American Psycho

[PHV]

Quote:

(esquire. @ June 11 2005,14:31) The character Patrick Bateman seems to be quite popular and a iconic figure with many of the members here. I just saw the movie, and I really want to understand why? Did I need to read the book first? I get that it's supposed to be a satire of the superficial and materialistic yuppie, hyper consumerism of the 80s, but I just didn't find those parts very funny. My card is more expensive than yours. Ha ha? Once you get the past the parts that are supposed to be funny, all you're left with is this pathetic, possibly gay, loser. In real life, everybody sees him as a dork and spineless. Or, they don't even remember who he is as he's not important enough to warrant attention. To escape how timid and weak he is in real life, he creates this fantasy world where he becomes this violent, mysogynistic 'killer' where he thinks he kills all those people but doesn't in real life. Even then, he's still not that interesting. I just cannot fathom the appeal of this character to other forum members except that he wears nice suits.
Because they would like to be as intelligent as Bateman and have enough money to buy what they want instead of working for pinuts and wearing ****** clothes from Ebay.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[arrogant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire.,June 11 2005,14:31
The character Patrick Bateman seems to be quite popular and a iconic figure with many of the members here. I just saw the movie, and I really want to understand why? Did I need to read the book first? I get that it's supposed to be a satire of the superficial and materialistic yuppie, hyper consumerism of the 80s, but I just didn't find those parts very funny. My card is more expensive than yours. Ha ha? Once you get the past the parts that are supposed to be funny, all you're left with is this pathetic, possibly gay, loser. In real life, everybody sees him as a dork and spineless. Or, they don't even remember who he is as he's not important enough to warrant attention. To escape how timid and weak he is in real life, he creates this fantasy world where he becomes this violent, mysogynistic 'killer' where he thinks he kills all those people but doesn't in real life. Even then, he's still not that interesting. I just cannot fathom the appeal of this character to other forum members except that he wears nice suits.
Because they would like to be as intelligent as Bateman and have enough money to buy what they want instead of working for pinuts and wearing ****** clothes from Ebay.
Nous sommes tous fiers de vous Ernest..... calice de tabarnacle...mon petit criss de parisien

 

[gorgekko]

Because they would like to be as intelligent as Bateman and have enough money to buy what they want instead of working for pinuts and wearing ****** clothes from Ebay.

Coming from our poorest Style Forum participant, this is indeed -- if you'll excuse the pun -- rich.

 

[PHV]

Quote:

(ernest @ June 22 2005,00:14) Because they would like to be as intelligent as Bateman and have enough money to buy what they want instead of working for pinuts and wearing ****** clothes from Ebay.
Coming from our poorest Style Forum participant, this is indeed -- if you'll excuse the pun -- rich.
But nevertheless quite hilarious, with a hint of truth. I am very suspicious of people who idolize Bateman or Gekko.

 

[esquire.]

Quote:

(esquire. @ June 11 2005,14:31) The character Patrick Bateman seems to be quite popular and a iconic figure with many of the members here. I just saw the movie, and I really want to understand why? Did I need to read the book first? I get that it's supposed to be a satire of the superficial and materialistic yuppie, hyper consumerism of the 80s, but I just didn't find those parts very funny. My card is more expensive than yours. Ha ha? Once you get the past the parts that are supposed to be funny, all you're left with is this pathetic, possibly gay, loser. In real life, everybody sees him as a dork and spineless. Or, they don't even remember who he is as he's not important enough to warrant attention. To escape how timid and weak he is in real life, he creates this fantasy world where he becomes this violent, mysogynistic 'killer' where he thinks he kills all those people but doesn't in real life. Even then, he's still not that interesting. I just cannot fathom the appeal of this character to other forum members except that he wears nice suits.
Because they would like to be as intelligent as Bateman and have enough money to buy what they want instead of working for pinuts and wearing ****** clothes from Ebay.
this should be the official slogan of style forum. ahh, that's why you used a picture of patrick bateman as your icon... and, this whole time, i thought you admired bateman because he was well compensated despite the fact that he obviously did little work in the movie.

 

[Manton]

I read the book a number of years ago, out of a sense of obligation, since there was so much in it about clothes. I was prepared to hate it -- almost determined to hate it -- but ended up being impressed by it on a number of levels. There is a technical brilliance to it that almost -- almost -- makes up for the gratuitous violence.

BTW, after reading it, I was convinced that the murders were imagined, and that Ellis wants us to figure this out toward the end (the scene with the cab driver). I take it this is disputed by close students of the book?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

My take, after reading the book a fair number of times, is that the murders are imagined. The shootout with the cops at the end is supposed to be cartoonish and absurd--it's Ellis's biggest clue that Bateman's crimes occur only in the imagination.

 

[jasonpraxis]

jason, what were the articles for? a term paper or something like that?

Esquire., One was my undergraduate thesis; one is something I adapted from part of my Master's thesis; and the third is a knowledge/theory dump of miscellaneous thoughts, emails and online chats I've had with some people about the text. Someday I ought to get serious and edit the work for a collection and shop it around to publishers.

 

[ernest]

Quote:

(ernest @ June 21 2005,21:14)

Originally Posted by esquire.,June 11 2005,14:31

The character Patrick Bateman seems to be quite popular and a iconic figure with many of the members here. I just saw the movie, and I really want to understand why? Did I need to read the book first? I get that it's supposed to be a satire of the superficial and materialistic yuppie, hyper consumerism of the 80s, but I just didn't find those parts very funny. My card is more expensive than yours. Ha ha? Once you get the past the parts that are supposed to be funny, all you're left with is this pathetic, possibly gay, loser. In real life, everybody sees him as a dork and spineless. Or, they don't even remember who he is as he's not important enough to warrant attention. To escape how timid and weak he is in real life, he creates this fantasy world where he becomes this violent, mysogynistic 'killer' where he thinks he kills all those people but doesn't in real life. Even then, he's still not that interesting. I just cannot fathom the appeal of this character to other forum members except that he wears nice suits.
Because they would like to be as intelligent as Bateman and have enough money to buy what they want instead of working for pinuts and wearing ****** clothes from Ebay.
this should be the official slogan of style forum. ahh, that's why you used a picture of patrick bateman as your icon... and, this whole time, i thought you admired bateman because he was well compensated despite the fact that he obviously did little work in the movie.
i juste liked the mac he was wearing...

 

[gorgekko]

My take, after reading the book a fair number of times, is that the murders are imagined. The shootout with the cops at the end is supposed to be cartoonish and absurd--it's Ellis's biggest clue that Bateman's crimes occur only in the imagination.

I always figured the biggest clue was when he was in the restaurant and someone was smoking next to him. Ellis writes that Bateman ultimately thought that it didn't matter since none of this was actually happening.

 

[gorgekko]

I am very suspicious of people who idolize Bateman or Gekko.

Bateman isn't worth idolatry, I'll grant you that but in Gekko's case some people (such as me), idolize him as a big F-U to Oliver Stone

 

[Horace]

Quote:

(PHV @ June 22 2005,01:22) I am very suspicious of people who idolize Bateman or Gekko.
Bateman isn't worth idolatry, I'll grant you that but in Gekko's case  some people (such as me), idolize him as a big F-U to Oliver Stone Â

Gekko is certainly less annoying than Stone.

 

[JBZ]

BTW, after reading it, I was convinced that the murders were imagined, and that Ellis wants us to figure this out toward the end (the scene with the cab driver). I take it this is disputed by close students of the book?

Huh. That's interesting. I always thought that, in the book, he really did commit the murders. I always thought the comments he made (e.g. "none of this is really happening&quot, etc. showed the dichotomy between the facade (his business life with all his friends) and the reality (he was a killer). I thought the scene in the cab (when his rolex was stolen IIRC) took place during his "business" life, which explains why he allowed himself to get robbed.

I also thought it was real because part of the point of the satire was that PB's friends were so shallow and materialistic that they could have an obvious psychopath in the midst and never realize it. Also, for some reason, I don't remember the shoot out with the cops from the book - only the movie. However, perhaps I'm not remembering correctly (entirely possible - I remember movies very well, but not books for some reason).

Some of you bring up some great points as to why it may have been fantasy. Perhaps I will re-read it.

 

[PeterMetro]

I always thought that one of the main points of the book was not if he did it or not, but questioning whether it even mattered if it did it or not.

 

[Manton]

I think the ambiguity is one of the things that makes the book good, or at least technically impressive. For the first half at least, I just assumed that all the killings were supposed to be "real." The clues only start to come together very late. When they did, it was almost like an epiphany. I was quite impressed with Ellis at that point.

My take has always been that the murders were definitely imagined. The ambiguity or subtlety is used not to confuse this issue, but to keep it secret from the reader for as long as possible. And also to show that Bateman at some point isn't even really sure himself.