Patrick Bateman of American Psycho vs. Tyler Durden of Fight Club

Patrick Bateman, the main character from the movie American Psycho resembles Jack, the main character from the movie Fight Club.

Both are disillusioned/fed up with mainstream Americanism. Both are crazy. Both are self-absorbed. Both are fully aware of God and yet choose to reject Him.

The differ in how they respond to their disillusionment, though these responses are still basically the same. Jack flaunts his imperfections while Bateman tries to pass himself off as perfect. Either way, on the inside they both still feel dead to the world.

Both lash out violently: Jack against himself, Bateman against other people. Neither one feels remorse when they sacrifice other people's lives for their little whims.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice Article. I can actually see the similarities. I couldn't take American Pyscho seriously at all but it was funny whereas Fight Club did have a nitty gritty real type feel even though the plot might have been a little shakey.

Lucy V said...

Fair comments on these movies, like this site!

Do you think that Bateman could be lost inside his own "mind movie" in the film (hence him drawing killing the prostitute on the napkin whilst *trying* to break up with Eveyn ie. it never happened)?

Yet I took it as literal in the book and can see why people did in the film too, though I think there is room for argument. What do you reckon?

Mercury Muncher said...

Such comparison just BEGS the question "who would win in a fight, and would the outcome be different if they were given chainsaws?"

Pat R said...

Lucy, i'd say American Psycho the movie (don't know about the book) seems to be deliberately enigmatic, which is relatively easy in any "crazy guy" movie.

in his mind or real? after seeing it only one time, i'd say it could go either way

Pat R said...

chris, your right, its so obvious now that you mention it!

Alexandra Eastburn & William Bevan said...

thank patrick! This is an interesting place too!

Jeb said...

Thanks for posting that little article. I can really see the similarites now! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

meh. totally different egos if you ask me.

judging from american psycho, the movie, christian bale is nowhere as developed as the Tyler/Jack relationship.

Also Bale (his name is forgettable/I don't care) cares and is obsessed with materialism (see business cards) whereas Durden/Jack strive to rid themselves of societal consumerism. It's nihilistic, gen-x, existentialist. Durden would kick Bale's ass if he ever saw him in real life.

Christian Bale is a pansy compared to Tyler !

Anonymous said...

I really don't think this is a legitimate comparison. This is kind of grasping at straws between two antagonists. Tyler Durden did care about other people in his pursuit of his goals (in fact, his goals were centered around helping the world). He had direction, focus, and purpose in his ventures. Patrick Bateman had none of these, really. American Psycho, in fact, was just a giant criticism of the "masters of industry" in the '80s, being able to flaunt their powers as much as possible without consequence. The major difference I see between the two would be capitalist ideals vs. socialist ideals. But that's a bit of a stretch, because Tyler Durden was more of an Anarcho-Primitivist than a socialist. Overall, I don't think this is a legitimate comparison.