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.
The film suggests that the pursuit of material wealth and status ultimately leads to a dehumanizing existence, where individuals become objects in a transactional society. Another significant message in “American Psycho” revolves around the erosion of identity and the loss of individuality.
American Psycho is a searing indictment of the capitalist system. It shows how the pursuit of money and power leads to greed, corruption, and ultimately, violence. The life of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker who lives in New York City is a symbol of the excesses of capitalism.
As written by Ellis, Bateman is the ultimate stereotype of yuppie greed; wealthy, conceited, and addicted to sex, drugs, and conspicuous consumption. All of his friends look alike to him, to the point that he often confuses one for another; they often confuse him for other people as well.
While not made quite so uncomfortable when playing it, my memories of American Psycho and its allegorical violence as a stand-in for a commentary on economic inequality certainly floated through my mind for the past week or so while I was playing OSome Studios's survival horror game, White Night.
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.
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.
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.
Rather, American Psycho continues to be a memorable film because of how Harron and her collaborators created a satirical portrait of toxic masculinity and its cinematic take on the subjective mental state of its protagonist. American Psycho takes place in New York City in the late 1980s.
This insatiable need leads Patrick to kill people. Therefore, greed brings destructive effects for Patrick and those around him. 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.
'Feed Me A Stray Cat' Scene | American Psycho - YouTube. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) attempts to murder a cat after following the instructions of an ATM, which leads to more killings.
Despite his temper, there is little to indicate Bateman stands above his peers. But, as he can make himself appear deadlier than others, he would align as an Alpha. Regarding socialization, Bateman is almost instantly introverted by choice at the beginning of American Pyscho.
In Bret Easton Ellis's novel American Psycho (1991), Patrick Bateman is the insanely neurotic antihero who must have the best of the best. Among his many material possessions, he owns an apartment on the Upper West Side that should be sufficiently capable of causing envy among his peers.
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.
“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.
What happened to all the bodies in American Psycho?
In the final scene of American Psycho, serial killer Patrick Bateman returns to Paul Allen's apartment, the location of some of his worst crimes, and finds it to be clean and free of bodies.
As journalist Shaurya Singh wrote in the newsletter The Digital Native, Bateman's main characteristics – his sexual insecurity, insensitivity, shallowness and obsession with money – connected with some of the obsessions of Generation Z (and plenty of other generations) during the pandemic.
Conclusion: “American Psycho” is a thought-provoking film that delves into complex themes of toxic masculinity, societal decay, and the impact of media.
As for its ban history, American Psycho faced its fair share of controversy. It was banned in some countries, and there were protests against it due to its graphic content. However, it also sparked debates about censorship and the boundaries of artistic expression.
