I was hit by a bolt just now. Two thoughts collided in my head. See, on the one hand I was thinking about the fact that Fight Club recently had its 10th anniversary. On the other hand I was thinking that I need to watch Real Genius again.

Which is when I realized they’re the same film in a lot of ways.

Chris Knight: Moles and trolls, moles and trolls, work, work, work, work, work. We never see the light of day. We plan this thing for weeks and all they want to do is study. I’m disgusted. I’m sorry but it’s not like me, I’m depressed. There was what, no one at the mutant hamster races, we only had one entry into the Madame Curie look-alike contest and he was disqualified later. Why do I bother?

Tyler Durden: Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let… lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.

In Real Genius, Chris Knight takes Mitch under his wing. He shows him how not to fear, how to allow himself to be comfortable with being himself and how that, in turns gives us power – over ourselves and the world at large.

In Fight Club, Tyler teaches the Narrator how to accept himself. Mostly because he is himself, but you know. Details. Regardless, Tyler’s entire concept is about changing the world one act at a time. Being free to do anything. Being free to be as ridiculous or dangerous as you are.

Chris Knight: Okay Mitch, I’m gonna make it up to you. Let’s just pause, put that down. Let’s just take a step back. No, I was wrong, I’m sorry, take a step forward. Now, take a step back. Step forward. Back. And then we’re cha-cha-ing!
Mitch: Will you stop it? I’m serious!
Chris Knight: Okay, I’m serious too!

Lou: [Lou hits Tyler in the face] Do you hear me now?
Tyler Durden: No, I didn’t quite catch that, Lou.
[Lou hits Tyler again]
Tyler Durden: Still not getting it.
[Lou hits Tyler a few more times]
Tyler Durden: Ok, I got it. Shit, I lost it.
[Lou continues to beat up Tyler]

Now I admit that in Fight Club Tyler uses pain as his main teaching tool toward overcoming fear of self, whereas in Real Genius, Knight uses embarrassment to achieve the same goal. I’m not saying the films are shot for shot the same pony. That’d be crazy.

But they teach many of the same things and use similar mindsets to do it. Which is, actually, borderline wrong, to me. Not “wrong” as in “incorrect” but rather as “oh, chil’ that ain’t right.” Still the basic sense holds. And that’s just kooky. I thought it was great when someone drew lines between Fight Club and Calvin & Hobbes (metaphilm, look it up) but this one makes me smile.

And when you stretch it out to other characters the whole thing falls apart, I realize that. But if you focus on larger themes, on manner and on character – it’s almost bothersome.

Chris Knight: Good. Because all of my filth is arranged in alphabetical order. This, for instance, is under ‘H’ for “toy.”
Mitch: What is it?
Chris Knight: It’s a penis stretcher. Do you want to try it?
Mitch: No!
Chris Knight: I’m just kidding. It’s yet another in a long series of diversions in an attempt to avoid responsibility.

Narrator: Tyler was a night person. While the rest of us were sleeping, he worked. He had one part time job as a projectionist. See, a movie doesn’t come all on one big reel. It comes on a few. So someone has to be there to switch the projectors at the exact moment that one reel ends and the next one begins. If you look for it, you can see these little dots come into the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
Tyler Durden: In the industry, we call them “cigarette burns.”
Narrator: That’s the cue for a changeover. He flips the projectors, the movie keeps right on going, and nobody in the audience has any idea.
Tyler Durden: Why would anyone want this shit job?
Narrator: Because it affords him other interesting opportunities.
Tyler Durden: Like splicing single frames of pornography into family films.

Because the fact is that they do try and teach you the same lessons, in a lot of ways. Be yourself. Don’t rely on the trappings of your surroundings. Think for a change. Don’t let fear stop you. Don’t be afraid to discover uncomfortable things about yourself or the world around you. Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground.

Of course they would have hated each other, Tyler and Chris. I mean Chris Knight was far too constantly clever for Durden. He was a merry prankster but he stopped at causing harm to others. Durden picks that ball up and runs a few miles farther with it. But for his time, his student and his lesson – was he wrong? Were either of them?

Their choices don’t suit the other but they manage to teach the same lessons to different students. And the lessons stick, or so we’re led to believe. They changed lives, for the better in the close-scope. They weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty (though I admit that popcorn house pranks are smaller than threatening to cut off someone’s balls) and get a job damn well done.

Tyler/Knight: Fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say let… lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may. It’s a moral imperative.