What happens when a film is created with a specific intention but some of the audience doesn’t quite get it? Although films are subjective and audiences are allowed to create their own meanings, their interpretations might sometimes leave other viewers puzzled. “American Psycho” (2000), a satirical, dark comedy, psychological horror film is an example of this phenomenon. Originally adapted from Bret Easton Ellis’s 1991 novel of the same name, the film visually explores the dark side of corporate America, its empty consumerist culture and the overall financial mecca that is Wall Street. Yet, what is meant to be a mockery, is often misunderstood and taken by many as inspiration for lifestyle and career goals.
In “American Psycho,” Christian Bale stars as Patrick Bateman, wealthy New York City banking executive, who hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies. Set in the late 1980s, Bateman’s life consists of dining at trendy restaurants, working at a mergers and acquisitions firm on Wall Street, and keeping up appearances for his fiancé and close network of proverbial, beautiful people. Bateman keeps up with an obsessive morning routine to keep his fitness and looks exceptional. He, like everyone else in his circle, is vain, narcissistic, egomaniacal and competitive, with the constant need to one-up everyone else around him. What separates Bateman from those around him is that he realizes that this superficiality is a facade for his lack of humanity and monstrous character. He continues to do all these things to hide the fact that there is only an idea of a Patrick Bateman, and he simply is not there. One may interact with Bateman and believe he is simply just another financial guy on Wall Street but it is a complete sham. The character underneath the seemingly harmless banking executive is a serial killer who goes on nightly killing sprees, highlighting the emptiness beneath his polished surface.
To fully understand the purpose of Bateman’s character, it is essential to understand the kind of environment that would produce someone like him. The late 1980s and 90s marked the height of "yuppie" culture, a term used to describe college educated young professionals. Short for “young urban professional” or “young upwardly mobile professional,” these individuals were usually of the American baby boomer generation and worked in high-paying jobs, similar to Bateman. Over time, this term has been used with a more negative connotation as yuppies in media were portrayed as career-minded, materialistic, self-serving and engaging in a hedonistic lifestyle: exactly how Bateman is presented in the film. His fixation on designer labels, making reservations at high end restaurants and an overall need for physical perfection reflect that of the yuppie. Although his character may be a gross exaggeration, it highlights the toxicity of this culture and the lack of humanity and emotional depth in which this lifestyle could lead to
Ultimately, this film serves as an analysis of the stereotypical yuppie, or in more modern terms a “finance bro” or “sigma male.” Many teenagers and young adults today across social media have taken aspects from Bateman’s life, such as his morning routine, and use this “aspirational content.” By engaging with this misinterpretation, the emptiness that Bateman embodies because of this lifestyle is missed, illustrating how audiences can miss a film’s message or warning about a particular lifestyle. When director Mary Herron learned that her film was being embraced by Wall Street bros, she was surprised because neither she nor her co-writer expected the satirical film to be taken seriously. “That was not our intention. So, did we fail? I’m not sure why [it happened], because Christian’s very clearly making fun of them,” Herron said in a Letterboxd interview 25 years after the film's release. Herron emphasized the film as being a critique of society, the world of exploitation, consumption, greed and reduction of people. Misinterpreting a film and a character’s actions, brings the audience further away from the true purpose of the narrative.
Film is supposed to be subjective. When it takes a step past that and audiences try to live up to a standard set up by a character, a standard which was meant to mock them, is when the boundary is overstepped, making intended satire become less effective. Using Bateman as an influence in one’s life, could lead to the same obsession over materialist and superficial values, creating an empty void of a human when these obsessions are stripped away. The critique of yuppie culture in “American Psycho”is meant to educate or show audiences the consequences Bateman suffers because of the mask he hides under, not to show something desirable or preferable. Misinterpreting films in this circumstance shows how although an audience has free will to determine meaning, it can often overshadow the writer’s original message, causing the intended narrative to be missed and its relevance to society disregarded.
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