Painful Lust: Status and Consumerism in American Psycho

Abstract

In a world of ever-changing and material progress, the pursuit of comfort and convenience leads humanity to produce and consume more and more. However, the ideal scenario is never reached because commodities, goods and services are quickly replaced by updated versions of themselves. This process provokes an anxious reaction in the participating actors, leaving them stuck in a world of lust, satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In this paper, this process is analyzed in the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Depicting the 1980s New York City yuppie generation, the novel offers an interesting and thoughtful insight of a consumerist mindset. This analysis takes into consideration the character´s perceptions, with a focus on the goods, clothing and social position of the ones inside this setting. The main theoretical premise behind the analysis is taken from de Botton’s studies of status anxiety. We conclude that luxury is the product of an established capitalist ethos.

Keywords

• Status
• Consumerism
• Violence
• Capitalism
• North American Literature