American Psycho, Baudrillard and the Postmodern Condition 

Impressive. Very nice. Let's see Paul Allen's post-modern philosophical film analysis

No annoying sounds, no music, no ads. I love the peaceful side of RU-vid.

I like how the subtitles keep finding creative and unique ways of spelling Baudrillard.

One of the best things in the book that doesn't really translate into the movie is how every single time a character appears, Patrick goes through an exhaustive list of every single clothing item they're wearing and what brand it's from. Beyond these clothings lists, there's almost nothing in the book about how any of the characters actually look.

So, let's see: Christian Bale uses Tom Cruise as inspiration for his performance as Patrick Bateman. Patrick Bateman has an elevator encounter with Tom Cruise in the novel. In the novel Bateman is at one point called Patrick "Batman." Christian Bale plays Batman in Batman Begins where he bangs Catie Holmes, one of Cruise's ex-wives. Another of Cruise's ex-wives, Nicole Kidman, is banged by Batman in Batman Forever. What does it MEAN...

Saw this video at a Baudrillard museum exhibit in Shanghai! Congrats

Christian Bale's observation of Tom Cruise gave me chills. "An INTENSE friendliness with nothing behind the eyes." THOSE are the fucking psychos for SURE!

My favorite part is the fact that no one even notices that "acquisitions" is spelled wrong on the business cards- it's not important.

im leaving, ive assessed the situation and uh, im going.

I find it interesting how often filmmakers/authors use modern and postmodern design objects to signify psychopaths or villains. You know a bad guy usually by his impeccable taste for designer furniture. Flemming even named Goldfinger after the modernist architect of the same name.

For those who are interested. Baudrillard was a pupil of Henri Lefebvre and was heavily inspired by his teacher. Most important work by Lefebvre was "Critique of Everyday Life" (1947) which btw also inspired the Situationists.

The analysis of the meaning of Reagan with regards to the Actor/President dichotomy is particularly interesting with regards to Trump as President/Reality TV Star. The move from Actor to Actor acting as President to Actor, acting as Real Person, acting as President has some implications which should be analysed. Also the similarities/differences between MacLuhan's analysis of the Kennedy/Nixon debates with regards to Radio versus Television reception and the similarities/differences between Obama and Trump's use of social media. Also the differences between Obama and McCain versus Clinton and Trump. Obama had a slick, designed media campaign which presented itself as 'real' to a populace who received it as such. McCain's capaign moved along traditional axes, and suffered as a result of not being engaging. Clinton's campaign developed and extrapolated Obama's but was not so warmly received by a public who were able to identify the simulacra. Whilst Trump's campaign was not so reliant on reality, embraced a 'post-truth' society and is a pretty fitting of what Baudrillard might today call Hyperreality.

I think I need to buy some Ikea stuff. Apparently my house is a mixture of fascism and patriarchy

This was awesome.

Hyperreality is taken to the extreme today. Where technology is our true reality and our lives are support structures there to facilitate our cyber lifestyle.

The ad before this video was for a Barbie cake decorator.

I have to return some videotapes

You made me want to watch the movie again. You're doing a great job explaining somewhat complicated philosophical ideas.

The book was pretty hard to read for me. The descriptions of 80s products and fashionware just go on and on, it's maddening.

Oh wow thanks to you Ive read both American Psycho (in 14 days) and like half of Simulacra (in 1 month), both of them absolutely unbearable and brilliant. I gotta say Im just so glad to have found your channel - you are like the one friend whom Ive always wanted to have, the one who "gets" it and has good books to recommend. Keep on going.

9:45 I'm so glad this is being recognized. I've seen Cruise be like this in films too; it was so pronounced in some scenes that I'm surprised they made it to the screen that way. I find it quite unsettling, especially in real life encounters.

Has anyone pointed out the similarities between the commodity listing in American Psycho and Ready Player One? Because now I notice it, it's pretty uncanny. The personality-less main character and banal existence in a world full of meaningless, disposable consumer objects. The comment on hyperreality, the lack of distinction between the Real and the Virtual...there's a lot there to examine I think!

I wrote about this film in my Freshman Existentialism writing seminar. It was probably one of the first ever existentialist discussions of the film (though I'm sure there was already plenty about the book). It wasn't anything special, but the film was still in theaters when I wrote it, so it was very early.

I love Bret Easton Ellis's book. It's almost unbearable at times, but that just adds to the horror.

This video is certainly one of my favorites in this channel! I always thought of the objects in American Psycho but never focused on them in that specific approach, in which allows to show us how determining these objects actually are.

Been in my recommended for weeks and I'm glad I finally gave it a shot. You do a really good job with the given material. I usually brush off channels like this one b/c I feel they don't handle their source material well.

The name of the channel is a bit misleading, you risk getting mixed up with the brainlet sceptic peanut gallery, Red Pill Philosophy and the like. Keep up the the good work, I subscribed

first video of yours I've watched, I didn't expect much going in, but was honestly surprised at how well it was made. keep it up, please.

I just saw American Psycho for the first time (a decision inspired by this video, by the way), and yeah, this analysis is spot on. I think the way you described Bateman could be said about everyone else as well. Charming smiles, no actual self.

If you liked American Psych you should read Don DeLillo’s debut novel Americana. Published 20 years earlier it’s way ahead of its time. He writes about a character, that fits perfectly into the Reagan era yuppie mould, slowly losing any sense of personality deeper than surface appearance. A prophetic work on hypermediation and the centrality of sign-value in postmodern culture.

I would like to thank you for these great videos you ve been uploading. It is clear how much love you put into your content

My most sincere and enthusiastic "thanks" for this video. Being a frequent reader of Baudrillard, but also of Ellis, who humbly tried to put together a couple of Culture Jamming conferences, I now regret not having found your impressive channel before. (I'll definitely check your Patreon profile). Un cordial saludo from Zürich.

I love your content. You never disappoint!

Woah! This opened me up to a bunch of whole new concepts and ideas, not the basic ones I could have formulated in my head. My mind is blown.

How has this only been recommended to me now!? Two years after upload and 10 years since I had to study Baudrillard. Great video, subscribed

Thank you for making this video, it's really well made, and i can see that you poured your heart into it. Keep up the good work!

I am a huge fan of Baudrillard and find his work absolutely fascinating. This video was awesome to watch and I only wish it was longer!

God this video is such a masterpiece, come back to watch this one every few months

Very impressive video! I watched this recently in Shanghai at Baudrillard's exhibition in Power Station of Art. The analysis is simple but efficient. Thanks for making it!

This channel is great. Thanks for putting this video eassays out there

i can see how jean baudrillard's over abundance of euphemisms, adjectives and metaphors can get on the reader's nerves when trying to understand his point(s) or what hes trying to communicate. otherwise, when you can unpack it, its fairly comprehensive, and learning a little about structuralism haha

Your videos are a breath of fresh air.

Wow, that's the best explanation I've found for these topics. So quick and concise. Amazingly well done, thank you!

Amazing work! Enjoyed it and I like that you point to philosophers and further reading.

You’re the only other person that I know of who has interpreted the ending of American Psycho in that manner, but I think you are correct.

Great analysis man. I had a thesis on Cultural logic of late Capitalism. Your analysis really helped me to put together pastiche and simulacra and to find key differences between Jameson's and Baudrillard's approaches.

I love the analogy of the toothpaste effect. Great to see a video covering American phycho in this depth I've always loved the concept of this movie, all the subtleties that alot of people don't bother to pay no mind to really makes the film so great. It's a great representation of how things are now great video

I am so lucky you don't have alot of videos, otherwise I wouldn't be able to study today. I love your videos man, easy to follow and interesting!

Simulacra and Simulation? This is the exact book that Neo stores his small CD's of spyware in the movie Matrix

Your best video essay so far. Keep up the great analyses.

Loved this video and have subscribed! American Psycho (both book and the film) was one of my favourites from being a teenager, way before I had read any philosophy or cultural theory. Great to find that there's more to be taken from going back to it!

This video was so interesting, I wish it had been an hour long. Bravo!

I already loved American Psycho, but this greatly increased my appreciation of it. I'd love more videos about movies.

The most difficult part of reading "American Psycho" was the chapter when he runs through all of these brand names. I'd not heard of most of them before. It reminded me of the first time that I read "Finnegans Wake." As a person who has Asperger's, I have consistently found it difficult to fit in, especially in the workplace. The more I think about it, the more I have concluded that maybe copying the behaviors of Patrick Bateman might be a good idea. That's not to say that killing is something to do. Rather, it might be best to play along with the charade. Go along with the illusion. Give the delusional whose identity is confined to the corporate organizational chart positions what they want: A mirror. People like this need constant validation. This is why they do not like people who have gaps in employment during interviews. It shows that the interviewee does not play the game, which does not validate their playing of the game. The very existence of a person like me, with these gaps, threatens their delicate illusion. It drives their fear to the point that they will say horrible things, such as, *_"Ah, I see that you have a few years of not working. What did you do during that time? Kick back, relax and take it easy?"_* That is the verbal embodiment of their internal fear, which is all that they truly have inside. Is it possible to compartmentalize it all, so that I could keep my internal self, which is substantial only to me, in a safe place, while allowing an external shell of hollow platitudes in place? The advice of "just be yourself" has turned out to be THE absolute worst idea ever. Tell someone at work about your hobbies, interests, or personal life, and you're effectively giving them ammunition to use against you whenever they wish. It's a dirty game. My options are to either play it or starve to death.

I keep rewatching this video, amazing work man

I liked this a lot, thanks for putting so much effort into your vids man

My boy John out here really doing some analysis

Great video that helped me grasp a lot of aspects of the movie I initially couldn't make sense of. One question: I am a bit confused by how seamlessly structuralism and postmodernism are drawn together. In the essay they appear like related ideas, but they are quite opposing. I guess my question is, where or how does the essay draw a difference between these two ideas for its analysis?

My favorit vid of yours. Absolutely love your channel mate.

this was very well done, congratulations! truly a video essay to be proud of

The more I am listening to content about postmodernism, the more interesting it sounds. Thanks for explaining it in laymen terms.

i love this channel

This video gives the deepest Patreon acknowledgement I've ever heard. Keep up the good work!

this video just showed up on my recommended and combines my 2 favorite things postmodernism and american psycho, thank you so much

7:00 I did say once to a friend about this movie. "They have more in common with the chairs they're sitting in, than in one another."

I'm currently reading Joan Didion's essay collection _Political Fictions_ which is excellent anyway and excellent in particular on Reagan as an empty shell. In terms of both his work practices and his personal involvement with his material, whether film scripts or policy, she makes it clear with testimony from those who worked with him, he never really stopped being a B-list actor reciting lines.

I must have watched this video over 100 times. An amazing video essay, rich with interesting ideas that I continuously go back to

Incredible. Thanks for your work!

I really liked this video even though I understood almost none of it.

This... hit kinda close to home, haha. I really should read more Baudrillard.

Great work as usual. Hope to see more videos soon.

Amazing video with very illustrative examples. Subscribed!

Excellent explanation of a postmodern philosopher as critiquing the postmodern condition. I think some people are confusing the postmodern condition for postmodern philosophy - then concluding that postmodern philosophy is psychopathic - but your video explains the relationship as condition & critique. We are literally products of our environment. Thank You.

Always fun to listen to what you have to say

I really like the style of your videos. Also impressive analysis!

Very well done video, I look forward to more content from you!

This is some high quality youtube content...

Did someone say NFT?

Good stuff, as usual. My favorite book from Baudrillard is "Consumer Society"

Prob the most clear and understandeable analysis of this movie on YT, thanks for the explanations

Never understood the appeal of Sargon of Akkad when there is content like this out there.

THIS WAS WELL DONE. I SMILE AS MY EGO SMILES BACK AT ME. YES MY COMPLEMENT IS ABOUT ME. AS IF THIS WRITING MATTERS.

This is excellently presented! Subscribed immediately. It would be nice to see you do one for how DT fits into the "postmodern"/Baudrillard transparency explanation.

Thank you for this video! It really inspired me to know more about Baudrillard

There is a lot of people that really don't like Baudrillard, personally I think he is very interesting. Particular interest to me is he notion of simulacra. When playing around with his ideas I incorporated the idea of the simulacra directly into the subject of cognition. Here the sign value becomes more constrained, but is consistent with the thoughts able to be products of themselves. In pure thought, thoughts can be removed of consequence. Problematic thoughts have consequences when they are correspond to actions. Without these actions the inside does not matter...................... Question is a thought a sign or a signifier? Nice video. Reminded me of how much I like Baudrillard and it almost made me write a really long piece here.;-)

I think its interesting that you take american psycho as an example even tho i have a very different opinion about the movie it fits the narrative but there is one difference you might want to consider this, batemans actions cant be taken as reality, there are many signs pointing to him only hallucinating, for example the scene where the ATM tells him to feed it a stray cat, the body that was hidden in the closet that just disappears, the scene where he rampages with a chainsaw and nobody seems to care, even if these people didnt care about him murdering they would most likely care about him making noise If you view it from this perspective tho the point you made still holds up, in batemans world everyone is a clone of each other, same clothes, hairstyle, lifestyle. They still try to differentiate themselves from each other in little things without stopping to be clone, thats why its so important to them that theire absolutely identical looking business cards are made out of different materials, even tho you wouldnt be able to tell the difference if they didnt tell you. This is why bateman has gone crazy, he wishes he was a serial killer to so he would be drastically different from everyone else, to finally not be just another clone, he wants to break out of his lifestyle so badly but in the end it is impossible. He basically wants to escape the objects that own him, the people that embody himself and in the most extreme way, he wants to kill them. But he cant escape his condition.

I don't 100% understand but hopefully I can keep reading and learning more that one day I can. Great video! Keep it up.

Very interesting, insightful and on-point, subscribed.

Wtf what did I just watch... that was brilliant wow

Baudrillard is also clearly not disgusted or horrified by postmodernity, he is mostly just in awe of it.

Really good critique. Excellent work.

Awesome stuff. Just bought your new book. Good luck!!

When Christian Bale was analyzing that card, it reminded me of a Graphic designer. Merging branding and art and you've got yourself a service that caters well in a capitalist system. It all comes down to if you can make people believe they need it.

And this whole trend of Gen Z identifying themselves with Patrick Bateman speaks a lot about where we're going as a society... Scary shit

Really liking these vids mates :3 keep it up!!!!

Wow what video! Thanks for that and keep doing it PLEASE

I don't understand everything, I think that I have to read this book, but it's very interesting

Awesome

You just gained a subscriber. Fantastic análisis and piecing together of boudrillard's philosophy. Not that that matters in this simulacra of real life.(;

Great vid. One of my favorite films. Gotta read up on Baudrillard.