Materialism In American Psycho

American Psycho is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, first published in 1991. In 2000 Mary Harron took the initiative to further materialize the psychological thriller into the big screen. The novel and its film adaption revolves around Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale as a wealthy stockbroker at a big firm. Bateman enjoys prestige from where he stands in the upper-class social hierarchy and armored with his privilege and wealth making him the ultimate serial killer. His drive to kill is fueled by fanatical materialism and bitter envy from inside the limbo that people call the American dream. The film is satire, cleverly combining materialism, narcissism, misogyny, and envy shown through Bateman’s desperation for a piece of reality

The decor is a mixture of chi-chi and rustic, with swagged silk curtains, handwritten menus and pale pink tablecloths decorated with arrangements of moss, twigs and hideous exotic flowers. The clientele is young, wealthy and confident, dressed in the height of late-eighties style: pouffy Lacroix dresses, slinky Alaïa, Armani power suits. Timothy Bryce, played by Justin Theroux, one of Bateman’s acquaintances in the group of investment bankers laments at the fact that the restaurant they dined is considered a ‘chicks’ restaurant’. He chortled “God, I hate this

His monologue begins “My name is Patrick Bateman. I am twenty-six years old. I live in the American Garden Buildings on West Eighty-First Street, on the eleventh floor Tom Cruise lives in the penthouse.” Bateman then walks into his bathroom, urinates while trying to see his reflection in a poster for Les Miserables above his toilet. “I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now.” This quotes shows how Bateman takes extreme measures to maintain his physique, displaying how much great importance his external appearance is to him. The scene cuts to a mirror-lined bathroom. Bateman is luxuriating in the shower steam, scrubbing his body, admiring his muscles. After that Bateman stands in front of a massive marble sink applying a gel facial masque, as he opens the door of a mirrored cabinet, stocked with immaculate rows of skin care products. He begins selecting bottles jars and brushes, laying them in readiness on the marble counter. He continues to speak in monologue “I always use an after-shave lotion with little or no alcohol because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye