Monsters on Wall Street: How American Psycho (1991) Reflected the Treatment of Minorities in Reagan’s America

Few books have proved as controversial as American Psycho, and certainly few have painted such a devastating picture of a nation built upon capitalism. But whilst the book is certainly a ‘black hearted satire on the terrible power of money’, it also highlights the deeply immoral perceptions of sexual and ethnic minorities in Reagan’s America – and how money, toxic masculinity and Reaganomics led to the death of millions.

American Psycho is nothing if not infamous – the narrative comprises of the rambling inner-monologue of Patrick Bateman, a Wall Street investment banker who also happens to be a violent, disturbed psychopath. The book is notorious for being so violent, so flagrantly gruesome, that in many parts of the world it can only be sold in shrink-wrapped plastic. But American Psycho is also one of modern literature's most studied and debated works. The novel, on a surface level, is a deeply moralistic criticism of late stage capitalism. Though some critics have dubbed Patrick Bateman to be ‘charming’, I would instead suggest that all these characters – Bateman in particular – are unified in how thoroughly unlikable they are. These characters, though darkly comic (perhaps the books greatest achievement – who could of though a book detailing brutal torture and dismemberment could be so funny?) are bigoted, self-centred, shallow and desperate. A sympathetic portrayal of corporate America this is certainly not -hence why the novel cannot be misinterpreted as anything other than a seething criticism of American capitalism. The novel is underpinned by the ever-present stench of late stage capitalism, neo-liberalism and selfish individualism. These are the ideologies that allow Bateman to act with such cruelty. If capitalism is the exploitation of the bodies of the lower classes though enforced labour for financial gain, then rape, torture and murder for base sexual gratification is the extreme and inevitable conclusion of such an ideology – or at least, this is what the novel seems to suggest.

Throughout the novel, the intrinsic link between sex, power, money and violence is constantly reinforced. What unifies almost all of Bateman’s transgressions is that he emasculates all his victims, or at least his perception of his victims is coloured by societal stereotypes. Once one views all of Bateman’s victims through this framework a pattern begins to emerge. Bateman's primary targets are homosexual men, homeless (black) men, Asian men and sex workers. What unifies all these targets is a combination of both emasculation and dehumanisation. This is more obvious in his treatment and comments towards gay men and homeless men, as well as his continual use of homophobic and racist slurs. His treatment of Asian men also fits this model if one considers that the behaviour Bateman and his co-workers are displaying is an example of Orientalism – the exotification and ‘Othering’ of Asian people based on a specific set of stereotypes, one example being the casting of Asian men as desexualised and innately feminine.

And it is in his treatment of women that the links between sex, money and power are most evident. American Psycho is often derided as an innately misogynistic book, and though Bateman’s treatment of women is certainly deplorable, it highlights the prevalence of the dehumanisation of women in a patriarchal society, that lies at the intersection of male violence and capitalism. Sex Workers, by definition, trade in sexual acts for money – that is their chosen trade. As a creature of late stage capitalism Bateman has been conditioned not to see individuals, but products to be bought and sold. Sex becomes another meaningless transaction to Bateman, who sees any monetary transaction as a purchase of an object. This social conditioning leading into complete objectification is how Bateman validates his vile delusions: '...and though it does sporadically penetrate how unacceptable some of what I'm doing actually is, I just remind myself that this thing, this girl, this meat, is nothing, is shit...' His complete dehumanisation of these women represents the novels most damning criticism of capitalism. The metaphor is driven home (one might say in Bateman fashion with a sledgehammer) when Bateman begins to literally eat the flesh of his victims – chewing on their intestines, biting off nipples in a literal act of the upper-business class consuming the flesh of the working class.

The only white (presumably) heterosexual men Bateman kills throughout the novel are colleague Paul Owen, a small boy he kills at the zoo and a late nigh saxophone player. The former two examples uphold the emasculate/depersonalise theory. Owen is very drunk when Bateman kills him – he is clueless and defenceless. And the boy is innately emasculated, with children historically being grouped more with women than adult men. The saxophone player does fit into this analysis so comfortably, though as Bateman is faced with possible repercussions for his actions for the first time over this murder (he is chased by the police), it could be suggested that with this crime he seems to overstep a boundary by this world’s bleak and twisted logic. There are numerous examples of Bateman’s toxic masculinity throughout the novel – his obsession with his physique, his worldly possessions and hot and cold treatment of his girlfriend Evelyn all point to a man who has enough money to indulge his most dangerous power fantasies.

However, the social commentary in American Psycho has the potential to go even further, once you begin to unpack what joins all these disparate victims of Bateman, considering the historical context of the time. Late 1980’s America was well within the grip of Reaganomics – the term used to describe a set of legislation and ideologies brought in by US president Ronald Reagan. This was a time of intensely conservative values in America, aimed primarily at the eradication of global communism and the prioritisation of traditional family values. Though Reagan's time in office is often championed for restoring America’s reputation as a financial powerhouse, his reign has also been heavily criticised for backtracking on the strides made towards civil rights throughout the 70’s. And for many of us, Reagan will be most remembered for his handling of the AID’s epidemic.

This is the second post I am writing about popular culture’s response to the AID’s epidemic of the 80’s, and this alone should show to what extent we can use the virus as a framework to explore the ideas underpinning society at the time. The most pertinent discussions around AID’s centre on the ways in which the staunchly right-wing governments in both the US and UK responded to the disease – which is to say they did not,  implementing legislation that disproportionately effected the groups most at risk. This is often used to highlight the inevitability that corporate-orientated societies that prioritise finance will also follow an individualist ideology that neglects the needs of specific groups.  Ronald Reagan did not say HIV or AID’s in public until 1986, yet deaths were being reported as early as 1980. Funding to fight the disease did not start in earnest until even later than this, and this was largely because the disease started to make its way out of the most high-risk groups into mainstream society. If any indication was needed of the position of sexual and ethnic minorities in Reagan’s America, AID’s provides a clear yet grim picture.

American Psycho is not a book about AID’s, but as a book that critiques a society based upon Reaganomics the parallels present themselves. The groups most at risk of infection were gay men, African American communities and sex workers – the 3 groups also most likely to be preyed upon by Patrick Bateman. If Bateman is a symbol of capitalist, corporate America then it makes the most sense that his victims are more likely to belong to the groups corporate America failed the most. It is also useful to note that Bateman’s attacks are gendered – not only does he emasculate his male victims through his use of slurs or insults, but his attacks on women are almost always based in sexual domination (Bethany may be the only woman in the book killed by Bateman who is not brought to his apartment on the pretence of sex – however, she inadvertently emasculates Bateman by dating his college rival, and therefore Bateman’s torture and murder of Bethany is also based in gendered violence and explicitly male power fantasises). As I discussed in a previous post (Fear of Death, Fear of Sex: How Hellraiser (1987) Reflected the Tragedy of a Queer Generation), sex during the AID’s era was recast as an abject act, and for gay men and other minorities specifically, a likely life-threatening act as well. This societal fear of sex, and the aggressive and inflammatory discourse that surrounded it at this time, is reflected in the intersection of sex and violence that we see throughout American Psycho, in particular the distressing scenes in which Bateman tortures hired sex workers.

Of course, there are counterarguments to this reading – Bateman also targets Asian men, who were not at a significantly higher risk of infection (though it could be argued that Bateman’s colleagues display more anti-Asian sentiment than Bateman). It’s also worth noting that Bateman does not target intravenous drug users, the other sub-group most at risk. This can be explained by the central role drugs play in Bateman’s life – he is shown throughout the novel to have a dependency on cocaine and Valium. Both drugs are used to highlight Bateman’s identity as a late 80’s corporate clone – cocaine is used as a symbol both of his moral corruption but also as a symbol of status and wealth, whereas Valium is sued throughout the novel to subtly suggest that Bateman’s collected, and methodical demeanour is largely a façade. As someone who relies on drugs as much as Bateman does, perhaps it would seem strange for him to target drug users specifically for being drug users – Bateman is many things, but he is generally not shown to be a hypocrite.

The only time Bateman provides any kind of contradictory message is in his short monologue in chapter 1. Here, whilst having drinks at Evelyn’s house, he rattles of a list of ‘beliefs’, many of which contradict his actions later in the book. He maintains that America should continue to fight communism world-wide, yet he also professes a belief in finding a cure for AID’s, cracking down on the use of illegal drugs, improving education and making college tuition accessible to the middle classes. This monologue recalls the apathy running rampant at the highest levels of American government. By the late 80’s (when this book is set) progress was being made in fighting the spread of AID’s, the time it had taken for governments to take action showed that the choice was made from a desire to avoid further rioting than out of genuine concern. Bateman says all the right things, but as the book progresses and we become embroiled in his descent into madness, it becomes clear that this series of statements is little more than an example of his ability to speak with a corporate spin

If Bateman represents the apathy of Reagan’s America in chapter 1, his friends and colleagues represent this throughout the entire book. All of Bateman’s friends are essentially clones of himself, also established in chapter 1 when Bateman questions whether his fiance Evelyn would sleep with his colleague Price:

Patrick: He’s rich

Evelyn: Everybody’s rich

Patrick: He’s good looking

Evelyn: Everybody’s good looking, Patrick

Patrick: He has a great body

Evelyn: Everybody has a great body, now

The reader is given a sense that we are in a society which does not champion individuality, essentially ostracizing everyone unable to work within the system. Yet simultaneously, and almost somewhat ironically, everyone within the novel works entirely within their own interests. This innate contradiction is at the heart of corporate individualism – giving up all sense of personal identity to achieve individual success – and it suggests why these characters are also unable to show any compassion or empathy for others, showing an inability to think outside of their own experience. It is this attitude that largely contributed to HIV and AID’s being so deadly throughout the 1980’s, as it affected minority groups that were the recipients of long held prejudices, that the ideologies of Reaganomics helped to resurface. AID’s is referenced a few times throughout the book, and these characters a worryingly uneducated on the disease, claiming that as white heterosexuals they were incapable of being infected even if they were to have unprotected sex with someone who was HIV positive. This is not far removed from popular perceptions at the time, and highlights how sexual and ethnic minorities in America at this time were believed to be innately different from those who made up ‘respectable’ society, and that it is due to this innate weakness that they would succumb to such a disease.

Finally, there is the books setting – New York City, in the late 80’s. This setting alone, the capitalist capital of America, perfectly encapsulates the books disparate themes and ideas. New York city in 1990 was a very different city to New York in 1980. By the 90’s, the sleazy, grotty New York was gentrified, cleaned up and made respectable, largely by people like Patrick Bateman. The two main driving forces for this change? Ronald Reagan (and his push for a ‘return’ to family values) and AID’s, which led to much of New York’s queer and black nightlife to be shut down. The city is a perfect microcosm of American society, being not only a place of big business but also a melting pot of cultures and identities, and therefore perfectly highlights the gulf between the corporate America of the 80’s and 90’s with the more socially progressive New York of the late 60’s and 70’s. New York is a city one moves to in order to pursue your dreams, and Bateman symbolises how toxic this idea had become by the end of Reagan’s tenure as president.

American Psycho is always going to be a highly debated and derided novel, and it’s a shame that a book this moralistic and poignant will continue to be misinterpreted, as much by its fans as its detractors. It is bleak, brutal, savage and angry, but it also has humour and at times even a redemptive point of view. And it also perfectly depicts and then dismantles a country living under regressive and repressive ideologies. There are so many readings one could make of American Psycho, a multitude of different viewpoints that perhaps contradict my interpretation. But all share a common thread in finding Patrick Bateman to be one of literature's most inspired anti-heroes. I simply suggest that this is not only true, but that he is also a direct parable for Ronald Reagan, who for us queers and outsiders will always be remembered for being one of politics most villainous figures, both for the selfishness of his policies and the many, many lives we lost as a result.