American Psycho
Encyclopedia
American Psycho is a psychological thriller
and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis
, published in 1991
. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer
and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman
. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of controversy before and after publication. A film adaptation
starring Christian Bale
was released in 2000
to generally favorable reviews. The Observer
notes that while "some countries [deem it] so potentially disturbing that it can only be sold shrink-wrapped", "critics rave about it" and "academics revel in its transgressive and postmodern
qualities." In 2008, it was confirmed that producers Craig Roessler and Jesse Singer were developing a musical adaptation of the novel to appear on Broadway
.
. His first draft of American Psycho left all the grisly scenes until last, to be added in later. To one reviewer, Ellis comments:
during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho is about the daily life of wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bateman. Bateman, 27 years old when the story begins, narrates his everyday activities, from his recreational life among the Wall Street
elite of New York
to his forays into murder by nightfall.
Bateman comes from a privileged background, having graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
, Harvard
(class of 1984), and then Harvard Business School
(class of 1986). He works as a vice president at a Wall Street
investment company and lives in an expensive Manhattan
apartment on the Upper West Side
, where he embodies the 1980s yuppie
culture. Through present tense
stream-of-consciousness narrative, he describes his conversations with colleagues in bars and cafes, his office, and nightclubs. The first third of the book contains no violence (except for subtle references apparent only in retrospect), and is simply an account of what seems to be a series of Friday nights, as Bateman documents travelling with his colleagues to a variety of nightclubs, where they snort cocaine
, critique fellow club-goers' clothing, trade fashion advice, and question one another on proper etiquette
.
In the middle third of the book, Bateman begins to describe his day-to-day activities, which range from such mundanities as renting videotapes and making dinner reservations to committing brutal murders. Bateman's stream of consciousness is occasionally broken up by chapters in which Bateman directly addresses the reader in order to critique the work of 1980s musicians, specifically Genesis
, Huey Lewis and the News
and Whitney Houston
. In addition to describing his daily life, Bateman also speaks about his "love" life. He is dating a fellow yuppie named Evelyn, though he possesses no deep feelings for her. He frequently solicits sex with attractive women ("hardbodies"), manipulates his secretary's feelings for him, and tries to avoid the attention of Luis Carruthers, a closeted
homosexual colleague who confesses his love for him. Bateman also documents his relationship with his estranged family, including his senile mother, whom he visits in a nursing home, and his younger brother, a hedonistic college dropout (Sean Bateman, one of the protagonists from Ellis's earlier novel The Rules of Attraction
; Patrick Bateman himself also briefly appears in said novel).
As the book progresses, Bateman's control over his violent urges deteriorates. The description of his murders become increasingly sadistic and complex, progressing from stabbings to drawn out sequences of torture
, rape
, mutilation
, cannibalism
, and necrophilia
. "His mask of sanity appears to slip" as he introduces stories about serial killers into casual conversations, and confesses his murderous activities to his co-workers. People react as if Bateman is joking with them, appear not to hear him, or otherwise completely misunderstand him ("murders and executions" is mistaken for "mergers and acquisitions", for example). As the book nears its conclusion, Bateman describes incidents such as seeing a Cheerio
interviewed on a talk show, being stalked
by an anthropomorphic
park bench, and finding a bone in his Dove Bar
. Bateman's mental state appears increasingly questionable, and the events in the novel draw into question whether he has actually committed any of the murders he has described.
Towards the end of the novel, he visits Paul Owen's apartment where he had murdered and mutilated two prostitutes; to his amazement, Bateman enters a perfectly clean, refurbished apartment with no trace of decomposing bodies, but with many strong-smelling flowers, as though meant to hide a bad odor. He runs into a real estate
agent showing the apartment to prospective buyers. The estate agent asks him if he saw the advertisement in the New York Times. When Bateman pretends that he did, the estate agent says that there was none, and that he should leave and not cause any trouble.
Bateman confronts Harold Carnes, his lawyer, on whose answering machine he has previously confessed all his crimes; Carnes, who mistakes Bateman for someone else, is amused at what he considers to be a good joke. Carnes reproaches Bateman for laying the list of crimes at his feet, and further says that Bateman is far too much of a coward to have committed such acts. Challenged by Bateman on the disappearance of Paul Owen – a colleague whom Bateman hacked to death out of professional jealousy – Carnes unexpectedly claims that he had dinner, in London
, with Paul Owen a few days previously. The ambiguity is heightened by the fact that mistaken identity is a recurring theme throughout the book. Characters are consistently introduced as other people, or argue over the identities of people they can see in restaurants or at parties. Whether any of the crimes depicted in the novel actually happened, or were simply the fantasies of a delusion
al psychotic
, is deliberately left open.
On first appearance, Bateman exemplifies the image of the successful Manhattan executive; he is well-educated, wealthy, popular with women, abreast of cultural trends, belongs to a prominent family, has a high-paying job and lives in an upscale, chic apartment complex. Bateman passes for a refined, intelligent, thoughtful young man, but is in reality a violent sociopath
who tortures and murders people, rapes several women, cannibalizes his victims, and has sex with corpses. Bateman uses personal limousines to search for suitable victims in the streets.
Bateman is extremely style-conscious, and appears an expert in fashion and high-end consumer products. In his narrative, he obsessively describes his and other people's possessions in exhaustive detail, focusing particularly on attire, and even noting articles like pens, and pocket squares. He has a general tendency to pay more heed to the designer, place of purchase, and style of the items he describes, often ignoring the textile type or color. Bateman incisively answers his friends' and co-workers' queries, authoritatively explicating the difference between various types of mineral water
, which tie knot is less bulky than a Windsor knot
, and the proper way to wear a cummerbund
, pocket square, and tie bar
.
Bateman's employment at Pierce & Pierce is apparently unnecessary. His father owns another successful company, which is revealed during a conversation between Patrick and his ex-girlfriend when she inquires as to why he would work at P&P. Upon questioning, the sole justification for still working is, in his own words, "I... want... to... fit... in." Because he doesn't need to work, he is supreme in his own world; he usually comes to work late — sometimes by more than an hour — and indulges in long lunches. Despite these
advantages, Bateman's envy of his peers runs throughout the novel. In a scene in which characters compare business cards, Bateman panics when he realizes a friend's card is better than his because of its stylish superiority. Just as Bateman is obsessed with wealth and symbols of it, he repeatedly expresses a converse loathing of poor people.
, including genital mutilation
. In one section of the novel, Bateman forces a tube into a woman's vagina
and lets a rat loose inside of her. After pulling the tube out he continues by sawing her in half with a chainsaw. Ellis also provides detailed descriptions of Bateman examining the internal organs of some of his victims after murdering them, as well as scenes in which Bateman cooks and eats human body parts. Bateman at one point says that he tries to "make meat loaf out of the girl but it becomes too frustrating a task and instead I spend the afternoon smearing her meat all over the walls, chewing on strips of skin I ripped from her body". Others include Bateman's murder of a child at the New York City Zoo, as well as the killing of a dog.
in March 1991, but the company withdrew from the project because of "aesthetic differences." Vintage Books
purchased the rights to the novel and published the book after the customary editing process. The book was never published in hardcover form in the United States, although a deluxe paperback was eventually offered. Ellis received numerous death threats and hate mail after the publication of American Psycho."
In Germany
, the book was deemed "harmful to minors," and its sales and marketing were severely restricted from 1995 to 2000. In Australia
, the book is sold shrink-wrapped and is classified "R18" under national censorship legislation. The book may not be sold to those under 18 years of age, or criminal prosecution may result. Along with other Category 1 publications, its sale is theoretically banned in the state of Queensland
and it may only be purchased shrink-wrapped. In Brisbane
, the novel is available to those over 18 from all public libraries and can still be ordered and purchased (shrink-wrapped) from many book stores despite this prohibition. Bret Easton Ellis
has commented on this, saying "I think it's adorable, I think it's cute, I love it." In New Zealand
, the Government's Office of Film & Literature Classification has rated the book as R18. The book may not be sold or lent in libraries to those under 18 years of age. It is generally sold shrink wrapped in bookstores.
Feminist activist Gloria Steinem
was among those opposed to the release of Ellis' book because of its portrayal of violence toward women. Steinem is also the stepmother of Christian Bale
, who played Bateman in the film. This coincidence is mentioned in Ellis' mock memoir Lunar Park
.
and writer/director Mary Harron
adapted American Psycho into a thriller film
released by Lions Gate Films. This screenplay was selected over three others, including one by Ellis himself. The film, in which Bateman is played by Christian Bale
supported by Willem Dafoe
and Reese Witherspoon
. As a promotion for the film, one could register to receive e-mails "from" Patrick Bateman, supposedly to his therapist. The e-mails, written by a writer attached to the film and approved by the book's author Bret Easton Ellis, follow Bateman's life since the events of the film. American Psycho premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival
where it was touted as the next Fight Club
. The Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) gave the film an NC-17 rating for a scene featuring Bateman having a threesome
with two prostitutes. The producers excised approximately 18 seconds of footage to obtain an R-rated
version of the film.
It polarized audiences and critics with some showering praise, others scorn. Upon its theatrical release, however, the film received positive reviews in crucial publications, including The New York Times
which called it a "mean and lean horror comedy classic". Author Bret Easton Ellis
said, "American Psycho was a book I didn't think needed to be turned into a movie," as "the medium of film demands answers," which would make the book "infinitely less interesting." The film currently holds a 67% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
.
A direct-to-video
spin-off
, American Psycho 2 was released and directed by Morgan J. Freeman
. This spin-off was not based on the novel or the original film, as its only connection with the original is the death of Patrick Bateman (played by Michael Kremko wearing a face mask), briefly shown in a flashback.
produced an audio version of American Psycho, narrated by Pablo Schreiber
, as part of its Modern Vanguard line of audiobooks.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
, published in 1991
1991 in literature
The year 1991 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation....
. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman
Patrick Bateman is a fictional character, the antihero and narrator of the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and its film adaptation. He has also briefly appeared in other Ellis novels.-Biography and profile:...
. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of controversy before and after publication. A film adaptation
American Psycho (film)
American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...
starring Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
was released in 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
to generally favorable reviews. The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
notes that while "some countries [deem it] so potentially disturbing that it can only be sold shrink-wrapped", "critics rave about it" and "academics revel in its transgressive and postmodern
Postmodern literature
The term Postmodern literature is used to describe certain characteristics of post–World War II literature and a reaction against Enlightenment ideas implicit in Modernist literature.Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is hard to define and there is little agreement on the exact...
qualities." In 2008, it was confirmed that producers Craig Roessler and Jesse Singer were developing a musical adaptation of the novel to appear on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Development
Ellis researched murders at the New York Public LibraryNew York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
. His first draft of American Psycho left all the grisly scenes until last, to be added in later. To one reviewer, Ellis comments:
Synopsis
Set in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
during the Wall Street boom of the late 1980s, American Psycho is about the daily life of wealthy young investment banker Patrick Bateman. Bateman, 27 years old when the story begins, narrates his everyday activities, from his recreational life among the Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
elite of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to his forays into murder by nightfall.
Bateman comes from a privileged background, having graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(class of 1984), and then Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
(class of 1986). He works as a vice president at a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
investment company and lives in an expensive Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
apartment on the Upper West Side
Upper West Side
The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...
, where he embodies the 1980s yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
culture. Through present tense
Present tense
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb...
stream-of-consciousness narrative, he describes his conversations with colleagues in bars and cafes, his office, and nightclubs. The first third of the book contains no violence (except for subtle references apparent only in retrospect), and is simply an account of what seems to be a series of Friday nights, as Bateman documents travelling with his colleagues to a variety of nightclubs, where they snort cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, critique fellow club-goers' clothing, trade fashion advice, and question one another on proper etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
.
In the middle third of the book, Bateman begins to describe his day-to-day activities, which range from such mundanities as renting videotapes and making dinner reservations to committing brutal murders. Bateman's stream of consciousness is occasionally broken up by chapters in which Bateman directly addresses the reader in order to critique the work of 1980s musicians, specifically Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
and Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
. In addition to describing his daily life, Bateman also speaks about his "love" life. He is dating a fellow yuppie named Evelyn, though he possesses no deep feelings for her. He frequently solicits sex with attractive women ("hardbodies"), manipulates his secretary's feelings for him, and tries to avoid the attention of Luis Carruthers, a closeted
The Closet
The Closet may refer to:* The Closet , Chinese film* The Closet , French film* The closet, referring to undisclosed homosexuality- See also :* Closet* Closet * In the closet...
homosexual colleague who confesses his love for him. Bateman also documents his relationship with his estranged family, including his senile mother, whom he visits in a nursing home, and his younger brother, a hedonistic college dropout (Sean Bateman, one of the protagonists from Ellis's earlier novel The Rules of Attraction
The Rules of Attraction
The Rules of Attraction is a dark comedy and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel focuses on a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled Bohemian college students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampshire, primarily focusing on three of them who...
; Patrick Bateman himself also briefly appears in said novel).
As the book progresses, Bateman's control over his violent urges deteriorates. The description of his murders become increasingly sadistic and complex, progressing from stabbings to drawn out sequences of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, mutilation
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
, cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
, and necrophilia
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
. "His mask of sanity appears to slip" as he introduces stories about serial killers into casual conversations, and confesses his murderous activities to his co-workers. People react as if Bateman is joking with them, appear not to hear him, or otherwise completely misunderstand him ("murders and executions" is mistaken for "mergers and acquisitions", for example). As the book nears its conclusion, Bateman describes incidents such as seeing a Cheerio
Cheerios
Cheerios is a brand of breakfast cereal by General Mills introduced on May 1, 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal. Originally named CheeriOats, the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 because of a trade name dispute with Quaker Oats. The name fit the "O" shape of the cereal pieces...
interviewed on a talk show, being stalked
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
by an anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
park bench, and finding a bone in his Dove Bar
Dove Bar
DoveBar is an American ice cream bar, created by Leo Stefanos at Dove Candies & Ice Cream in Chicago in 1956, and introduced nationally in 1985. The brand was bought by Mars Inc. in 1985, and the Dove Bar today is made by M&M/Mars. The Dove chocolate brand was named for the ice cream.Each ice...
. Bateman's mental state appears increasingly questionable, and the events in the novel draw into question whether he has actually committed any of the murders he has described.
Towards the end of the novel, he visits Paul Owen's apartment where he had murdered and mutilated two prostitutes; to his amazement, Bateman enters a perfectly clean, refurbished apartment with no trace of decomposing bodies, but with many strong-smelling flowers, as though meant to hide a bad odor. He runs into a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
agent showing the apartment to prospective buyers. The estate agent asks him if he saw the advertisement in the New York Times. When Bateman pretends that he did, the estate agent says that there was none, and that he should leave and not cause any trouble.
Bateman confronts Harold Carnes, his lawyer, on whose answering machine he has previously confessed all his crimes; Carnes, who mistakes Bateman for someone else, is amused at what he considers to be a good joke. Carnes reproaches Bateman for laying the list of crimes at his feet, and further says that Bateman is far too much of a coward to have committed such acts. Challenged by Bateman on the disappearance of Paul Owen – a colleague whom Bateman hacked to death out of professional jealousy – Carnes unexpectedly claims that he had dinner, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, with Paul Owen a few days previously. The ambiguity is heightened by the fact that mistaken identity is a recurring theme throughout the book. Characters are consistently introduced as other people, or argue over the identities of people they can see in restaurants or at parties. Whether any of the crimes depicted in the novel actually happened, or were simply the fantasies of a delusion
Delusion
A delusion is a false belief held with absolute conviction despite superior evidence. Unlike hallucinations, delusions are always pathological...
al psychotic
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
, is deliberately left open.
Major characters
- Patrick Bateman - The central character and narrator.
- Evelyn Richards - Bateman's girlfriend.
- Timothy Price - Bateman's best friend and colleague. Later appears as a teenager in Ellis' novel The InformersThe InformersThe Informers is a collection of short stories, seemingly linked by the same continuity, authored by American author Bret Easton Ellis. It was first published as a whole in 1994. Chapters 6 and 7, "Water from the Sun" and "Discovering Japan", were published separately in the UK by Picador in 2007...
. - Paul Owen - Bateman's colleague who is later murdered by Bateman.
- Jean - Bateman's secretary, who Bateman refers to as "Jean, my secretary who is in love with me"
- Luis Carruthers - A closeted homosexual co-worker who is in love with Bateman, something which disgusts him.
- Courtney Lawrence - Luis' girlfriend who is having an affair with Bateman.
- Craig McDermott - Bateman's colleague, part of a social foursome alongside Bateman, Timothy Price and David Van Patten
- David Van Patten - Bateman's colleague, also part of Bateman's main social group.
Minor characters
- "Christie" – A prostitute, employed and abused sexually on multiple occasions by Bateman before he eventually murders her. Bateman gives her this name; her real one is never revealed.
- Elizabeth - A dinner date of Bateman's, drugged and coerced into having sex with "Christie" before being murdered.
- Marcus Halberstam – Bateman's colleague; Paul Owen repeatedly mistakes Bateman for Marcus.
- Donald Kimball – Private detective hired to investigate Paul Owen's disappearance.
- Alison Poole – Sexually assaulted by Bateman; created by Ellis' friend Jay McInerneyJay McInerneyJohn Barrett McInerney Jr. is an American writer. His novels include Bright Lights, Big City; Ransom; Story of My Life; Brightness Falls; and The Last of the Savages...
in his novel Story of My LifeStory of My Life (novel)Story of My Life is a novel published in 1988 by the American author Jay McInerney.-Plot and characters:The novel is narrated in the first-person from the point of view of Alison Poole, "an ostensibly jaded, cocaine-addled, sexually voracious 20-year old." Alison is originally from Virginia and...
and based on McInerney's former girlfriend Rielle HunterRielle HunterRielle Hunter , August 1, 2008, San Jose Mercury-News. is an American actress and film producer. She is known for having had an affair with and conceiving a child with 2004 Democratic Party vice-presidential nominee John Edwards., August 8, 2008, Chicago Tribune. She is said to be the basis of a...
; reappears as a main character in Ellis's later novel GlamoramaGlamoramaGlamorama is a novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1998. Unlike Ellis' previous novels, Glamorama is set in and satirizes the 1990s, specifically celebrity culture and consumerism...
, where she is involved with the lead character, Victor Ward. - Sean Bateman – younger brother of Patrick Bateman and also the lead character of The Rules of AttractionThe Rules of AttractionThe Rules of Attraction is a dark comedy and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel focuses on a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled Bohemian college students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampshire, primarily focusing on three of them who...
. - Paul Denton – friend of Paul Owen, who also appears in The Rules of Attraction where he is possibly romantically involved with Patrick's brother Sean.
- Christopher Armstrong – Bateman's colleague at Pierce & Pierce.
- Bethany – An old girlfriend of Patrick's whom, after a date, he murders in a particularly heinous manner.
- Stash – Evelyn's friend, is HIV positive.
- Vanden – Evelyn's friend from the East Village who attends Camden College, the main setting of The Rules of AttractionThe Rules of AttractionThe Rules of Attraction is a dark comedy and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel focuses on a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled Bohemian college students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampshire, primarily focusing on three of them who...
.
Bateman's personality
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
who tortures and murders people, rapes several women, cannibalizes his victims, and has sex with corpses. Bateman uses personal limousines to search for suitable victims in the streets.
Bateman is extremely style-conscious, and appears an expert in fashion and high-end consumer products. In his narrative, he obsessively describes his and other people's possessions in exhaustive detail, focusing particularly on attire, and even noting articles like pens, and pocket squares. He has a general tendency to pay more heed to the designer, place of purchase, and style of the items he describes, often ignoring the textile type or color. Bateman incisively answers his friends' and co-workers' queries, authoritatively explicating the difference between various types of mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
, which tie knot is less bulky than a Windsor knot
Windsor knot
The Windsor knot, also referred to as a Full Windsor or as a Double Windsor to distinguish it from the half-Windsor, is a method of tying a necktie around one's neck and collar. The Windsor knot, compared to other methods, produces a wide symmetrical triangular knot. The knot is often thought to...
, and the proper way to wear a cummerbund
Cummerbund
A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets . The cummerbund was first adopted by British military officers in colonial India as an alternative to a waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use...
, pocket square, and tie bar
Tie bar
There have been many forms of tie-control devised since the 19th century, when ties first became a regular part of fashion. Clips, chains, pins have all been used to do one simple thing: to keep a tie from flapping, falling or otherwise presenting anything other than a neat appearance...
.
Bateman's employment at Pierce & Pierce is apparently unnecessary. His father owns another successful company, which is revealed during a conversation between Patrick and his ex-girlfriend when she inquires as to why he would work at P&P. Upon questioning, the sole justification for still working is, in his own words, "I... want... to... fit... in." Because he doesn't need to work, he is supreme in his own world; he usually comes to work late — sometimes by more than an hour — and indulges in long lunches. Despite these
advantages, Bateman's envy of his peers runs throughout the novel. In a scene in which characters compare business cards, Bateman panics when he realizes a friend's card is better than his because of its stylish superiority. Just as Bateman is obsessed with wealth and symbols of it, he repeatedly expresses a converse loathing of poor people.
Murder descriptions
American Psycho generated a great deal of controversy for Ellis's graphic description of Bateman's murders. Many include some form of sexual abuse or torture by Bateman, in which graphic language is used to describe the scene. Many of the murders themselves involve various forms of mutilationMutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
, including genital mutilation
Genital mutilation
Genital mutilation can refer to:*Clitoridectomy*Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision*Genital modification and mutilation*Infibulation...
. In one section of the novel, Bateman forces a tube into a woman's vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
and lets a rat loose inside of her. After pulling the tube out he continues by sawing her in half with a chainsaw. Ellis also provides detailed descriptions of Bateman examining the internal organs of some of his victims after murdering them, as well as scenes in which Bateman cooks and eats human body parts. Bateman at one point says that he tries to "make meat loaf out of the girl but it becomes too frustrating a task and instead I spend the afternoon smearing her meat all over the walls, chewing on strips of skin I ripped from her body". Others include Bateman's murder of a child at the New York City Zoo, as well as the killing of a dog.
Controversy
The book was originally to have been published by Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
in March 1991, but the company withdrew from the project because of "aesthetic differences." Vintage Books
Vintage (publisher)
Vintage Books is a publishing imprint founded in 1954 by Alfred A. Knopf. Its publishing list includes world literature, fiction, and non-fiction...
purchased the rights to the novel and published the book after the customary editing process. The book was never published in hardcover form in the United States, although a deluxe paperback was eventually offered. Ellis received numerous death threats and hate mail after the publication of American Psycho."
In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the book was deemed "harmful to minors," and its sales and marketing were severely restricted from 1995 to 2000. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the book is sold shrink-wrapped and is classified "R18" under national censorship legislation. The book may not be sold to those under 18 years of age, or criminal prosecution may result. Along with other Category 1 publications, its sale is theoretically banned in the state of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and it may only be purchased shrink-wrapped. In Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, the novel is available to those over 18 from all public libraries and can still be ordered and purchased (shrink-wrapped) from many book stores despite this prohibition. Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
has commented on this, saying "I think it's adorable, I think it's cute, I love it." In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, the Government's Office of Film & Literature Classification has rated the book as R18. The book may not be sold or lent in libraries to those under 18 years of age. It is generally sold shrink wrapped in bookstores.
Feminist activist Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
was among those opposed to the release of Ellis' book because of its portrayal of violence toward women. Steinem is also the stepmother of Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
, who played Bateman in the film. This coincidence is mentioned in Ellis' mock memoir Lunar Park
Lunar Park
Lunar Park is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis with elements of faux autobiography and pastiche. It was released by Knopf on August 16, 2005. It is notable for being the first book written by Ellis to use past tense narrative.-Plot summary:...
.
2000 film
In 2000, writer Guinevere TurnerGuinevere Turner
Guinevere Turner is an American actress, writer and director. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is best known as the screenwriter of such films as American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page and for playing the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in Preaching to the Perverted.-...
and writer/director Mary Harron
Mary Harron
Mary Harron is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter best known for her films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page.-Overview:...
adapted American Psycho into a thriller film
American Psycho (film)
American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...
released by Lions Gate Films. This screenplay was selected over three others, including one by Ellis himself. The film, in which Bateman is played by Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
supported by Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
and Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
. As a promotion for the film, one could register to receive e-mails "from" Patrick Bateman, supposedly to his therapist. The e-mails, written by a writer attached to the film and approved by the book's author Bret Easton Ellis, follow Bateman's life since the events of the film. American Psycho premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
where it was touted as the next Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
. The Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(MPAA) gave the film an NC-17 rating for a scene featuring Bateman having a threesome
Threesome
A threesome is a group of three engaged in the same activity. In relation to a sexual activity a threesome refer to the activity involving three people of any gender or sexual orientation...
with two prostitutes. The producers excised approximately 18 seconds of footage to obtain an R-rated
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
version of the film.
It polarized audiences and critics with some showering praise, others scorn. Upon its theatrical release, however, the film received positive reviews in crucial publications, including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
which called it a "mean and lean horror comedy classic". Author Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
said, "American Psycho was a book I didn't think needed to be turned into a movie," as "the medium of film demands answers," which would make the book "infinitely less interesting." The film currently holds a 67% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
A direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
, American Psycho 2 was released and directed by Morgan J. Freeman
Morgan J. Freeman
Morgan J. Freeman is an American film director. In 1997, his debut feature, Hurricane Streets, became the first narrative film to win three awards at the Sundance Film Festival...
. This spin-off was not based on the novel or the original film, as its only connection with the original is the death of Patrick Bateman (played by Michael Kremko wearing a face mask), briefly shown in a flashback.
Other adaptations
In 2009, Audible.comAudible.com
Audible.com is an Internet provider of spoken audio entertainment, information, and educational programming.Audible sells digital audiobooks, radio and TV programs, and audio versions of magazines and newspapers....
produced an audio version of American Psycho, narrated by Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Schreiber
Pablo Tell Schreiber is an American actor known for his dramatic stage work and for his portrayal of the Polish-American character Nick Sobotka on HBO's Baltimore drug-related crime drama The Wire. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Awake and Sing! on Broadway...
, as part of its Modern Vanguard line of audiobooks.
See also
- American Psycho (film)American Psycho (film)American Psycho is a 2000 cult thriller film directed by Mary Harron based on Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name. Though predominantly a psycho thriller, the film also blends elements of horror, satire, and black comedy...
- Aestheticization of violenceAestheticization of violenceThe aestheticization of violence in high culture art or mass media is the depiction of or references to violence in what Indiana University film studies professor Margaret Bruder calls a "stylistically excessive," "significant and sustained way." When violence is depicted in this fashion in films,...
- Transgressive fiction
- Unreliable narratorUnreliable narratorAn unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...