THE FIRST RULE IS YOU DO NOT SPREAD DANGEROUS KNOWLEDGE: FIGHT CLUB AND INFORMATION HAZARDS
FIGHT CLUB AND INFORMATION HAZARDS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18485/bells.2025.17.15Keywords:
Fight Club, information hazards, subversion, power imbalance, information asymmetry, ideologyAbstract
Information does not need to be false to pose a risk to social norms and the dominant culture. An uneven power dynamic can be disrupted by revealing (in)appropriate true information. Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club presents a rebellion against a postmodern world born through the unveiling of the late-capitalist system in underground boxing clubs. With dangerous knowledge and a legion of loyalists, the nameless narrator’s split personality, Tyler Durden, plans to reset society. The present paper aims to investigate the impact of the methodical dissemination of dangerous knowledge in Fight Club through the framework of information hazards. The results reveal that information hazards are crucial to both Durden’s operation and the retention of the novel’s subversive essence despite its mainstream appeal.
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