Rebel Consumer
If I’m not my f’ing khakis, am I my f’ing leather pants?
Fight Club wants you to shop—at really cool stores.
fter watching Fight Club,
I resolved to change, to be different, to rebel. I would no longer
frequent Starbucks, no longer wear Old Navy, no longer listen
to N'Sync. I was determined to resist consumer culture with a
vengeance.
So I went shopping.
If you're going to be Tyler Durden, you have to have the right
look, the right style, the right kick-ass vibe. At Urban Outfitters,
you can buy a wardrobe of dissent for less than $600. All the
products there have that fuck you attitude, which is to
say they all appear to be worn-out and retro-fied. Shopping at
Urban Outfitters gives you instant "rebel" credibility. Tyler
may mock Gap, but he's not going to mock a store that's sells
Atari T-shirts for $28. Hell, just visit the nearest Urban Outfitters,
and you'll see Tyler Durdens and Marla Singers everywhere.
I ended up spending $565 for a jacket, a pair of leather pants,
and three Ben Sherman buttondown shirts. Afterwards, I got myself
a tattoo that said "fuck consumerism." I felt so liberated, so
free from the mass conformity of our commercialized culture.
I felt like one of those rebels in the "defy convention" Reebok
advertisements, transgressing the "norms" of our civilized society.
Inspired, I got online and immediately ordered a pair of The
Pump Fury Reeboks for $109.99 and downloaded the "defy convention" screensaver
for inspiration. Before I disconnected, I went on eBay and made
a bid for a bar of pink Fight Club soap. I couldn't think
of a better way to remind myself of the mindless consumerism
of our age than to buy some pink Fight Club soap.
I thank Tyler, and Fight Club, that I'm no longer a slave
to commercial products.
Top 5 Rebel Commercials
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1. Fight Club (see above) |
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2. Disturbing Behavior. There are two types of people: programmed teens who dress like J. Crew dweebs and free-spirited rebels who sport leather jackets and barbed-wire tattoos. If you want to be a cool individual, shop where Katie Holmes shops. |
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3. Grease. In the end, leather wins! And it has never looked so delicious! |
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4. Rebel Without a Cause. What is a rebellious, restless, misunderstood, middle-class youth to do in the monotone world of suburbia? Wear leather, of course! |
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5. The Matrix. It is our mission to free human civilization from its comatose state. What should we wear? Leather, leather, and more leather (oh, and sunglasses). |
Shopping Tips
If you are really serious about rebelling against consumerism, shop at the following stores:
