The director of American Psycho, Mary Harron, has described herself as “mystified” by the film being misinterpreted by Donald Trump supporters and toxic men.
The film, which turns 25 this year, stars Christian Bale as a wealthy investment banker in the ‘80s who hides his psychopathic behaviour from those around him. Certain corners of the internet have interpreted his character, Patrick Bateman, as someone to aspire to, citing his ruthless and predatory nature as a positive.
Speaking to Letterboxd Journal, Harron discussed the phenomenon and argued that it is a direct contradiction of what was intended, both by her and the author of the original novel, Bret Easton Ellis. “It was very clear to me and (writer) Guinevere (Turner), who is gay, that we saw it as a gay man’s satire on masculinity” 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”.
She went on to say the film is a critique “not just of masculine behavior; it’s a critique of society, of the world of exploitation and consumption and greed and reduction of people”.
Donald Trump, at the time best known for his business exploits, is held up as role model for Bateman. His recent re-election to the US Presidency has highlighted to Harron just how things have changed since the time of the story.
“It was about a predatory society, and now the society is actually, 25 years later, much worse” she said. “The rich are much richer, the poor are poorer. I would never have imagined that there would be a celebration of racism and white supremacy, which is basically what we have in the White House. I would never have imagined that we would live through that”.
Recently, author Bret Easton Ellis said a rumoured remake of American Psycho was “fake news”.
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