“Crumbling Mask of Sanity”: A Tribute to the Genius of “American Psycho”
(Available) “Crumbling Mask of Sanity”: 30 x 30 x 1.5 gallery profile
Is This My Favorite Piece I’ve Done?
I’ll admit this is on my list of favorite paintings I’ve done. Is this piece going to hang as a living or dining room centerpiece? I’d say probably not, … unless you are a particular kind of fan of this type of imagery, (in which case you can find it in the shop HERE.) In executing my vision for this item, I never intended for it to be a prominent, household focal point. I did it more as a conversation piece and as a part of a Spooktober experience.
As a Spooktober 2022 exercise, I decided to combine reading “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis while listening to the “Kick” album by INXS on repeat for the duration of the book. INXS as a soundtrack worked very well in providing a nice, 80’s, excess type of vibe. Most notably, the song “The Devil Inside” seemed apt in terms of describing the mental state of Patrick Bateman. Upon completion of the book, I then screened the movie which to that point I had not yet seen.
(For more detail on how and why I “pair” particular music albums with books, you can check out my previous blog titled “I Have Multisensory Processing and I Love It”.)
The Plot of “American Psycho”
For those who haven’t read the book or seen the movie, as well as those who might have indulged in the content but it’s been a while, here is a plot refresher.
American Psycho is a dark satire pointed squarely at the materialistic and superficial world of 1980s Wall Street. The story follows Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale in the movie), a wealthy investment banker who is consumed by his own narcissism and unquenchable desire for power and control. I read the book before watching the movie, and if you were to choose one, I’d recommend reading the book for sure. The amount of detail the author goes into in order to descibe Bateman’s inner, narcisstic mononlogue is quite incredible.
Bateman leads a double life. On the surface, he is the epitome of the successful “yuppie” (is that still a term in today’s parlance?): He is a handsome human, impeccably dressed, and successful in his career. However, the character is also a deeply disturbed individual who is prone to acts of extreme violence and sadism. (I’ll go more into this in a bit).
To set the tone, both the book and film versions begin with Bateman describing his daily routine in excruciating detail. Not surprisingly, he spends his days attending business meetings, going to fancy restaurants, and working out at the gym. Over time, Bateman's obsession with material possessions and his need to be seen as ultra-successful start to take a toll on his mental health.
Bateman begins to experience blackouts, during which he commits acts of violence he cannot remember. He murders prostitutes, homeless people, and even his own coworkers at one point. As Bateman's mental state deteriorates, he becomes increasingly paranoid and delusional. He begins to believe everyone around him is a serial killer, and he becomes obsessed with finding the perfect business card, which is constant thread lending to the dark, satirical humor of the story.
Along with it’s scathing commentary on 80s consumerism, I believe the fact his increasingly erratic behavior seems to go unnoticed by those around him contributes greatly to the overall genius of the story.
Two Prevailing Theories on Bates’s Mental State
Throughout the story, Bateman's mental condition is complex and left mostly ambiguous. The book and film both leave it up to the readers/viewers to decide whether Bateman's atrocities are real or imagined. However, there are several clues suggesting Bateman may be suffering from a serious mental illness, such as dissociative identity disorder or schizophrenia.
For example, Bateman's blackouts and his inability to remember his crimes suggest he may be experiencing dissociation. Dissociative Disorder as described by Mayo Clinic includes: mental health conditions that involve experiencing a loss of connection between thoughts, memories, feelings, surroundings, behavior and identity. These conditions include escape from reality in ways that are not wanted and not healthy. This causes problems in managing everyday life.
Bateman's paranoia and delusions also suggest he may be suffering from a particular psychosis such as schizophrenia. WebMD characterizes a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia as a psychosis that usually affects you for the first time in the late teen years or early adulthood. Even before what doctors call the first episode of psychosis (FEP), you may show slight changes in the way you act or think. This is called the prodromal period and could last days, weeks, months, or even years.
It is also possible Bateman is simply a very good liar and is able to convince himself his crimes are not real. What I enjoy about the way Bateman is characterized is it can be left for interpretation and to date, I am not sure there is a clear, “right” answer. Only Brett Easton Ellis likely knows for sure.
Why the Painting?
Whether Bateman was delusional or truly a real life monster, I set out to depict a visual showing the separation of a person seemingly “put together” in contrast to the monster that may live within. American Psycho is a cautionary tale about the dangers of greed, materialism, and unchecked ambition. It is a reminder that even the most successful and seemingly normal people can be capable of evil and in my mind, I find that to be a very interesting sort of duality.
The left half of the painting is very obviously meant to represent the materialistic narcissism possessed by a character like Patrick Bateman, (including the orange hued tan, nice suit and seemingly perfect hair) and the right represents the lizard brain tendencies all humans possess but can keep in check for the most part.