On social media, many sigma bros continue to celebrate American Psycho's serial killer investment banker Patrick Bateman, played by Christian Bale in the film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis's novel. With the movie celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, writer-director Mary Harron spoke with Letterboxd about the story's cult status and what bro culture seems to be missing about it:
"It was very clear to me and [scriptwriter Guinevere Turner], who is gay, that we saw it as a gay man's satire on masculinity," Harron says. "[Ellis's] being gay allowed him to see the homoerotic rituals among these alpha males, which is also true in sports, and it's true in Wall Street, and all these things where men are prizing their extreme competition and their 'elevating their prowess' kind of thing. There's something very, very gay about the way they're fetishizing looks, and the gym."
"I don't think that Guinevere and I ever expected it to be embraced by Wall Street bros, at all. That was not our intention. So, did we fail? I'm not sure why [it happened], because Christian's very clearly making fun of them… But, people read the Bible and decide that they should go and kill a lot of people. People read The Catcher in the Rye and decide to shoot the president."
"It was about a predatory society, and now the society is actually, 25 years later, much worse. The rich are much richer, the poor are poorer," Harron says. "I would never have imagined that there would be a celebration of racism and white supremacy, which is basically what we have in the White House. I would never have imagined that we would live through that."
Meanwhile, a new adaptation of the book is in development with Luca Guadagnino directing and Austin Butler attached to play Bateman.
Previously:
• Pixar's American Psycho
• American Psycho as a valley bro? Yes please.
• Australian Psycho vs American Psycho: Margot Robbie's pastiche next to Christian Bale's original
• My favorite anime is American Psycho
