As Bateman wanders through the chaos he has supposedly caused, everything feels off. The realtor selling one of his victim’s apartments insists it was never a crime scene. His lawyer treats Bateman’s concerns lightly, stating he just had dinner with one of Bateman’s high-profile targets. Meanwhile, Bateman experiences strange sights and sounds, while everyone around him claims he’s too ordinary to commit such horrific acts.
This sets the stage for the popular idea that “it’s all in his head.” People around Bateman present convincing arguments that he can’t be responsible for those crimes, especially since his final acts seem absurd. He shoots at cars and somehow escapes the entire NYPD. In one memorable scene from the movie, an ATM demands he feed it a stray cat. The book offers an even stranger moment when he watches a Cheerio being interviewed on television.
Those who support this idea believe Bateman is just a privileged, lost young man, whose empty lifestyle drives him to fantasize about violent acts influenced by the shallow media he consumes. This theory feels clever to many, often leading them to think they should dismiss other interpretations.
However, this reading oversimplifies the story. It overlooks key themes that make the narrative rich and thought-provoking.
American Psycho’s Overlooked Themes Tell The True Story
One of the central themes of American Psycho is “identity.” It explores how individuals can develop and hold onto a unique identity in a capitalist society, where consuming the same media, fashion, and brands makes people resemble one another more and more.
This theme sheds light on many confusing moments in the story. When characters say they had lunch with one of Bateman’s victims, their confusion highlights how interchangeable people have become. In both the film and the book, characters often mix up their identities, and even their business cards—designed to set them apart—look strikingly similar to one another.
