Consumption as Identity

American Psycho

This flow traces how clothing, restaurants, electronics, grooming, and brands become Bateman's substitute language for selfhood.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Designer Uniforms Designer Uniforms from "American Psycho". Designer Uniforms Social Grammar Bateman and his colleagues identify one another through suits, ties, shoes, and labels.

Designer Uniforms from "American Psycho". Designer Uniforms Social Grammar Bateman and his colleagues identify one another through suits, ties, shoes, and labels.

Designer Uniforms Social Grammar Bateman and his colleagues identify one another through suits, ties, shoes, and labels. Competitive Display Minor differences carry the emotional weight of major moral distinctions. Significance Clothing replaces biography and makes people appear interchangeable.

Restaurant Hierarchy Restaurant Hierarchy from "American Psycho". Restaurant Hierarchy Reservation Anxiety Restaurants become tests of access, prestige, and masculine competence.

Restaurant Hierarchy from "American Psycho". Restaurant Hierarchy Reservation Anxiety Restaurants become tests of access, prestige, and masculine competence.

Restaurant Hierarchy Reservation Anxiety Restaurants become tests of access, prestige, and masculine competence. Social Failure A missed table can produce more panic than a threatened life. Significance Consumption becomes the novel's most reliable measure of status and belonging.

Business Card Rivalry Business Card Rivalry from "American Psycho". Business Card Rivalry Material Competition Bateman, David Van Patten, and Timothy Price compare cards as if comparing identities.

Business Card Rivalry from "American Psycho". Business Card Rivalry Material Competition Bateman, David Van Patten, and Timothy Price compare cards as if comparing identities.

Business Card Rivalry Material Competition Bateman, David Van Patten, and Timothy Price compare cards as if comparing identities. Narcissistic Wound A superior font, color, or texture produces jealousy and despair. Significance The self becomes a printed surface that can be defeated by paper.

Electronics Fetish Electronics Fetish from "American Psycho". Electronics Fetish Technical Catalog Bateman lists televisions, VCRs, audio equipment, phones, and remotes with obsessive precision.

Electronics Fetish from "American Psycho". Electronics Fetish Technical Catalog Bateman lists televisions, VCRs, audio equipment, phones, and remotes with obsessive precision.

Electronics Fetish Technical Catalog Bateman lists televisions, VCRs, audio equipment, phones, and remotes with obsessive precision. Control Fantasy Machines promise order while his mind becomes less governable. Significance Technology provides the appearance of mastery without delivering meaning.

Surface Replacement Surface Replacement from "American Psycho". Surface Replacement Interior Renewal Bateman replaces paintings, furniture, electronics, and furnishings after violence has contaminated his apartment.

Surface Replacement from "American Psycho". Surface Replacement Interior Renewal Bateman replaces paintings, furniture, electronics, and furnishings after violence has contaminated his apartment.

Surface Replacement Interior Renewal Bateman replaces paintings, furniture, electronics, and furnishings after violence has contaminated his apartment. Erasure Ritual New objects cover stains without resolving the events beneath them. Significance Consumption becomes a method of denying memory rather than expressing taste.

early April

April through May

late spring

mid-summer

October