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Why do people like American Psycho?
(mander.xyz)
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this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
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I think it's an anti-capitalist thing. If you already genuinely see these Wall Street, corpo ghouls as murderers in real life, then the movie's dramatization of their hyperbolic desire for gratuitous murder and torture encapsulated in one "American psycho" becomes an inside joke making fun of the entire USian hyper-capitalist mode of life which lives at the expense of everyone else's suffering and death.
It's hard to explain, I haven't seen it in a very long time. Just kind of a dark comedy thing.
The message is very clear (in your face). The fact that everybody keeps mistaking the VPs for one another because they’re indistinguishable is another point. But what is funny about it?
for bergson, comedy comes from the overlap of the material and the human. bateman is a robotic character, embodying this duality in himself, and exists in a highly satirical environment.
Henri Bergson?
yeah. i saw cck philosophy's video on him and read the essay Laughter a while ago, its very good.
Oh, that's cool. Never heard of CCK philosophy but I'll check it out.
Was surprised to see him mentioned.
Again, the message can be clear, sure, but if you're a committed anti-capitalist then it transcends the simple message and it becomes like an inside joke.
It's like cathartic release and you enjoy seeing the enemy depicted in all its petty, murderous AmeriKKKan evil.