Group 5: The “Cult Classic” Fight Club as New Religious Movement

Abstract

In his book Film as Religion John Lyden (2003) argues that “what we have always called ‘religion’ is identified by its function in society, and that this function can be met even by cultural phenomena not normally called ‘religions,’ including film (3). In this poster we explore the concept of the “cult classic” – a film with a devoted subcultural following – in relation to the concept of New Religious Movements, a term that academics have substituted in scholarship for the pejorative term “cult.” While literature on NRMs includes such “hyperreal” NRMs as those based on movies (Jediism being based on Star Wars, Dudeism being based on The Big Lebowski, and Matrixism being based on The Matrix), we seek to explore whether the “cult following” of Fight Club, which does not self-understand as an “ism” of any kind, might nonetheless be understood with respect to the concept of NRMs. By combining analysis of the film itself with evidence about the kind of influence attributable to “cult classics” and analysis of what constitutes a New Religious Movement in scholarship today, we hope to show that conceptualizing Fight Club’s “cult” following as an NRM offers analytical purchase on its influence and attraction.