The novel suggests that Bateman is the ultimate result of a society where identity is tied solely to material worth, and so he is unable to connect with others and recedes into his own mind – unable even to recognize or understand other people, and in the end is driven so far into his own mind as to be inaccessible ...
This, combined with sex, violence, drugs, and other desires of the id, is how Bateman enacts his sociopathic violence in a superficial world. Bateman's episodes of schizophrenia also shows clear signs on how he copes with being an affluent person living in a superficial world, fashioned on consumerism.
As the camera slowly zooms into Patrick's eyes, Patrick delivers his chilling final monologue as a voiceover in which he realizes that his crimes have gone unpunished and his confession has meant nothing.
He is vain, self-centered, materialistic, and shallow; he cares for nothing but his own gratification and, by his own admission, has no real personality beneath his attractive exterior. In the film, he claims that his only emotions are greed and disgust.
It's made clear there is no "top" to Bateman. There is only becoming more successful than the previous day. Therefore, Bateman would be a Sigma in that regard. In American Psycho's first act, Bateman makes it known to his fiancée that he wishes to conform to society as best he can, unlike his other roles.
Toxic masculinity is depicted in American Psycho through its destructive aspects. In the movie, Patrick Bateman is the main character who portrays destructive aspects of toxic masculinity.
Patrick Bateman is the protagonist in the film "American Psycho", and he suffers from three personality disorders, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and Borderline Personality Disorder.
In Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder.
He displays a high functioning form of Asperger's syndrome, yet there are still symptoms present in Bateman of which even the highest functioning people with Asperger's syndrome cannot rid themselves. One of the key symptoms in Asperger's syndrome is the need for strict routine.
Despite his affluence and high social status, Bateman is constantly plagued by unsettling feelings of anxiety and low self-esteem. He kills many of his victims because they make him feel inadequate, usually by having better taste than he does.
TL;DR: Patrick Bateman has a mental disorder caused by lifelong conflict-of-interests with his father. He doesn't actually kill anyone in the film; all the murders take place in his sleep, but they're vivid enough dreams that he can't separate them from reality.
While it's true that Patrick is experiencing delusions and hallucinations, it doesn't mean that the murders are in his head. Turner blames the muddiness of the ending on the dichotomy between the fantasy world that Bateman is currently living in and the reality of the murderous situation at hand.
American Psycho explores the inherent violence of corporate greed, using Patrick Bateman's sadistic acts as a metaphor for the callousness of Wall Street. The film's ambiguous ending signifies Bateman's moral awakening, as he tries to hold himself accountable for his actions while those around him remain indifferent.
Bateman and his friends are also heavy drug users. Early in the novel, Bateman's cocaine use is largely social, but he later does more and more of the drug and his attitude towards it become increasingly aggressive. Bateman begins taking pills, too – downers like Halcion, Valium, and Xanax.
Patrick Bateman's killings are a mix of delusions and real murders, with his schizophrenia causing reality and delusion to merge, leading him to lose control of his own mind.
“In the morning if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1,000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub.
His lack of empathy also goes hand in hand with him having difficulty forming relationships with others. As Bateman is known to use others for his advantage and his realtionships with his fiance and coworkers seems to be very superficial and lack depth.
The psychopathology Arthur exhibits is unclear, preventing diagnosis of psychotic disorder or schizophrenia; the unusual combination of symptoms suggests a complex mix of features of certain personality traits, namely psychopathy and narcissism (he meets DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder).
No fictional character is strictly in line with an actual disorder. But Patrick Bateman is one of the characters that are closest. Patrick Bateman in American Psycho can be regarded as a malignant narcissist, in a most extreme incarnation.
Patrick Bateman is an unhealthy ENTJ personality type. He is determined to get what he wants and will step over anyone who gets in his way. Healthy ENTJs aim to achieve their goals in an ethical way, but for unhealthy ENTJs, morals go out of the window.
Alpha males are celebrated for being strong and dominant and possessing great leadership qualities. Those attributes earned them a place at the top of the hierarchy. Sigmas have similar attributes but aren't considered as dominant, mainly due to their quiet, reserved nature.
Alphas are at the very top of the male socio-sexual hierarchy while sigmas don't have a fixed place within the hierarchy. Alphas tend to be more extroverted, traditional, and aggressive while sigmas usually keep to themselves, think outside of the box, and have a calm disposition.
