Chapter 4 Cynthia A. Stark THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARLA: FIGHT CLUB AND THE ENGENDERING OF SELF-RESPECT* Excess ain’t rebellion. You’re drinking what they’re selling. Your self-destruction doesn’t hurt them. Your chaos won’t convert them. They’re so happy to rebuild it. You’ll never really kill it. Yeah, excess ain’t rebellion. You’re drinking what they’re selling. Cake Motorcade of Generosity (1994) “Rock’n’Roll Lifestyle” F IGHT CLUB ’S PROTAGONIST is a nameless male narrator (Edward Norton) who works in an unremarkable office building in an anonymous city for an unidentified auto manufacturer. He lives in a bland high-rise condominium, which he has meticulously appointed with IKEA furniture. He is employed as a “recall coordinator,” so he spends much of his time flying around the country investigating car accidents involving cars manufactured by his employer. The narrator has become so forlorn over the pointlessness of his existence that he develops chronic insomnia. Soon he finds himself at a support group for victims of testicular cancer. There he finds solace in “letting go.” He becomes addicted to similar 1111 2 3 4 5 6111 7 8111 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7111 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8111 Fight Club, edited by Thomas E. Wartenberg, Taylor & Francis Group, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/utah/detail.action?docID=958761. Created from utah on 2023-03-18 14:03:21. Copyright © 2011. Taylor & Francis Group. All rights reserved.