Episode 273 - American Psycho

“Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?” Join your favorite TransAtlantic podcasting crew – Ian & Liam (B-Tech Kev & Megs had to return some videocassettes) – as we slick back our hair, slip on the raincoats, and axe our way into our 273rd episode with a deep dive into American Psycho (2000). We’re trading poisoned apples for reservations at Dorsia (try the Sea Urchin Ceviche) as we discuss:

• How American Psycho satirized toxic masculinity, consumer culture, and Wall Street excess with a killer smile.
• Does Patrick Bateman still hold up as a character—or has society caught up with his brand of narcissistic nihilism?
• Is the film’s horror in the violence… or in the soulless perfection?
• How American Psycho explores identity, superficiality, and the slippery slope of sanity.
• Which character we’d most likely be cast as – and who’s definitely the Paul Allen of the group.
• Is American Psycho misunderstood because of its violence, or revered because of how it frames it?
• This film gives us a chance to talk about two concepts we touched on last week: unreliable narrators and what exactly makes a character a protagonist
• Speaking of complaints—what about the other men in Bateman’s world? Are they any better?
• We've got questions about how soundproof the apartments by the park are that they don't hear chainsaws in hallways
• We talk about whether all traditional masculinity is essentially toxic and Liam discusses his need for closure
• Last week one of us made a prediction about the other's likely verdict on the film. Did they pull it off?
• Whether American Psycho is the Best Film Ever.

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