American Psycho Critiques 1980s Materialism

Deviance In American Psycho
"I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip" (Harron) thought Patrick Bateman as he contemplated his growing
feelings of emptiness and need for bloodlust. American psycho is the story of a greedy, materialistic, self obsessed businessman who transforms into
an unstable and violent sociopath. Abnormal behavior can be defined by four patterns deviance, distress, dysfunction, and danger (Comer 2). Deviance
is exhibited as unusual, or extreme behavior. Throughout the movie, Bateman was very blunt and would casually say violent, graphic comments. The
only time Bateman experienced distress was towards the end of the movie when he couldn't stop killing. He began to panic, called his lawyer to
confess, and didn't go into work. However, most of the time Bateman said he enjoyed the rush of a kill. Typically, abnormal behavior interferes with the
person's ability to conduct daily activities (Comer 2). As a result of Bateman's abnormalities he could not sustain a healthy relationship. The most
extreme characteristic of Batemans abnormal behavior was that it caused him to put others in danger.
American Psycho can be interpreted in two ways: either Bateman, due to his mental disorder, killed multiple people, or he was having hallucinations
about his kills. If he truly committed murder the DSM–5 diagnosis for Patrick Bateman indicates that he is suffering from antisocial personality disorder
, narcissistic personality disorder, and borderline
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American Psycho is a novel written by Bret Easton Ellis in 1991. The book details the life and subsequent descent into madness of yuppie investment
banker Patrick Bateman. Bateman appears to everyone as charming young man but is also possibly one of the most vicious serial killers in American
history (whether Bateman committed the murders is left ambiguous). It takes place at the height of the Reagan era in Manhattan and is primarily a
critique of the vapid and capitalist society that Bateman resides in. Ellis criticizes various aspects of American culture through both the actions and
thoughts of Patrick Bateman and those around him. Bateman acts as symbol of the death of ones humanity that occurs in a superficial and nihilistic
post–modern society. The things that are critiqued the most in this novel are materialism, conformity, superficiality, and the depravity of man.One of
the most prevalent aspects of society criticized by this novel is the depravity of man. Ellis portrays American society as a place rife with violence
and horror yet is also desensitized to it. For example this is summarized perfectly on page 4 when Timothy Price (a friend of Bateman) looks through
a newspaper and says the following: "In one issue–in One issue–let's see here... strangled models, babies thrown from tenement rooftops, kids killed in
the subway, a Communist rally, Mafia boss wiped out, Nazis"–he flips through the pages excitedly "baseball players with AIDS, more Mafia shit,
gridlock,

Analyzing The Movie 'American Psycho'
After watching Benjamin Walker on Stephen Colbert talk about the new musical he is staring in, American Psycho, I knew I had to look up this
story. This is a storyline that started as a book, then produced into a movie, and is now musical. Knowing that I would not be able to get out to
New York City to see this production I went straight to the video store to rent the movie version (because who would read a book when you can
watch a movie). From the title itself I should have guessed that it wasn't going to be a warm and fuzzy movie, even if it has Christian Bale and Reese
Witherspoon in it. From the opening scene I knew I was right. This first shot of Christian Bale will stick with me for way to long. This scene starts
with a tracking shot...show more content...
Patrick is making his life in his head that expressive all his feelings. He is taking advantage of women and killing off men who challenge him, he has
the ultimate power. This is what some people feel would make the best life. Patrick has found a way to control his surroundings at any cost. Many
people what this type of control. This sense of control is present very much as soon as the film starts. Opening with an overly clean apartment and
leading into this man's perfected routine, the whole tone is the need for a sense of control. Without this opening scene this film could be categorized in
the horror genre. While there are many other scenes that show this need for ultimate control this is the most preeminent one. Opening with this scene
the tone is set from the beginning, Patrick Bateman has to be in

Pros And Cons Of American Psycho
Just in the U.S. there are thousands of books that are banned or censored and every year there are hundreds more that get banned or censored.
American Psycho is a book published in 1991 by Bret Easton Ellis which is heavily censored. This book cannot even be sold to anyone under 18 and
must be wrapped in plastic. This fictional book was written for adults that like black comedy and the thrill of a gruesome and violent book. American
Psycho is a book about a murderous rich man that is censored for a few very good reasons but still should be able to be bought and sold by the public.
American Psycho all starts in New York City where the main character,Patrick Bateman lives. Patrick is a rich man that focuses on money, how he
dresses, and drugs. One day as he was walking down the street he saw his first victim. "Bateman spots him sitting on the sidewalk and stops to taunt
him, calling him worthless and disgusting and asking why he doesn't simply "get a job." Al begins to cry, and then Bateman suddenly stabs him in the
eye"(Mauriello, American Psycho Summary). After his first victim was finally dead he just got worse. Soon after "he murders his ex–girlfriend
Bethany after getting her drunk at lunch and even stabs a young child to death in a public park"(Mauriello, American Psycho Summary). Bateman's
killings just keep getting and as it does his drug addiction also gets worse. After kidnapping, raping and torturing his victims he ends up hiding in his
office from the police. He

American Psycho
Film Commentary
The film that I watched for the film commentary was American Psycho (2000), a psychological thriller/slasher that stars Christian Bale and Willem
Dafoe. The film follows Patrick Bateman (Bale) who is a wealthy investment banking executive in New York. Unbeknownst to others, Bateman has
an alternate psychopathic ego that is very violent and sexual after the work day is done. One day a coworker of Bateman's goes missing and
Detective Donald Kimball (Dafoe) is on the case to find out what happened to him. Now it is getting harder and harder for Bateman to keep up his
normal appearances throughout the day as his lust for blood takes over and his psyche starts to break. He goes on to murder a countless number of
people almost destroying...show more content...
The gender stereotypes are very strong in this film. At Bateman's job he has a secretary that is female who he treats in an extremely demeaning
manner. At one point in the film, he tells her that what she is wearing is not sexy enough and demands that she wears something sexual the next
day at work. Her being his secretary, could say nothing about it and simply agreed to his demands. He wanted her to fit into her gender role of
being a sexual being, someone for him to look at while he is at work. There is also the portrayal of his fiancГ©e Evelyn who is seen as very
emotional, dependent on Patrick and basically all of the other gender stereotypes that were discussed in class. There is one scene in the movie with
her that I will never forget. Patrick tries to break up with her in a restaurant, which was not a good idea because Evelyn starts to cry uncontrollably
causing a scene. Spewing off things like "what am I going to do without you" and "my friends are your friends and your friends are my friends"
showing that if Patrick leaves her she will have nothing in her life. He then starts to get very aggressive by threatening to kill her and bluntly saying that
he has been cheating on her throughout their entire engagement. In these few frames you can see that this is what both roles of a relationship are
meant to look like, the complete opposite of each

Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho makes many bold claims regarding the state of American culture through the actions and personality of the main
character, Patrick Bateman. Ellis uses Bateman and his interactions with the things around him to openly ridicule the superficial consumer lifestyle of
1980s America. On surface Patrick Bateman personifies the ideal American man. He is a young, good looking and possesses the money necessary to
live an extravagant lifestyle. Everything appears methodical and kept together but there is a reality that lies underneath waiting to be brought to the
limelight. American psycho is Ellis' examination and critic of an American lifestyle that was too focused on consumption and maintaining
social–economic pretenses....show more content...
It was everywhere. In music videos, magazines, and various other forms of media. Being a handsome and rich guy, Bateman has very little
problems attracting females. He would have sex with countless prostitutes and then Through Bateman, Ellis was calling out how sex was too
easy in the American culture. It was a game. For example there was an instance in the text where Bateman admitted to not even knowing the name
of a girl he was about to engage in sexual acts with. "While Christie takes a bath (I don't know her real name, I haven't asked, but I told her to
respond only when I call her Christie)" followed by "her head is within my reach, is mine to crush; at this very moment my urge to strike out, to
insult and punish her, rises then subsides" (Ellis 91) The prostitute in this instead is objectified and her only real purpose is to be Bateman's sexual
toy. He even claims that her head was his further displaying his entitled nature. Ellis is not condoning the excessive sex and violence that occurs but
instead he is examining the real world through the eyes of a maniac. Bateman isn't just the typical maniac though. He is the American Dream. He has
all of these positive attributes but yet he is never truly satisfied nor does he really know who he is. This is very similar to what was happening in the
real world in the 1980s. The media had all the influence in the world to promote positivity. Instead, the light was

American Psycho Essay
Entrails torn from the body with bare hands, eyes gouged out with razor blades, battery cables, rats borrowing inside the human body, power drills to
the face, cannibalism, credit cards, business cards, Dorsia, Testoni, Armani, Wall Street; all of these things are Patrick Bateman's world. The only
difference between Bateman and anybody else is what is repulsive to Bateman and what is repulsive to the rest of the world. Bateman has great interest
in the upper class life, fashions, and social existence, but at the same time he is, at times, sickened by the constant struggle to be one up on everybody
else. On the other hand Bateman's nightlife reveals a side of him never seen during the day. Bateman is relaxed, impulsive, and confident...show more
content...
Bateman is in a way sickened by the everyday all–American life he leads, while the reader is sickened by the flip side of Patrick Bateman. From the
beginning of the novel Bateman seems content with his life style. He seems perfectly happy with the daily lunch tickets at Nell's, the Yale Club, etc.
He seems fascinated and absorbed with the details of peoples wardrobes, especially his own. But if you sift through all the talk of food, cocktails, and
hardbodies, the reader will find a subtle boredom or frustration even early in the novel. While waiting on food at a table at Nell's, Bateman is
momentarily diverted from the conversation by one of his thoughts of sex or violence that seem to escalate in frequency throughout the novel. "I think
about Courtney's legs, spread and wrapped around my face, and when I look over at Luis in one brief flashing moment his head looks like a talking
vagina and it scares the bejesus out of me, moves me to say something while mopping the sweat off my brow." (108) These thoughts seem to come to
Bateman most frequently at these types of situations. Wealthy friends, wealthy strangers, and a wealthy environment surround him. Either consciously
or subconsciously Bateman's mind diverts itself from the monotonous world that Bateman grows to loathe, to a world that Bateman loves. Although the
thoughts occur the most often in restaurants, I can't say with certainty that food has anything to do with

Based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis, the 2000 movie, American Psycho, is a young but classic film to horror and gore enthusiast. I chose this
film because it is one of the most disturbingly shocking, yet nonchalant, movies that I ever seen. The main character, Patrick Bateman, is a successful
businessman living in New York City who has a wonderful life. Although he seems perfectly normal, he has a darker side which he hides from his
close friends and family. This darker side is, in part, a result of his borderline personality disorder.
The presence of Patrick's borderline personality disorder was never openly discussed in the film, although many of the traits were clearly displayed
through Patrick's words and actions. To support this,
Patrick never openly shows his disorder to his...show more content...
They tend to be uncertain of their values, goals, loyalties, careers, choices of friends, and sometimes even their sexual orientations
(Roepke et al., 2010)." This information from the textbook clearly explains and supports Patrick's behavior and helps to diagnose his character in the
film.
In the film, there is a scene where Patrick and a coworker go into a stall and snort cocaine while at a party. This scene relates to pages 110 and 111
where the text talks about stimulants and their effects on the body. Several scenes in the movie depict Patrick having sexual relations with various
women, which can be related back to pages 212 through 215. These pages in the text discuss sexual motivation, behavior, and orientation. Lastly,
Patrick often shows a lack of emotion and interest in life.
This characteristic is displayed all throughout the film and plays a huge role in describing the character.
In order to understand Patrick's lack of emotion, pages 218 and 219 in the text inform on emotion and the expression of

Homicide always will be an aspect of life, whether it is in the 16th century, 21st century or in the future. At times of extreme stress, people may turn to
murder as an outlet of a greater problem they cannot fix or control. Presently, homicide has a greater value in society due to popular culture references
through the media such as television, film and writing; society constantly has homicide and murder in the subconscious. In David M. Buss' findings in
The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind is Designed to Kill, According to our findings, 91 percent of men and 84 percent of women have had at least
one such vivid fantasy about killing someone...the human mind has developed adaptations for killing–deeply ingrained patterns of thought,...show more
content...
He is immaculately groomed and dressed. His body marks not disruption or Otherness but normalcy. (231)
I agree in the way Ellis' character "fails to embody the kind of hybridism or repulsion necessary" as the stereotypical serial killer, a point that needs
emphasizing since so many people still believe those with homicidal abilities posses homicidal and monstrous features. Dostoyevsky's character also
portrays his intelligence through his article On Crime and in his household, a major location in the novel where his friends and family congregate.
Dostoyevsky describes, "...a painted table in the corner on which lay a few manuscripts and books; the dust that lay thick upon them showed that they
had been long untouched," (Dostoyevsky 1.3.1). Although through time Raskolnikov's value for education diminishes, he still leads the lifestyle he
once possessed after the murder. Going to bars and living the life they lead before the murders of the pawn broker, her sister and the fourteen people
slaughtered by Bateman reveal Raskolnikov's and Bateman's real outlook on life. Feeling no remorse, they move on to the next item on their to–do list.
The modus operandi, or the method of operation, describes one's habits which lead to identification and apprehension of the offender. In addition, the
modus operandi includes the motive for committing the crime, in this case, homicide. This

American Psycho By Bret Easton Ellis
In the novel "American Psycho" written by Bret Easton Ellis, Patrick Bateman 's use of violence and his wealth are exemplified in scenes involving
the murder of his ex–girlfriend Bethany. As well as appealing to the idea to maintain an upscale image by any means such as purchasing expensive
merchandise and taking the initiative to attend upscale restaurants. His actions with the implications of those elements reveal the consumptions of
status and privilege. The detailed narration of Bateman 's intense violent acts and purchases of expensive products creates imaginary and conflict for
readers to accept the appearance he is trying to come across to his associates and the general public. This may result in readers rejecting his character
and concluding that he is worthy of the position in society, he desires to achieve or deserving of it. This plays a significant part in how to read this
novel because it demonstrates the obsession of acknowledgment and the measurements individuals are prepared to grasp it. The only sense of
acknowledgment Bateman receives from the other characters in the novel is his tan instead of his presence or success. Experiencing treatment like this
can possibly help the audience understand his motives for preying on women. Feeding off the vulnerability and the weakness of women provides him
with the confidence and authority that he lacks. Overall, the consumption of seeking prestige and praise through aggressive behavior towards
powerless people

Analysis Of American Psycho By Mary Harron
I've selected the scene from American Psycho by Mary Harron (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruw9fsh3PNY). The main character, Patrick
Bateman, is a "perfect man" living in a world where the main concern is the way business cards look like. The scene shows Patrick Bateman's act
of killing his main rival Paul Allen. What I wanted to focus on is obviously Christian Bale's acting that perfectly reveals Patrick Bateman's face of a
crazy man. Starting from the beginning of the clip, it is visible that he is well prepared for the events to come, which means he knows what he wants
to do; he wants to follow the plan that he had created. The way he talks about "Huey Lewis And The News" shows his self–confidence. Bale's voice
modulation reveals that

Themes Of American Psycho
The film American Psycho focuses on the wealthy and handsome banker Patrick Bateman. It's 1987 and Patrick has everything he could ever want; He
is successful, rich, and engaged. However, Bateman's unsatisfied hunger for success, perfection, and material items also match up to his hunger for
murder. Patrick feeds this obsession by surrounding himself with shallow people, dining at fancy restaurants, and keeping up his appearances with
daily workouts and beautification routines. This film reflects the "yuppie" culture of America in the 1980s, more specifically, the materialism
/consumerism and identity that are desired by man in order to fit in and be accepted by society. The themes of needing to consume, conform, and
needing to know your...show more content...
But we do, and relief washes over me, in an awesome wave". This proves that his world obsessively revolves around having the best and making sure
everyone around him knows how good he has it. Patrick Bateman was so obsessed with becoming the perfect man and that devotion to consumption
took place of his real thoughts. Patrick's murderous behavior is an escape from a world that is meaningless to him. To back this up, the article written
by Alex E. Blazer, Chasms of Reality, Aberrations of Identify: Defining the Postmodern through Brett Easton Ellis'sAmerican Psycho states, "He
mutilates and rapes specifically women, gets off on watching (and videotaping) their pain because it's the closest way in which he can come to
coming with any sort of feeling." Blazer also says, "Bateman's an indifferent narcissist, as anyone trained by the aesthetics of consumerism must be.
His life engenders nothing more than a search for sensory pleasure through goods". Murder gives him the excitement that his world can not because
everyone is a zombie of the superficial society.
Throughout the film, there are also instances of mistaking and consuming someone else's identity. This contributes to the experience of isolation.
Patrick is repeatedly mistaken for other people, however he doesn't correct others when his co–workers greet him as someone

Film Analysis American Psycho
American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000) is a film about a wealthy and materialistic Wall Street investment banker, Patrick Bateman. Bateman leads a
double life as a serial killer and as the film progresses, his homicidal behaviours begin to take over his life making his psychotic nature evident to
those around him. "My need to engage in homicidal behaviour on a massive scale cannot be corrected, but I have no other way to fulfill my needs."
Towards the end of the film, after breaking up with his fiancГ©, Evelyn "you're not terribly important to me." Bateman is seen running through town
like a maniac, since at this point in the film he is completely unhinged and out of touch with reality. He attempts to put a cat inside of the ATM
machine that reads "FEED ME A STRAY CAT." After being caught he shoots the elderly lady who tried to stop him, the police then begin to chase
him down and Bateman shoots at them, ultimately blowing up two police cars and the cops around them. He then runs into a building to hide from the
helicopters and make a call to his lawyer to confess all of his killings. Although this scene does not go extremely in depth about Bateman's psychopathic
lifestyle, when analyzing it by looking at the dialogue/sound, the editng/variety of camera techniques and the mise–en–scГЁne it is easily recognizable.
This scene is almost entirely sound which plays a significant role in the way it is viewed. As soon as Patrick leaves his fiancГ©, eerie music
begins to play building suspense so that it is expected something bad is going to happen. The music quickly turns to sirens as Patrick shoots a lady,
from then on Patrick's behaviour only begins to get crazier, kicking and hitting cars making alarms go off, the police stop him, and gun shots are
heard followed by a large explosion. Every sound in this scene is meant to add more and more chaos so that the audience is engaged and full of
adrenaline, being able to get a sense of the madness and intensity taking place and be in the moment with the characters. Although this scene does not
have much dialogue, there is a specific part that does, and it is important. When Bateman gets into the building he is welcomed by a staff member at
the front desk who mistakes him for

American Psycho and The Picture of Dorian Gray
Film and Literature
Richard Lankford
Bret Easton Ellis's dark and violent burlesque of America in the 1980s is taken to the screen in this disturbing drama (2000, American Psycho) with
blackly comic overtones. Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale), the son of a wealthy Wall Street banker, is chasing his profitable career with his
father's firm. Bateman is the perfect well–groomed, obsessed with success, fashion, and style.
Dorian Gray is also a serial killer who murders, rapes, and harms strangers and the acquaintances without any signs or a motive. Donald Kimble, played
by Willem
Dafoe, is a police detective who questions Patrick about the vanishing of Paul Allen, played by Jared Leto. However,...show more content...
The primary plot of the Picture of Dorian Gray is that he wants to remain young and looks beautiful forever, while American Psycho opens up with the
rituals that Jason Bateman goes through every morning in order to look good.
The Picture of Dorian Gray and American Psycho can be connected to each other.
They both explore ethical motive as a concept and the moral impact of living according to that lifestyle. They both portray a self–loving, superficial
and psychologically unstable character. In a way, I believe that American Psycho can almost be seen as a more modern presentation of how morality
exists in today's society and how an indulgent person would act and acquire his thrills in the society we live in.
Both characters are super flawed and troubled protagonists. Both characters have everything on the surface. Both characters use mistaken identity as
an excuse to avoid being held accountable for their crimes. (Dorian tells Sybyll's brother that he is too young to be the "Prince Charming" responsible
for Sybylls suicide and Bateman masquerades around as Paul Allen and others to avoid detection). Both are

American Psycho: Analysis of Novel and Movie Production
American Psycho has been recognized as a brilliant thriller of its time and can legitimately be labeled a scandalous novel. The novel was published in
1991 by the daring author Bret Easton Ellis and was later adapted into a movie production in 2000 by the director Mary Harron. The novel endured
nasty criticism to the point of rousing riots and the boycott of the publishing company, Simon & Schuster; who later dropped the publication of the
book, due to the negative publicity. Bret Easton Ellis' novel was convicted of national censorship, and remains censored in select countries. The
disapproval of Ellis' novel was based on the graphic sequences of sexual violence and the...show more content...
The effects from the change in tone, created by Mary Harron, result in another completely different reaction from the audience. The reaction from the
audience is to smile upon the main character Patrick Bateman and be amused by his slips of insanity. In Ellis' novel the reaction from the audience
during Bateman's torturous performances are viewed as horrendous and demonic, nothing to make the reader amused. Harron's production of American
Psycho being a black comedy is necessary when taking into consideration of the film being accepted into society. Being able to laugh at Christian Bale
during his performance as Ellis' unstable character Patrick Bateman helps the audience overlook the murders taking place and be drawn into Bateman's
humorous character, which is innocently a result of the times.
"But there is another, much more insidious world that was created during the 80's. As a direct result of President Reagan's hands–off big business
policy and his "trickle–down" theory of economics, corporations were allowed to grow unchecked at the expense of the common man, and as a result
a hollow, self–centered Wall Street "superculture" sprang up almost overnight"(Marin 9).
The dramatic change in tone is indispensable when filming this production. If Harron were to include details such as "push maybe half an inch of the
blade into his [homeless man] right eye, flicking the

American Psycho Analysis
American Psycho was adapted from the novel by Bret Easton Ellis in 2000. The film is narrated by its main character, the American psycho, Patrick
Bateman. This man is a cunning Wall–Street socialite by day, murderous psychopath by night. The audience is told from the beginning of the film that
Bateman is slowly losing control of his restraint, "Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has
over–flown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip." (American Psycho film: 2002) Within the first
half–hour it is revealed to us that Patrick Bateman is not all there, he admits it himself. The movie is told entirely from the perspective of Patrick
Bateman, which makes it harder for the audience to decipher what is reality and what is not. Not only does Bateman deceive the characters in the
film, he fools the audience as well. Sitting in the theaters after the movie, viewers may ask themselves, "Was it even real at all?" This deception–the
mask of Patrick Bateman–harbors a fear that settled throughout America at the time of its release. With the buildup and speculation over the 'Dotcom
Boom' the culture in America found their worst fears had taken form on the movie screen, with the new adaptation of American Psycho.
"The monster's body...show more content...
This fear is easily detectable in most all controversial films. It is human nature to be afraid of change, therefore it is only natural that innate fear is
portrayed in movies. The "Dotcom Boom" was an exciting, but anxiety–filled time with each new website and business popping up, many people did
not know how to conduct themselves with this new technology–this new Age. Patrick Bateman is an exaggerated example of what many people in the
1990's were afraid of: young "yuppie" CEO's with all the money and all the power taking advantage of everyone they

What Is The Moral Of The Movie American Psycho
American Psycho did not cater to middle class at all, it was all about the high class group of friends. The film is about a CEO of a company and his
crazy ways. It showed what kind of a psycho main character Patrick really was. Patrick Bateman was living his dream. He lived a successful life,
with a great job and where everyone respected him. But with Patrick his life wasn't good enough, he always wanted more. If anyone he knew had
more and better things than he did, he would loose his mind. Patrick's life was meaningless, unless he was on top of the world. Being on the top of
the world to a psycho like Patrick was living the American dream. The storyline was really crazy, it was all about what goes on in Patrick's head. He
had too much anger and nothing mattered to him but himself....show more content...
There was no real moral to the film American Psycho, it was all about the twisted mind of a psychotic person who didn't know the difference between
what went on in his head and his real life. I think the film had a elitist view, because of the group of friends are all about what they believe and

Analysis Of The Movie ' American Psycho '
American Psycho is a movie adaptation directed by Marry Harron released in the year 2000 that was based off of the 1991 novel of the same name
authored by Bret Easton Ellis. The movie focuses on the main character Patrick Bateman who is an investment banker in New York in the era of the
early 1980's. Patrick is a perfectionist whose life by day seemingly rotates between his picture–perfect job, his superficial relationship with his
fiancГ©e Evelyn, and his shallow interaction with his co–workers and peers. By night, Patrick is a textbook Psychopath and a serial killer.
Ideological worldview of business – Materialism
This film presents a worldview of business that drips with materialism. The late 80's was a fairly prosperous time for America. For the characters
represented in the film, success was measured by how nice your apartment was, what types of suits you wore, and where you had dinner reservations
for the evening. According to literary critic Jeffrey W. Hunter (2000),American Psycho is largely a critique of the "shallow and vicious aspects of
capitalism. The characters are predominantly concerned with material gain and superficial appearances, traits indicative of a postmodern world in
which the 'surface ' reigns supreme."
There are several examples where materialism and superficiality are symbolically displayed in the film. In one instance toward the beginning of the
movie Patrick and his co–workers (a party of 4) are in an upscale restaurant and when the bill

Abstract In the Movie, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman demonstrate challenges to identify his unique type of personality theories. The purpose
of this essay is to review a selected film as a Psychology student, and discuss it from a psychological perspective. Also in this paper providing a
diagnosis for a character in the movie and discuss the behaviors that support the selected diagnosis, and to explain and discuss the mental illness
depicted in the film. Movie: American Psycho Have you ever had a discussion with someone person and the first thing you hear, that person is a
psycho? What the individual is really describing is a person who is believed to be insane or crazy based off of the way the person interacts with
others or along. The movie that I chose to watch is American Psycho. This movie is about a materialistic, wealthy Wall Street investment banker
who has a double life in which one of the lives he lives is as a serial killer.( Harron, M Director ,2000, April 14). He is addicted to drugs, sex, and
conspicuous consumption. He is obsessed with designer clothes, business cards, alcohol, and music such as Whitney Houston, Robert Palmer, Huey
Lewis, and many other artists. Most people think they know the answer after watching this movie but director Mary Harron's answer might surprise
you there is a long list of evidence supporting the claim that Patrick Bateman has to be imagining everything. To begin with he starts a killing spree
after an ATM machine

American Psycho Critiques 1980s Materialism

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American Psycho Critiques 1980s Materialism