American Psycho Election 2016 Summary

1598 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of the media in politics

American Psycho, Election 2016, and the Entropy of the American Dream

The ‘80’s described in the book were a time of excess, immorality, and sloth. They were also significantly a time when the American Dream, as originally described was one of hardwork and charismatic patriotism, changed to one of excess and moral competition. In this, the human persona became more animalistic; so begins this discourse with a genius line from the main character of American Psycho, Patrick Bateman, “There wasn't a clear, identifiable emotion within me, except for greed and, possibly, total disgust. I had all the characteristics of a human being -- flesh, blood, skin, hair -- but my depersonalisation was so intense, had gone so deep, that the normal ability …show more content…

Politicians are people, that today, one thinks of as automatically fitting these requirements. Election 2016, is only in May, and already, candidates are insulting each other as if it was late October in election season. To begin with, the primary convention began with the infamous Trump speech where he insulted a lot of people. Then, Trump insulted veterans, Sen. John McCain imparticular. He said he likes people who “haven’t been captured.” Normally, a GOP candidate would not insult a GOP senator that isn’t even running for President. This behavior was animalistic. As referenced by Mark Cuban, about the 2016 primary season, he said, “I think it just shows how tribal the United States has become. I don’t even think we’re partisan anymore; I think we’re tribal. And Donald has got that whole ‘what about me’ tribe running behind him and he’s excited them to come out and vote for him.” This tribal behavior continued as Trump insulted a disable reporter and literally everybody he didn’t like. However, this behavior in politics isn’t new, it’s just that Trump attached these insults directly to himself. For example, in the 2000 GOP Primary Season, future President George W. Bush’s campaign spread a rumor that Sen. John McCain had fathered an illegitimate child. In the 2008 Dem Primary Season, former Sen. Hillary Clinton accused future President Barack Obama of supporting drug use, like marijuana. Clinton …show more content…

Is this because of Donald Trump? Mark Cuban thinks so, “Donald Trump is going to run the Seinfeld campaign—it’s going to be the campaign about nothing.” Transitively, Donald Trump, running the Seinfeld campaign is also running the American Psycho campaign. As evidenced by the fact that Trump won his party’s nomination and is leading in the new Rasmussen Poll by 5 points against Former First Lady Hillary Clinton, the American people want a political outsider and someone who, as quoted by Gov. Chris Christie “tells it like it is.” Who besides Trump fits these requirements, the answer: Patrick

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of How American Politics Went Insane

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    Roach’s concern is that the American public has lost faith in the traditional system and as a response the American public has begun to find favoritism in charismatic individuals who have little or no experience working in the political arena. Ideas and messages similar to Donald Trump’s declaration and promise to “drain the swamp” begins

    Read More

  • Bernie Movie Analysis

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie Bernie is true story of a murder committed in Carthage, Texas in 1996. What set this crime apart from other murders was the reaction of the citizens. Bernie Tiede shot and killed Marjorie Nugent in November 1996. The people of Carthage were more worried about Bernie’s fate than his act of murdering Marjorie.

    Read More

  • Abnormal Behavior In American Psycho

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the film, American Psycho, Patrick Bateman was a wealthy investment banker who also happened to be a serial killer. He was highly intelligent and was charming which attracted many of the women who came his way. Unlike most people in the world, he lived in constant pain. He was rarely happy with himself, and also hated everyone around him. He felt that he needed to inflict his pain on others in violent ways. He always had something disgusting to say such as, “I like to dissect girls; I am utterly insane.” It is outside of the norm to speak in this way, therefore he would be considered deviant. He displayed feelings of distress as he became frustrated very easily with himself and others. Everything

    Read More

  • From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry by Justin Pearson

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Justin Pearson's memoir, From the Graveyard of the arousal Industry, he recounts the events that occured from his early years of adolesence to the latter years of his adulthood telling the story of his unforgiving and candid life. Set in the late 1970s "Punk" rock era, From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry offers a valuable perspective about the role culture takes in our lives, how we interact with it and how it differs from ideology.

    Read More

  • Symbols and Symbolism in Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ken Kesey presents his masterpiece, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, with popular culture symbolism of the 1960s. This strategy helps paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind. Music and cartoons of the times are often referred to in the novel. These help to exaggerate the characters and the state of the mental institution.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Harrison Bergeron

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” was created during the time frame of the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War and encompasses the definition of the word satire. Though the story itself is set in the distant future, the year 2081, one can see the influence of the past in this dark satirical portrayal of an American society. The author satirizes the very elements he was exposed to in his own environment and lifetime. Vonnegut mocks forced ideas of equality, power structures, and oppression, ideas that were prevalent and thriving in the atmosphere of his time of writing “Harrison Bergeron”.

    Read More

  • Slaughterhouse Five American Dream Analysis

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    When most people were young, he or she would sit by the window and wonder off imagining of what their future would hold. Most people have the same vision called the American Dream. The American Dream is a façade that money is entirety and can make a person feel content. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, that American Dream is portrayed through the character Billy Pilgrim. According to Vonnegut, “He married his fiancée, finished his education, and was set up in Ilium by his father-in-law. Ilium is a particularly good city for optometrists because General Forge and Foundry Company is there. Every employee is required to own a pair of safety glasses, and to wear them in areas where manufacturing is going on” (24). According to society, Billy Pilgrim would be considered a successful individual, for his life was set up for him by family, including a well-paying job and a family. Although the American Dream seems like the perfect life, money truly cannot buy anyone’s happiness. Billy was a prime example of someone who had it all but was still struggling to accept his life as a whole...

    Read More

  • The Lineages of Conformity in Mailer’s The White Negro: Superficial Reflections on the Hipster”

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most notable to me in “The White Negro” is Mailer’s presentation of the hipster as a psychopath. Disillusioned by the approaching and seemingly inevitable apocalypse (with two world wars already in the back pocket, and in the midst of the Cold War, it was nearly impossible not to anticipate some sort of violent end), Mailer identified Hipsters as those rejecting conformism and seeking immediate gratification. He predicts that the 1960’s will bring about "a time of violence, new hysteria, confusion, and rebellion...likely to replace the time of conformity". (Mailer)

    Read More

  • Kurt Vonnegut Mentality Analysis

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    ranged against Western ideals of capitalism and individualism. And on the other hand, it was the pre-dawn of the Age of Aquarius, an era in which competitiveness and superiority were scorned, and where incidents occurred such as forcing a former beauty queen to wear granny-glasses, shear off her hair, and dress shapelessly before she could be accepted into a commune (The Short Fiction of Kurt Vonnegut, 81-82).”

    Read More

  • Donald Trump Twitter Rhetorical Analysis

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The presidential campaign has simply become another post in the collective twitter feed of America, intertwined with the constant flow of hash-tagged selfies and irrelevant retweets. As I previously mentioned, social media has changed the way in which politicians communicate with voters, but it’s doing more than that alone. It has changed what our nation wants and expects from its prospective leaders. It seems as though now a candidate’s personality is valued over their policy, but it is a particular type of personality that seems to attract the attention of the average Twitter

    Read More

  • The American President -a movie review

    578 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American President is a romantic comedy that takes place in the White House during primary season. The president is hoping to be reelected and to pass two bills, one on gun control and one on fuel restrictions. During this movie, the president meets Sydney, a lobbyist, and goes out with her, and because of this he takes a hit on his ratings. The American President shows many different themes covered in politics and government 101, these themes are the rolls of the media, polls, primaries and elections, and the process of introducing a bill to congress. This movie also shows the relationship between the executive branch and the legislative branch while detailing the relationship the president has with interest groups, and his White House staff. While covering all this the movie The American President shines a positive light on politicians, this movie showed politicians having a genuine concern in human life and truly wanting to improve life. This movie wasn't all optimism though, it also criticized some politicians for muckraking and it criticized the media and the American public for thinking that the private lives of politicians is their business.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Film Psycho

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film Psycho, details the story of a woman by the name of Marion Crane, as played by Janet Leigh. The film starts of a with a bedroom scene where Marion starts to discuss her future with her lover Sam. After her brief encounter with Sam, she returns to her work where she comes into contact with $40,000 in cash. With possession of such a large sum of money, Marion runs off with the money; it's implied that she wishes to run away with Sam and the money so they can start fresh. While on the road, she stops at a motel which becomes the scene of her murder and also the scene that will be explored in greater deal. However, after running away with the money, private investigators are hired to track her down to avoid having to involve police. The investigators find her far too late and find and arrest a psychotic man who lives as the memory of his controlling mother.

    Read More

  • Patrick Bateman's Vanity In American Psycho

    217 Words  | 1 Pages

    In American Psycho, A handsome urban professional named Patrick Bateman who lived in New York City in 1987.

    Read More

  • Why Is Billy Pilgrim Insane

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Slaughterhouse-Five” is an anti-war novel. It describes a flesh-and-blood world. Main character is Billy Pilgrim, he is a time traveler in this book, his first name Billy is from the greatest novelist in the USA in 19 century’s novel “Billy Budd” ; and his last name is from “The Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan. Differently, the main character in “The Pilgrim’s Progress” ’s traveling has meaning and discovering, Billy Pilgrim’s traveling just has violence and escape. In the novel “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut ’s main character, Billy Pilgrim is sane and his time travel is half in his mind half is real. He is looked so innocent and weakness, there is a sentence which is spoken by Billy Pilgrim “So it goes.” (2) This quotation shows that a poignant sense of helplessness.

    Read More

  • American Psycho

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    Entrails torn from the body with bare hands, eyes gouged out with razor blades, battery cables, rats borrowing inside the human body, power drills to the face, cannibalism, credit cards, business cards, Dorsia, Testoni, Armani, Wall Street; all of these things are Patrick Bateman’s world. The only difference between Bateman and anybody else is what is repulsive to Bateman and what is repulsive to the rest of the world. Bateman has great interest in the upper class life, fashions, and social existence, but at the same time he is, at times, sickened by the constant struggle to be one up on everybody else. On the other hand Bateman’s nightlife reveals a side of him never seen during the day. Bateman is relaxed, impulsive, and confident while torturing and killing. He doesn’t have to worry about being better than anyone else. The only competition he has is his last victim. Torture and murder are the two true loves of Patrick Bateman.

    Read More

More about American Psycho Election 2016 Summary

Open Document