American Psycho Explained: What It Really Means

The real American Psycho The meaning is difficult to explain, as the film’s deeply psychotic protagonist and ambiguous ending make its general message somewhat difficult to unravel. Based on the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel, American Psycho Follows New York investment banker and unprovoked serial killer Patrick Bateman. Christian Bale’s performance as Patrick Bateman is iconic and assured American Psycho A cult following that lasted over two decades. Patrick Bateman appears in his most violent urge American PsychoActing on every sadistic impulse without consequence in his Wall Street life.

The film was just as controversial as Ellis’ novel – little surprise when Ellis considered the literary Batman’s descent into depravity and true madness shocking for cinema. American Psycho ends on a decidedly ambiguous note, calling many of the previous events of the narrative into question. Many viewers come to the conclusion American Psycho Use of the oft-sounds “It was all a dream” trope. However, director Mary Harron said otherwise. instead, American Psycho explained Bateman’s true nature, retelling the whole story in a new light, even if it is easy to miss.

American Psycho uses actual violence as a standard for corporate greed

Patrick Bateman’s violent sadism is why he is a cultural icon

American PsychoIts meaning is a commentary on the inherent violence of corporate greed. Christian Bale’s movie roles are carefully picked, and he has a preference for stories that dig deep into human nature.. Patrick Bateman’s casual cruelty and violent sadism are key elements of his characterization And why he is such a cultural icon. The massacre he causes is a direct example of this American Psycho Explained metaphor – violence as a stand-in for corporate greed. The murder jumps in American Psycho Starts with Batman being selective and deliberate but escalates for increasingly trivial reasons.

This is directly parallel to the callous Corporate violence Batman acts on a whim every day on Wall StreetMaking decisions that cause financial ruin for others just to brag about in the boardroom. American Psycho Explains that its violence represents rapidly spiraling greed. Bateman’s bloodlust is as insatiable as his colleagues’ thirst for profit. His killing of Paul Allen is a key piece of evidence for this, as it represents Batman’s willingness to get ahead by killing his colleagues. Batman gets away with his actions, demonstrating the indifference that others in his social circles feel towards this level of violence.

On a superficial level, the violence of American Psycho May seem redundant and unnecessary where the story is concerned, but that The violence is so excessive and goes largely unnoticed Clap on the absurdity of Bateman’s sadism – and thus the absurdity of real-life Wall Street’s. Through his brilliant cinematic storytelling, American Psycho Shows real-life corporate greed through the much more visceral and relatable elements of raw, unhinged violence. Notably, abandoning the compelling themes is why the sequel American Psycho 2: All American Girl Not as good as the movie.

American Psycho is actually about Patrick Bateman’s moral awakening

Batman begins to make sense of the man he has become

What is less obvious is that American Psycho is actually about Patrick Bateman gaining – not losing – his moral clarity. After Batman kills his associate, Paul Allen, American Psycho explained that Bateman’s grip on his second life begins to unravel as the veil between his two personas begins to slip. As this threatens to consume Batman entirely, American Psycho Ends with him attempting to force others to hold him accountable for his actions. Indeed, it is clear that the film’s story Follows Batman as he begins to make sense of the man he has become.

When he can no longer contain the casual cruelty of his hidden persona, his life begins to fall apart, though none of his colleagues seem to care – another moment American Psycho s Topic of corporate callousness shows. The bodies disappear from Paul’s apartment in American Psycho shows that The world around Patrick doesn’t care about his actionsEven as he tries to come clean. Batman regains his senses while the world remains oblivious to his own greed and corruption.

Patrick Bateman is meant to be an unreliable narrator (because of his identity crisis)

The identity crisis is at the heart of Batman’s psychosis

One of the most common misunderstandings about American Psycho Stems from his ambiguous ending painting Patrick Bateman as an unreliable narrator. However, the fact that the ending calls Bateman’s integrity into question is precisely the point, as it feeds into one of the film’s most consistent themes: identity. A key piece of evidence for this is during American PsychoS mistaken identity moment when Paul mistakes Batman for Marcus Halberstramtriggering the violent murder of Paul Allen (and Bateman’s subsequent moral awakening).

American Psycho Shows that the idea that Batman is in the throes of an identity crisis also fits with the film’s message about greed. Although Batman has enjoyed the wealthy lifestyle his own greed and corruption bought him, he is no longer sure who he is. The identity crisis is at the heart of his psychosis, and while it makes him an unreliable narrator, it doesn’t necessarily do so as the most common interpretation of American Psychos end would suggest.

Why American Psycho’s ambiguous ending doesn’t matter

Bateman’s friends and colleagues are all as guilty as he is

The ending of the movie is deliberately ambiguous. The hidden meaning of American Psycho There wouldn’t be such an editor if not. However, it is not intended to call Batman’s actions into question, but rather his motives. One of the reasons that American Psycho What’s better about rewatching is that the finer details point to a much more satisfying conclusion: the ambiguity of the ending is precisely the point.

in American PsychoPatrick Bateman is an unreliable narrator, so it’s easy to assume the murders didn’t happen. instead, The ending should ask why no one else is addressing Batman’s troubling commentsAnd this is where the real ambiguity comes in. The fact that none of Bateman’s friends and colleagues are willing to entertain his behavior of guilt as serious is proof that they are all as unreliable as he is and that all American PsychoThe characters are as guilty as Batman.

Misinterpreting American psychos may be fueling extremism

Patrick Bateman has been compared to Todd Phillips’ Joker

American Psychos success has raised questions about Did the character of Patrick Bateman really cause extremism – a concern that often arises when a movie complexly examines morality using violence as an objective. American Psycho is released Back in 2000, and it’s interesting how decades later, movies like the controversial 2010s movie Joker Still have to deal with the same issues (and repel the same criticism).

like Joker Director Todd Phillips, American Psycho Director Mary Harron had to deal with not only the controversial audience and critical reception, but also the possibility of misinterpretations about the movie May reinforce anti-social movements and ideologies. Haron explained (via Vulture) Like Batman and the Joker, both incredibly violent psychopaths, are so impressive because they naturally put audiences in an uncomfortable position. As Hern said:

“Although I think the movie is pretty clear – the guy is psycho – you follow him through his vulnerability and being humiliated and neglected and used by the world and the people around him. And there’s an element where you identify with him the same Conversation happens over and over with a film that is upsetting or disturbing, which is part of what movies are and then everything is crazy to me American Psycho In such fearful words.”

While American Psycho And Similar movies like Joker And Action Club Critical male toxicityIt is clear that they can inadvertently inspire the same anti-social elements in society. Unfortunately, it seems that American Psycho Explains Patrick Bateman’s psychotic nihilism as cherished by some incredibly lost people – an aspiration, rather than a warning. That said, just as the controversy about Joker And Action Club Actually helped to support the movies, the social critics do the same for American Psycho.

Although the iconic status of these movies is well-deserved, mainly because of how their respective controversies reveal how deeply they relate to human nature, it is still worth examining how The highly influential cultural products can change people’s actions and ways of thinking. Maybe future movies like American Psycho Should come with a clear disclaimer that it is a criticism of the behaviors shown and not an endorsement. Even if Patrick Bateman inspired real-life extremism though, the fault does not lie with director Mary Harron or the movie itself – no movie is responsible for real-life violence.

What Christian Bale thinks of the true meaning of American Psycho

Bale spent time with real-life traders who loved Patrick Bateman

American Psycho Explained some of Bateman’s most unsavory opinions and practices, but what does Christian Bale think about his role as the iconic character? Sit down with GQBale discusses some of his most prolific acting roles, Patrick Bateman came up. To prepare for the role, Bale spent some time on Wall Street at the NYC Stock Exchange And got to experience what it was like on the trading floor. He had various conversations with the men American Psycho was supposed to be depicting, and some of their comments were troubling.

“[…] But the guys on the trading floor, when I got there before making the film, I got there and a bunch of them, they were going ‘Oh yeah, we love Patrick Bateman’. And I was like, ‘Yeah, ironically, right?’, and they were like, ‘What do you mean?’

The words of the people are certainly concerned. American Psycho was meant to criticize toxic masculinity, and Patrick Bateman was never meant to be a sympathetic character. The fact that people in positions of power and wealth can sympathize and even “love” Bateman’s character proves that there is a bigger problem under the surface. Although the people on the trading floor that Bale met could find something positive in Batman’s character, at least The Dark Knight Actor Patrick Bateman understands why American Psycho was supposed to represent.

How the American psycho meaning compares to this book

Batman is more of a serial killer in this book

There were some differences between the U.S American Psycho Book and movie, some of which changed the American Psycho Meaning. In this movie, the murders are mostly confined to the corporate world and Patrick Bateman’s personal life.

however, In this book, Batman kills more mercilessly And will often kill people who have nothing to do with the themes of corporate greed and his own isolation. At one point in the book, he kills a man who bumps into him in Central Park. He not only kills the man because of his sexuality, but he kills the man’s dog as well.

One disturbing scene in the book involves the murder of a young child at the zoo. In the book, Batman slices the boy’s throat, enjoying the moment. But later he regrets it and feels that he killed someone who had no real mistakes to pay for. It made him seem like someone who killed people who deserved it, and it showed that when he regretted a kill, it broke the whole mantra. He killed 23 people in the movie and murdered over 50 in the book, changing the American Psycho Meaning to something even darker.

Did the American Psycho sequel impact the ending of the original film?

What does the sequel mean for the meaning of the end?

It was a little-seen American Psycho Sequel that arrived in 2002, just two years after the first movie was a huge success. The second movie was a money grab, as it went straight to video, had nothing to do with Patrick Bateman, and was denounced by author Bret Easton Ellis. It starred Mila Kunis as the new killer, and although the movie referenced Patrick Bateman, it was largely forgotten over time. Mila Kunis even seems embarrassed by the movie and has since ridiculed it.

“When I did the second one, I didn’t know it was going to be American Psycho II. It was supposed to be another project, and it was re-edited, but, oh… I don’t know. Bad.”

This clearly means that Mila Kinis was making a standalone thriller movie, and the producers decided to cast the American Psycho Name it and announce it as a sequel – after the fact. So, what does this mean for Patrick Bateman? This movie destroys the ambiguous ending of the first one American Psycho And says Patrick Bateman was a serial killer all along. In a flashback scene, Patrick Bateman kills Kunis’ character’s babysitter and dissects her corpse. Kunis’s character escapes and grows up to be a serial killer too.

This moment actually hurt Patrick Bateman’s character. He killed people based on the yuppie business-centric storylines of the first movie. This shows that he was just a basic serial killer who even targeted babysitters, which is not what Batman was about. Unfortunately, Lionsgate said the movie is an officially licensed sequel, so that makes the canon, and it also completely ruins it. American Psycho s Ending and the character arc of his killer, Patrick Bateman.

American Psycho’s ambiguity is part of its legacy

These questions make the movie’s message stronger

For almost the entire movie, Patrick Bateman is an unreliable narrator. As the ending draws near, he reveals that he’s not even sure what’s real and what’s not. This shows that he cannot be trusted, and what the viewer sees cannot be trusted either. If the “real world”, whatever that is, was shown at the end, it would have ruined the entire theme of the film. As it is, no one knows what happened, not even Patrick, and that makes it American Psycho The masterpiece it became.

In a Reddit thread devoted to explaining the ending of the movie, Azidamadjida written,

“The point of the film is that the real events are not as important as the progression and deterioration of his mind – you see a human soul wipe and die from the poison of excess, limitless privilege and lack of boundaries, and zero accountability. . The point of the film is not who he kills and when, but the effect on the perpetrator as he devolves into a soulless monster.“

This is what led to the film’s massive popularity for fans. While the critics scored it a lower 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score is a much higher 85%, and much of that is the subtext viewers have taken away from the movie over the years since its release. Thanks to the ending never revealing what was real and what was in Patrick Bateman’s mind, American Psycho Allowing viewers to stay in the unreliable narrator’s head until the end, adding to the discourse and allowing it to keep its place in film history.