The Homeless Targets

American Psycho

This flow traces Bateman's encounters with homeless people from casual contempt to ritualized violence and the persistence of their presence afterward.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Street Counting Street Counting from "American Psycho". Street Counting Urban Inventory Bateman and Price count homeless people as they move through Manhattan.

Street Counting from "American Psycho". Street Counting Urban Inventory Bateman and Price count homeless people as they move through Manhattan.

Street Counting Urban Inventory Bateman and Price count homeless people as they move through Manhattan. Moral Distance The beggars are treated as scenery, statistics, or aesthetic defects. Significance The city teaches Bateman to see suffering without acknowledging persons.

Al Encounter Al Encounter from "American Psycho". Al Encounter False Charity Bateman approaches Al with money, food, and career advice while withholding actual help.

Al Encounter from "American Psycho". Al Encounter False Charity Bateman approaches Al with money, food, and career advice while withholding actual help.

Al Encounter False Charity Bateman approaches Al with money, food, and career advice while withholding actual help. Cruel Lecture He converts poverty into a moral failure and himself into a judge. Significance The scene exposes the violence already contained in charitable performance.

Al's Mutilation Al's Mutilation from "American Psycho". Al's Mutilation Sudden Assault Bateman blinds and stabs Al, then injures his dog Gizmo.

Al's Mutilation Sudden Assault Bateman blinds and stabs Al, then injures his dog Gizmo. Ritual Degradation The attack follows a performance of sympathy and ends with a symbolic coin. Significance Compassion is shown as another mask that can be removed at will.

Blind Veteran Return Blind Veteran Return from "American Psycho". Blind Veteran Return Reappearance Bateman encounters the blinded beggar again, now displaying a sign identifying him as a Vietnam veteran.

Blind Veteran Return from "American Psycho". Blind Veteran Return Reappearance Bateman encounters the blinded beggar again, now displaying a sign identifying him as a Vietnam veteran.

Blind Veteran Return Reappearance Bateman encounters the blinded beggar again, now displaying a sign identifying him as a Vietnam veteran. Recognition The victim recognizes danger even though Bateman denies responsibility. Significance The returned body undermines Bateman's fantasy that violence disappears after the act.

Street Persistence Street Persistence from "American Psycho". Street Persistence Unchanged City Beggars continue to occupy sidewalks, churches, storefronts, and restaurant entrances.

Street Persistence from "American Psycho". Street Persistence Unchanged City Beggars continue to occupy sidewalks, churches, storefronts, and restaurant entrances.

Street Persistence Unchanged City Beggars continue to occupy sidewalks, churches, storefronts, and restaurant entrances. Failed Erasure Bateman's attacks do not alter the social conditions that produce them. Significance The homeless remain the city's unwanted memory of what privilege refuses to see.

April Fools' Day

late summer

same night

Valentine's Day season

late winter