let's look at it from a psychiatric pov - a hardcore psychopath. yes, the psychopath is forced to fit in, and he certainly does have a hard time or two with that. but he's not forced to "try to be better than anybody else", because that's his most natural modus operandi. (of course, he has his own ways to attain that.) a psychopath is nothing but ego, an amoral humaniod. his world revolves around power, control and cheap thrill.
cheating, lies and manipulation as means of power and control.
the emotional landscape of the psychopath is a barren flatland. and so he is a sensation seeker, a thrill seeker in order to feel anything at all. and that's where the seemingly idiosyncratic, irrational "sudden outbursts" (as you say) come in. be it drink, drugs, perverted sex, violence, you name it.. occasionally even murder.
these are the psychopath's real element. and they are not readily psychologically understandible, because the true psychopath has a peculiar psychology. they are seemingly in sharp contrast with the public "persona" of the individual. only seemingly, because the 'public persona' of the psychopath is nothing more than a mask, a human mimicry.
bummer, the last time i saw it must be some year ago or so and i can't recall it that vividly. to be honest, the first time i saw it, it didn't occur to me that it might all be just in his imagination. (though, it did puzzle me when the layer said he had dined with the victim twice. i must have just shrugged it off; probably wasn't in the mood to analyze it.) and when they replayed it, i never paid too much attention - i usually just had it playing in the background while i was doing something else and saw only bits and pieces. which i now regret, cause now that you mention.. you may be right. i think i should see it again.
in any case, i like to think of the movie as a farce of the semi-psychopathic American mind. though it seems it is symbolicaly multilayered. "He's probably just as boring as everybody thinks he is, but in his head he becomes this man for all seasons." - that may be an excellent allusion to another trait of human mind, one that is notably exaggerated in the psychopath.. severly distorted self-image.
Finally! I kept forgetting that I wanted to answer this! ^_^;
Hm yes. You're definitely right with your definition of a psychopath and it also fits Patrick Bateman mostly. However, this only fits up to the, let's say, last fifth of the movie when suddenly things stop making sense. Of course, it could be his warped mind seeing things like this, assuming he's not receiving the attention he deserves. After all, the story is narrated through his eyes, so we only have his limited view, of course.
What I find scary but also fascinating is that this narrator called Bateman tells us everything about his life, every stupid useless fact he can think of. Which face scrub he uses, how many sit-ups he can do. Stuff like that. But when we WANT to know what's going in his strange little head, then the voice-over keeps its persistent silence and we're left behind, puzzled and horrified. I thought that was really interesting.
I hope you get a chance to see it again soon and then I'd very much like to hear your opinion on the possibility of it not being real! ^_^
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Date: 2003-08-02 05:28 am (UTC)- cheating, lies and manipulation as means of power and control.
- the emotional landscape of the psychopath is a barren flatland. and so he is a sensation seeker, a thrill seeker in order to feel anything at all. and that's where the seemingly idiosyncratic, irrational "sudden outbursts" (as you say) come in. be it drink, drugs, perverted sex, violence, you name it.. occasionally even murder.
these are the psychopath's real element. and they are not readily psychologically understandible, because the true psychopath has a peculiar psychology. they are seemingly in sharp contrast with the public "persona" of the individual. only seemingly, because the 'public persona' of the psychopath is nothing more than a mask, a human mimicry.bummer, the last time i saw it must be some year ago or so and i can't recall it that vividly. to be honest, the first time i saw it, it didn't occur to me that it might all be just in his imagination. (though, it did puzzle me when the layer said he had dined with the victim twice. i must have just shrugged it off; probably wasn't in the mood to analyze it.) and when they replayed it, i never paid too much attention - i usually just had it playing in the background while i was doing something else and saw only bits and pieces. which i now regret, cause now that you mention.. you may be right.
i think i should see it again.
in any case, i like to think of the movie as a farce of the semi-psychopathic American mind.
though it seems it is symbolicaly multilayered. "He's probably just as boring as everybody thinks he is, but in his head he becomes this man for all seasons." - that may be an excellent allusion to another trait of human mind, one that is notably exaggerated in the psychopath.. severly distorted self-image.
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Date: 2003-08-05 04:38 am (UTC)Hm yes. You're definitely right with your definition of a psychopath and it also fits Patrick Bateman mostly. However, this only fits up to the, let's say, last fifth of the movie when suddenly things stop making sense. Of course, it could be his warped mind seeing things like this, assuming he's not receiving the attention he deserves. After all, the story is narrated through his eyes, so we only have his limited view, of course.
What I find scary but also fascinating is that this narrator called Bateman tells us everything about his life, every stupid useless fact he can think of. Which face scrub he uses, how many sit-ups he can do. Stuff like that. But when we WANT to know what's going in his strange little head, then the voice-over keeps its persistent silence and we're left behind, puzzled and horrified. I thought that was really interesting.
I hope you get a chance to see it again soon and then I'd very much like to hear your opinion on the possibility of it not being real! ^_^