In my opinion, the main character Patrick Batemen simultaneously classifies and mocks what has been defined by present-day culture as the ideal male of society. At the end of the first scene, Bateman peels off a skin care mask while looking in the mirror and tells the audience, “I simply am not there”.
Patrick Bateman does not exist; he is only a shell. Everything that defines him: his clothes, looks, and money, are simply an illusion. Much like Dostoyevsky has written, Patrick Bateman represents the idea that everything that we work for in society is simply a meaningless facade.
Patrick Bateman himself knows he is empty inside; he is a side-effect of the social constructs around him. Since he quantifies his worth through the opinions of others (Rousseau's Amour Propre), the thought of being a social outcast terrifies him. The narrator of Notes From the Underground shares a similar fear; he worries that if no one notices him, perhaps there is no reason for him to exist at all.
At work, when Bateman is outdone by a fellow businessman, he begins to descend into madness. If he can no longer retain his mask of success and superiority, Patrick Bateman the individual will no longer exist. The violence in the film emerges as a byproduct of social pressures and insecurity. With an obsession for himself, Patrick Bateman develops an apathy for others. He enjoys torturing and killing others because it is a release of his daily struggle to maintain appearances. He seeks an outlet for these pressures; therefore, he channels his frustration through the actions that Dostoyevsky describes as "vilely bloodthirsty".
Sure, American Psycho mocks and magnifies social interactions in society, but part of what makes the film so meaningful is that underneath all the exaggeration is a disturbing, irksome truth. How many of us relate to Patrick Bateman? And how many of us wish we could be him? The unsettling idea of a thirst for murder is, as Dostoyevsky might say, one we bury far underground.
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