Five Lessons I Learned from the Movie Fight Club

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're going to tell me: I'm not supposed to talk about Fight Club. Yet one can't deny the little cult film that could. A film that bombed at the box office yet found a second life when it came out on video and suddenly everyone was talking about Fight Club. It also managed to make a name for Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and a director you may have heard of: David Fincher.

So what can we learn from a movie that mixes some to the top crime, drama and action with plenty of violence and anarchy? Quite a lot, if you dig beneath the surface. Just because it appears it's just about a bunch of guys beating up other guys doesn't mean you can't learn some valuable lessons along the way.

5) We All Have a Little Tyler Durden in Us: Some may call it the Id, your impulsive side, or, as Norman Bates would put it "We all go a little mad sometimes." Look, I'm not saying to have to organize a nationwide anarchist movement or start fights with strangers but we all have moments when we forgo our better judgment and just decide to fly by the seat of our pants: that impromptu road trip, drinking way too much at the Christmas party and hanging around the mistletoe or just taking up skateboarding at an advanced age - it's may not be good to be Durden all the time, but sometimes it's good to cut loose.

4) Anarchy and Chaos are Great... As Long as You Keep Things Under Control: I always thought controlled chaos was just an oxymoron, but when you think about Fight Club, you realize what only appears to be random acts of violence and vandalism is actually quite deliberate and well thought out - Project Mayhem. Some use this for good, others for more questionable means. Think the Earth Liberation Front or PETA - even the Occupy Wall Street movement - three groups with very different agendas but who all share one thing: despite some more chaotic elements, they are still organized enough to pull their work off.

3) All You Need to Turn Your Life Around is a Little Near-Death Experience: It doesn't have to be at the wrong end of a gun where you get your epiphany. Each day there is someone who sees life a little brighter because they survived: a car accident, a heart attack, a tornado - there are thousands of things that can go wrong any given day, and sometimes you don't win. Yet even when things go wrong, when you look death in the eye and come back, you can't help but be a changed person. What you do with that change lies entirely in your hands - you may not have anyone checking up on your progress, but chances are, you'll have a new appreciation for living.

2) Sometimes It Pays to Crash the Party: When we meet our narrator he gladly admits going to support groups, even when he doesn't suffer from any kind of sickness - physical or psychological (well, not that any support group can help with anyway). He's just bored and wants somewhere where he can feel... something. Lo and behold, he makes some friends - albeit some damaged friends, but friends none-the-less. What this tells me is that sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone. You don't have to start hitting up testicular cancer support groups, just find something to break the monotony: a night class, volunteering, mentoring - you may ask what kind of party you're crashing - don't take it literally, just try something different, it doesn't have to be radical, just new.

1) Materialism Sucks - "You're not your job. 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 (expletive) khakis." - so says Tyler Durden. We just celebrated Christmas - and yet in the back of my mind I have to wonder if you took a random sampling of people - children and adults - what would be the first thing they thought of when you ask them about the holiday: would it be to celebrate the life of Christ or would it be the presents they get. I fully admit I fail at this lesson - I have a stack of DVDs I need to watch, games I need to play, books I need to read and I just keep adding to them. In my nightmares I see myself as one of those people on Hoarders - surrounded by things they can't let go. I want to believe I will never get that bad, but my focus on possessions is just as unhealthy as the vast majority of people - only I'm not afraid to admit my failings. I wonder what I would do, if, like the narrator, all my possessions were lost in a fire or flood or act of God - just think about that for a moment and realize how attached we've become to convenience and entertainment.

These are the lessons I've taken from this cult classic. You can agree - you can agree to disagree - but behind every great film, there are lessons to take away. There will be more movies with more lessons learned in the coming future.