American Psycho: The Clash of Soul and Vanity in an Individual's World
A picturesque depiction of the flaws of the American entrepreneurial spirit.
Brett Easton Ellis can’t be said to be an irrelevant writer. It also can’t be said that he is a great authority in American literature. What can be said, is that American Psycho (1991.) is the work that put him on the map.
Due to its infamous reputation, it has left an exceptional mark on American literary and film endeavours. With its humorous performance and dark nature, Ellis brought comedy and horror closer together, creating a tightly knit bond that permeates every page in an intriguing narrative describing the futility of postmodern American society and the flaws of the famous American entrepreneurial spirit.
A witness to the true quality of this book, but also to its shortcomings, is the film adaptation with Christian Bale in the role of the titular psychopath, Patrick Bateman, that launched it onto the American media stage, economically presented key ideas and smoothed out rough edges. American Psycho (2000.) continues to be relevant in today’s film culture and especially in the digital world, which it owes to undeniably human themes that are worth analyzing.
Magnifier over a missing individual
Patrick Bateman is handsome, tall, rich, has many friends and women adore him. He lives in a luxury Manhattan apartment and is the vice president of a reputable company on Wall Street. Success and reputation accompany him every step of the way.
Yet beneath the mask of the suit, overly complicated morning routines and a charismatic performance hides a deeply disturbed man. During the night, he is a psychopath who does not shy away from torturing and killing colleagues, homeless people and prostitutes, and during the day a smiling broker. Still, his mask sometimes slips. In the most famous scene, Patrick almost experiences a mental breakdown when one of his colleagues has a nicer business card. This absurd outburst can easily be attributed to his narcissistic, psychopathic nature; however, the reason for his disturbance goes much deeper.
Bateman lives in an individual-oriented culture. It emphasizes personal responsibility, glorifies and encourages him in all aspects of life, in effect equipping him for success in the capitalist system. When we combine this worldview with an economic system that rewards innovation and effort, results come; Patrick is a personalization of the American entrepreneurial and working spirit; the American dream.
Thanks to his position, he is able to enjoy all the benefits and vices of high society of the richest country in the history of the world. In fact, that society rose so high that it surfaced and took on appropriate characteristics. In order to avoid a return to the depths, ie. to the lower social strata, superficiality in relationships with people and way of life becomes a mechanism of survival, in alliance with materialism. This symbiosis serves vanity, which becomes indivisible from the individual who must identify with it in order to survive.
In nature the strongest survive, but in this case the vainest. Competition is regular; who deals with more reputable clients, who goes to more luxurious restaurants and clubs, who wears more expensive suits and ultimately banal things like business cards determine a man’s value; the end result of the reign of vanity over soul.
Another result is the loss of individuality, as seen by Patrick. Colleagues he sees almost every day constantly address him wrongly, thinking he is someone else; they do not see people as persons, but as a monotonous mass of suits, perfumes and fake smiles. Patrick does not correct them, which tells us that he has accepted the reality and norms of the environment.
The only time Bateman deviates from the masses is in killing innocent people. These episodes of rage and destruction are the result of suffocating one's own existence; he is trapped by his position in which there is no room for different opinions, his own expression or any behavior that deviates from plastic etiquette. Yet he does not have the courage to deviate from grounded behavior in order to maintain his reputation and wealth, at the cost of completely destroying his individuality. For the sake of survival, he creates another person separate from the original in order to vent the accumulated anger and sorrow. Patrick is aware of his situation, which he explains at the beginning:
"There is an idea of Patrick Bateman, some kind of an abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity... I'm just not there."
Eyes covered with dollars
Throughout the film, Patrick becomes increasingly indiscreet in his bloody deeds. He doesn’t pay so much attention to evidence, is sloppy in hiding bodies and attacks people with powerful friends; he reached a turning point.
"Something terrible is happening inside me, and I don't know why. My bloodlust spilled over into my days. I feel deadly, on the verge of madness. I feel my mask of sanity is about to slip.”
Gradually, his actions become too incredible; he carries a body in a sack over his shoulder in broad daylight, chases a victim with a chainsaw in the hallways of a building and fights police in the style of an action hero. He is not punished for his monstrous deeds because of a convenient set of circumstances; the detective is incompetent, the apartment where he stored the bodies has been renovated and the confession to the lawyer has fallen on deaf ears. The viewer (or reader) might think that the murders are the fruit of his lush imagination. Director Mary Harron ingeniously leaves the question of the reality of the events open, believing that the viewer will come to his own conclusions.
The truth is almost always in the middle, so it can be concluded that Patrick committed the more discreet murders, but he certainly didn’t get into a shootout with the police. However, extremes permeate the film and it is important to analyze them in order to understand it. Here the scene with the lawyer is crucial.
The lawyer, as a kind of embodiment of society, denies everything that Bateman confesses, almost on his knees, about the murders. That, in hyperbole, can mean two things. First, that the murders were not committed, and the lack of reaction to Patrick's outbursts is the result of a superficial society that does not see ahead of its comfort because it is dulled by vices. In this scenario, they are also sick, only a drop has not yet overflowed their glass like Patrick's.
In the second scenario, all of his murders are real, meaning the society in which he lives is more monstrous than him; the apartment has been silently cleaned so that its price does not fall, people do not want to notice and the lawyer does not listen because opening the case would damage the reputation of the Manhattan elite.
The link between both possibilities is the destruction of the individual and unconditional conformity to the collective, a process that broke Patrick. The final monologue perfectly illustrates the situation:
“Everything I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it, I have now surpassed ... But even after admitting this, there is no catharsis; my punishment continues to elude me, and I gain no deeper knowledge about myself ... This confession has meant nothing.”
His deeds, which served as an exhaust pipe, now embody the desire for human recognition that rises above the superficial one he previously desired; an acknowledgment that he is a man, unique, the only, his own.
The dark void that fills Patrick is the result of his depersonalization; he became the suit he wears and the status he holds, he has lost his individuality. In a real paradox, living evidence of the success of an individualistic worldview merges into an impersonal collective, which is the antithesis of the American dream and culture. When Bateman realized this, his unstable state grew into complete madness. Realizing that there is no hope for him in that environment, he surrenders to the dark side that provides a sliver of uniqueness.
In his critique of American society, the author does not deny the benefits of prosperity, but points out the disadvantages that most people do not see. In today’s U.S., the quality of life is higher than ever, the result of fundamental principles of individualism and a complementary economic system; the American dream is becoming a reality for many, because its realization does not require ascent to the very top of society. The criteria is simple financial security, with a touch of independence; an American classic.
No matter how much the foundations of society are kept in stone, they cannot forever resist the influence of money, which replaces the foundation and becomes the sole goal. Ideals and morals are eroded by inexhaustible wealth, which causes the philosophy of the whole society to turn upside down. The lower classes rely on the American dream and with each step to success they become more extreme in their individualism, which leads to selfishness. When they break through to the upper class, the worldview that got them there falls into the water; collectivism takes the helm. The result is a society that elevates the individual and then theatrically topples him, a process that cannot be without consequences.
The contrast between the impersonal collectivism of the upper classes and the extreme individualism of the lower classes disturbs the balance of American society, creating individuals like Patrick Bateman. We recently saw in the news the horrors in American schools, churches and squares, when unstable people took up arms and vented their anger on the innocent. After these horrific events, the hope of imposing preventive measures is quickly dashed as individualism prevents the perception of the bigger picture; the American public washes its hands of chaotic individuals, not realizing that they are products of their society.
The path of change
How can the emergence of new Patrick Batemans be prevented? Americans need to let in a little collectivism in their culture, so they start looking at their society at least in part as a whole, instead of a bunch of independent people with thin social ties. This would reduce the shock they now experience in encountering a collective way of thinking. The effects of society on the individual would become visible and space for change would open up, leading the untouchable individual into myth.
Then it is necessary to reconsider the idea of success, which must be reoriented to higher values. Money should not necessarily be separated from the idea of success, but should give way to a higher goal, because of the simple reality of human nature; man is a social being that needs to dedicate his life to a goal greater than himself. It can be found in faith, family, community or a good life, but it is key that a person is able to project his image through that goal into a world to which he truly contributes, which gives him a sense of inner satisfaction and ultimately authenticity, because he leaves his unique mark on something truly valuable.
Opposing this fact yields predictable results; we saw the pinnacle of personal power and comfort, but happiness was not present. Whilst success is correlated solely to the amount of money in the bank and the status that has been achieved, the cycle will continue, because a life made up of following bodily whims is similar to the fate of a ship in a storm; at the mercy of the waves he moves aimlessly, waiting for a rock to send him into the depths.
When watching this movie and reading the book, it is important to understand the hyperbole; the murders are brutal and loud, and society is so superficial that it becomes ridiculous. Everything is exaggerated, because, as we know, extremes attract the eye. The most read news are always about scandals, wars and other situations that go beyond all the boundaries of everyday life. Ellis simply took advantage of this fact to shape the story and achieve the desired effect.
After all, this is a story about the importance of man whose authenticity cannot be replaced by suits, cars or any form of material gain. He needs opportunity, but also people who will help him form and express himself. The soul, which separates man from animals and makes him a being of God, must have room to breathe, otherwise it will slowly poison itself, until it turns into a monstrosity and deprives man of what makes him what he is; humanity.