Tyler Durden, Patron Saint of Mayhem

Posted by : Rev. Ouabache | Wednesday, June 8, 2011 | Published in

[SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen or read Fight Club... well, fuck you. It's been out for 12 years (15 for the book). If anything is spoiled by this post it is your own damn fault.] fnord

It has been a long while since I have added anyone to the Discordian pantheon so I believe this is over due. Today I am adding one Tyler Durden to the ever growing list of Discordian saints. I haven't checked to see if anyone else has made him a saint but I am automatically excommunicating them, to be recommunicated at a later date.


Let me tell you a little bit about Tyler Durden...


When you think about it, Tyler Durden is one of the defining characters of our generation. The second best character of the 1990s and easily in the top 20 of the twentieth century. He is the archetype of the Sensei For Scoundrels and Chaotic Neutral. He is Anarchy incarnate. He look like you wanna look, he fuck like you wanna fuck, he's smart, capable and most importantly, he's free in all the ways that you are not. He is the constant reminder that you are not a beautiful or unique snowflake And the strangest part is that he is the imagination of an imagination, a fiction within a fiction. He is probably the most famous imaginary friend besides Mr. Aloysius Snuffleupagus and Blooregard Q. Kazoo. fnord

But more importantly, he is the Disorder in sharp contrast to the Narrator's Order. Together they reflect the Sacred Chao that is eternally struggling within all of us. Fight Club shows us that if you have too much Order in your life you end up with a soul-killing job, being owned by your possessions. But if you have too much Disorder you end up as a domestic terrorist with hamburger for a face.


But that's not to say that Tyler is without his good qualities. He was able to help many fatherless boys become the men they were supposed to be. He saved Marla's life (but that was probably for ulterior motives). And the "Human Sacrifice" scene is one of the best examples of Chaotic Good in modern cinema. fnord

If you want further proof that Tyler is perfect candidate for Discordian saint, just look at Project Mayhem, the terrorist organization that he put together to take down civilization. The committees are Arson, Assault, Mischief, and Misinformation. "Organized Chaos. The Bureaucracy of Anarchy." (Should have one more to make it an even five.) And the frames of porno he spliced into films is a great example of subliminal messaging. fnord

So, I've over-analyzed this too much already. By the power invested in me by the Goddess Eris I declare Tyler Durden to be the Patron Saint of Mayhem and Soap. Be careful invoking this particular saint though. Your survival rate may drop to zero very quickly.

I'll leave you with my favorite scene from the movie. This is a chemical burn:

(3) Comments

  1. Anonymous

    I recognized Durden as a saint as I was reading the book. I actually performed an evocation of The Great Durden before...

    Something interesting you might want to do is analyze Fight Club as an almost perfect representation of the IAO cycle.

    June 8, 2011 at 7:21 PM
  2. Rev. Ouabache said...

    I saw Tyler and the Narrator as straight Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Dissociative identity disorder because the author comes right out and says it in the book. However I agree that it can also be viewed as a dying god or reincarnation metaphor. Especially when you consider the quote "It's only after you've lost everything, that you're free to do anything."

    June 8, 2011 at 9:13 PM
  3. Anonymous

    I agree with myself. The invocation of The Great Durden appears to be the foundation of Anonymous - with V being the outer head.

    October 12, 2011 at 5:18 PM

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