Thursday, April 3, 2008

WWJD? Nah, more Like WWTDD? (What Would Tyler Durden Do)

Now that I have been sucked into the fun of digg.com, I tend to visit the site looking at different articles that grab my attention at least twice a day. One article caught my attention surrounded itself with the tagline What Would Tyler Durden Do? Being a huge fan of “Fight Club”, I immediately clicked, and was introduced to a new site, www.wwtdd.com. Being along the same lines as Perez Hilton, I was really disappointed. If something is going to affiliate themselves with the shocking content of “Fight Club”, they need to fully embrace the mindset of Tyler Durden. This site did not do that in a very effective manner. Simply taking articles and making fun does not seem like a very mature way of criticizing today’s culture. Even though they are somewhat countering the obsession with celebrities, they are just doing the same thing. It bothers me to think that our way of being counterculture is in fact no better, potentially even worse. Tyler Durden is a complex character who knows that he is being captured by the capitalists, and does want to change things. This website is far from any of the values that are depicted in the film. Attached is a picture of the Warning that is played prior to the film on it's DVD to give you an idea of what the character is like, and how the website does not do this justice at all. I was just expecting so much more from this site than what it was offering. Not to say that I won’t be visiting it again, but it will not be for the quality of AdBusters or the Yes Men.


"If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this is useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all who claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think everything you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told you should want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned... Tyler"

Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. 1999. DVD. Art Linson Productions.

1 comment:

I. Reilly said...

it seems to me that websites like digg - and to a lesser extent wwtdd - are useful examples of how cultural tastes, trends, and misc. information are not only shaped but consumed. i wonder how you might re-think your appraisal of wwtdd and think about how the site shapes particular conceptions of the media culture.

i.