Mary Harron, the director of the 2000 movie American Psycho, has called out the widespread misconception that “Wall Street bros” have about the film.
For reference, the movie is based on Bret Easton Ellis’s highly controversial 1991 book of the same name, and stars Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a wealthy and successful New York City investment banker who is secretly obsessed with rape and murder.
His story is an obviously satirical take on both masculinity and wealth, yet some concerning corners of society view Bateman as some kind of hero. After all, he’s rich, he’s handsome, and he’s well-dressed. He speaks articulately and seems well-educated, and is totally devoted to a strict workout and skincare routine — all in a bid to out-alpha the other men in his circle.
Speaking to Letterboxd Journal, Harron admitted that she and her co-writer, Guinevere Turner, never would have expected viewers to consume such blatant satire so earnestly. Speaking about the way some men view Bateman as a role model, she said: “I’m always so mystified by it. I don’t think that Guinevere and I ever expected it to be embraced by Wall Street bros, at all. 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…,” Harron added. “But, people read the Bible and decide that they should go and kill a lot of people. People read The Catcher in the Rye and decide to shoot the president.”
The filmmaker went on to acknowledge that some of Bateman’s popularity stems from memes and social media, noting: “There’s [Bateman] being handsome and wearing good suits and having money and power. But at the same time, he’s played as somebody dorky and ridiculous. When he’s in a nightclub and he’s trying to speak to somebody about hip hop — it’s so embarrassing when he’s trying to be cool.”
And Harron also pointed out that the original book is “a gay man’s satire on masculinity,” and theorized that Ellis’s sexuality meant that he was able to observe aspects of alpha male culture that those who are in it are unaware of.
She said: “[Ellis] being gay allowed him to see the homoerotic rituals among these alpha males, which is also true in sports, and it’s true in Wall Street, and all these things where men are prizing their extreme competition and their ‘elevating their prowess’ kind of thing. There’s something very, very gay about the way they’re fetishizing looks and the gym.”
Ultimately, Harron concluded, American Psycho is “about a predatory society,” and while there is “a lot of horrific violence in the book,” it’s actually “a clear critique.” “Not just of masculine behavior,” she added. “Of the world of exploitation and consumption and greed and reduction of people.”
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