Broken record that I am, I constantly ask my roommates and friends what I should write about for my columns. The answers they give me vary, depending on whom I ask and where we are when we have the conversation: For example, the answers given in grocery stores differ from the answers given while walking to class, just as answers given at the beginning of a night out differ from the answers I receive at the end of the night (for one, the former are usually coherent). 

After sifting through some quite interesting suggestions, I’d like to go with this one, which one of my roommates suggested as we drove back from church Sunday morning: She told me I ought to write about “‘Fight Club!’ And … I guess … how it relates to life at UT?” You may blame her for this five-minute distraction before your lecture starts. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the film, “Fight Club” is a 1999 movie based on the book of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. (Reality check: you freshmen were eight or nine when the movie came out.) The plot superficially revolves around men bare-knuckle fighting, thus the title. 

This is also one of the main reasons to watch the film: Brad Pitt and Edward Norton star, and one of the rules of fight club is that you fight without shirts or shoes. (And I have a foot fetish. Just kidding.) I say “superficially revolves around fighting” because both Palahniuk, in his book, and the producers and director of the movie were making a deeper point about social interactions and cultural values than just that it’d be cool if men could fight each other and get all bloody, but because of marketing, the violent “fight” aspect of the storyline was heavily pushed. 

“This is all fine and dandy,” you may be saying to yourself, “but how does ‘Fight Club’ relate to my life at UT?” That’s a good question. I was hoping we could skip right by that question, because I’m not really sure, but here’s a few things to start with: 

First, the obvious ways. I’m not referring to the bare-knuckle fighting matches that sometimes occur in basements throughout campus and the Fort. because, you know, that doesn’t happen. I’m not even referring to the odd punch or two thrown as you try to escape the guy trying to mug you, which does happen. I just mean that lots of people in the UT community make their own soap from … well, never mind. 

But how else can you and I relate to this movie? 

Well, lots of people around here either can’t or don’t get enough sleep. I’ve recently joined these ranks for some unknown reason, and this month I’ve had more productive mornings before 10 a.m. than I had productive days last semester. It’s like I’m another person. I don’t want to ruin the movie for you, but Pitt’s character also had productive days (and nights) on little sleep. We all have our coping mechanisms I suppose; some of us drink coffee to get through life, some of us … you really need to watch the movie. 

Also, as two of my roommates pointed out on separate occasions (so I feel I have to include it), most people, both in college and in life, have different personas, changing their personalities to fit the situation at hand. Please raise your hand if you’re a different person when you meet your friend’s parents than you are at Tin Roof. (Actually, don’t do that, unless you either want people to stare at you or are alone in the room.) 

I can’t decide whether having different personas for different situations is good or bad. To an extent, adaptability is a useful skill; life is chaotic and unpredictable at best, and one needs to learn how to roll with the punches (literally, if you’re either at a fight club or walking around the Fort). Learning to read people and to tailor your message to best communicate your meaning is useful. Where, though, is the line between adapting yourself to your situation and losing your sense of self? It’s all fun and games, as “Fight Club” teaches us, until someone shoots themselves in the mouth. 

There are more profound similarities we could discuss, but that would be hard, and I’m sadly out of space. Rent the movie, and you’ll never want to eat in a restaurant again. Hope your first full week of classes has gone swimmingly! Until next time.

—Leigh Dickey is a senior in global studies and Latin. She can be reached at [email protected].