How a New “American Psycho” Could Modernize Patrick Bateman
Luca Guadagnino confirmed earlier this year that he will be directing a new film adaptation of “American Psycho.” It has been clarified that it will not be a remake of Mary Herron’s 2002 film, but will be another interpretation of the 1991 Bret Easton Ellis novel – taking another “stab” at the source material, if you will. There’s a lot of pressure to create another version of “American Psycho” that will be as great as the movie that already exists, but films in Guadagnino’s catalog like “Suspiria” and “Bones and All” are proof that he does have the potential to do it justice.
The Letterboxd description of Luca Guadagnino’s “American Psycho” says that the film “aims to reimagine Patrick Bateman in the fast-paced modern era.” The film is still early in its development, but if “Patrick Bateman in the 2020s” does end up being the direction they take, then here are a few ways a new “American Psycho” film could make its protagonist relevant to our current climate.
Patrick Bateman’s relationship with Trumpism
The most glaringly obvious way to modernize Patrick is to show where he stands in the Trump era. The 1980s version of Patrick already sees Donald Trump as a role model – “Is that Donald Trump’s car?” – but a modern take on the novel could show how Patrick might feel about Trump not just as a 1980s businessman but now as a political figure. Would Patrick be a diehard supporter of Trump? Would he be one of those guys who says they don’t love Trump as a person but voted for him “because of the economy?” How heavy Patrick Bateman leans into Trumpism is the most relevant way to characterize him as a man in the 2020s.
Patrick Bateman’s relationship with the “Manosphere” influencer
An alarming presence that infiltrates the social media algorithms of many Gen Z men are the toxic masculine “Manosphere” influencers like Andrew Tate, who brainwash young men to have negative feelings towards women and to idolize wealth and status. The ideas spewed by these types of influencers would certainly be swirling in the head of violent misogynist and deeply vain Patrick, and touching on this phenomenon is a way to accurately insert him into a modern setting. The men stuck in this echo chamber of people like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, and Adin Ross are probably the same ones who idolize the character of Patrick Bateman and don’t even see that “American Psycho” is satire, so touching on this “incel” type of culture could be another way of letting them know they’ve totally missed the point.
Patrick Bateman’s relationship with porn
Pornography already has a large role in the original “American Psycho,” but porn since the 1980s has completely changed. With the internet, there is so much more porn out there and it has become so much more accessible. Porn addiction is more common than it used to be, and more people have developed a warped sense of what sex is because of porn addiction. Included in this is the way that porn with violence or degradation against women has led so many men to now think it’s the “norm” to be violent or degrading during sex. With this type of porn influencing men, it would be interesting to think about how much more of a porn addict Patrick might be in our current time, or how much the pornography Patrick watches would affect the type of violent urges he feels in real life.
“American Psycho” remains heavily misunderstood by a lot of its audience, despite the satire being nowhere near subtle. If the new adaptation does end up going the “let’s make it modern” route, then this could be an interesting way of driving the message home to a newer audience in ways that are current and understandable to them.
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