American Psycho [Film review]

Article

Gildersleeve, Matthew. 2016. "American Psycho [Film review]." Philosophy Now. 113, pp. 48-49.
Article Title

American Psycho [Film review]

Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorGildersleeve, Matthew
Journal TitlePhilosophy Now
Journal Citation113, pp. 48-49
Number of Pages2
Year2016
PublisherPhilosophy Documentation Center
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0961-5970
2044-9992
Web Address (URL)https://philosophynow.org/issues/113/American_Psycho
Abstract

Jacques Lacan (1901-1981) was a French psychoanalytical philosopher. I would like to apply some of his ideas to Mary Harron’s film American Psycho (2000) in order to understand the psychotic behaviour of its protagonist, ‘Patrick Bateman’. My hope is that understanding the film in these terms will contribute to a better understanding of psychosis. Specifically, I want to show that we can understand ‘Bateman’s’ psychotic behaviour in Lacanian terms, since his behaviour at the end of this movie demonstrates the lived experience of psychosis, where, as Lacan says, 'That which has not seen the light of day in the symbolic appears in the real.' All will be revealed.

KeywordsAmerican Psycho; film review; Jacques Lacan
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020500319. Poststructuralism
360501. Cinema studies
500320. Psychoanalytic philosophy
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Queensland
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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