VERY Short Synopsis

American Psycho is a film about Patrick Bateman, a man who is unsure about his identity. He wants desperately to fit in with the other yuppies, but also wants to be an intelligent free-thinking individual. Eventually his internal conflict becomes so troubling that he finds catharsis by murdering people.

Read the full, spoiler-rich plot on Wikipedia here.

What About American Psycho?

Back in eighth grade, my friend Steve read Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 novel American Psycho. Of course I'd heard of it before this because of misinterpretations for the main character, Patrick Bateman - but it was moreso Steve telling me about the book that made me want to watch the movie. I can't say much that hasn't already been said, but I think it is very cool in many aspects.

For starters, the soundtrack has so many amazing songs from artists I love. Patrick breaks down these musicians (Genesis, Huey Lewis and the News, Whitney Houston) because he wants to feel smart, he wants people to know he doesn't just listen to music but that he understands it and wants his opinions heard and validated. He also picks pop music because it is usually just skin deep and its all he understands and has ever known and most of it is just dates, record sales, chart positions and various facts about the artists without any true analysis. He basically recites the albums wikipedia page with a random nugget or two of actual analysis. A good quote for this is during the Genesis speech.

"I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual."

He admits that he is too dense to understand anything that he finds "too artsy". This is evidenced by his apartment as well. His artwork looks to be all contemporary undoubtedly purchased either for him or recommended based on artist name, he has a Les Miserables poster (The play had just come out in the films timeline), and a bunch of pop music cds. He only likes what's popular, essentially because its popular. Ironically, no one he speaks to about music every really listens to what he is saying.

What About American Psycho?

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