.”
Like the narrator some people may be trapped in a cycle of consumerism fueled by the newest trends and social pressure. These trends of consumerism may lead to addictions to things such as with “mystery box” toys and other similar items. Along with social pressure and trends fueling consumerism some may find themselves collecting things, moving from one thing to the next. Buying furniture, filling your condo to the brim and buying the newest trendy item may not be the exact same thing. Regardless, they both follow the same idea of buying something to fill a want.
