In 1990, when the book American Psycho by author Bret Eastin Ellis was struggling to find a release against waves of protest from several socio-political blocs in the United States, I was just entering high school, and while I'd love to say I was on the front line of some political movement, I was not.  By the films release in 2000, the immediacy of communication via the emerging internet had somewhat blunted the ability of a work of fiction to garner the same type of pushback, but that didn't mean that society had completely forgotten their collective rejection of the material, making this one of the last films (along with Rob Zombie's first pair of films) that I recall having the sort of resistance that was common in terms of releasing movies in the 20th century, with it's unique set of valves and gatekeepers that had traditionally worked to maintain some control over what people were exposed to or allowed to think.  

Now, nearly 20 years from the release of the film, and having seen American Psycho receive new life in the form of a meme culture movement as well as a musical stage production, it seems that American Psycho may have indeed been rightfully analyzed closely for it's socio-political resonance, even if the initial decisions to attempt to squelch it entirely have fallen by the wayside of history.  Indeed, one might suggest that the resistance itself amplified it's signal to a degree that it's become a cultural touchstone when simply ignoring it may have led it down the path of most art, to be forgotten in time but that's a different speculation entirely.

Cheers!

Shonny Constant

11/23/2019

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 Cover art for this episode by Crystal Mielcarek!  Find more of her work on Facebook, Instagram, or Smushbox.net