Chances are if you scrolled through TikTok at any time in this past year, you most likely saw a video using a sound byte from the 2000 movie American Psycho, ironically starring English actor Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman. Whether it was Bateman saying, “I simply am not there,” “Don’t wear that outfit again,” “Did you know I’m utterly insane,” or so many others, Patrick Bateman was everywhere.
There has been a sudden boost in an obsession with all things American Psycho, Patrick Bateman, and Christian Bale. The movie was originally a book written by Bret Easton Ellis and was released in 1991. I watched the movie a few years ago and enjoyed it. I went in thinking it was going to be a crime movie and came out realizing it was a satire, which is lost on most people who watch it. The movie is violent and graphic, but I wasn’t drawn to that aspect. I will be brutally honest when I say I watched it because Christian Bale is hot. I saw a screenshot of the movie on Instagram and saw how attractive he was, and that’s why I watched it, but I ended up really enjoying it. When it started gaining popularity on TikTok, I really did not think anything of it; then I saw the behavior of men towards the movie, and my entire attitude shifted.
American Psycho is what you would call a “film bro” movie. A “film bro movie” is a movie many men love and claim is the pinnacle of cinema. Urban Dictionary has defined a film bro as a “person who views themself as a huge film nerd while having mostly surface level knowledge of movies.” Other “film bro” movies include Fight Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, and more. One of the most common denominators in these movies is the presence of a sigma character. A sigma character is one that is better off alone and identifies as a “lone wolf” and would be the opposite of the alpha character. They think women have nothing to offer and are irrelevant to the world. A growing number of men identify as sigma males, and Patrick Bateman is the embodiment of one, leading to this character’s idolization. This character is a psychopathic murderer who kills people he is jealous of to fulfill some sort of sick desire that he longs for, most of his victims are women, and any man killed is killed because of jealousy. The problem is the movie is a satire, and most people do not realize that. I have seen people think that Batemans erratic, homicidal, and misogynistic behavior is serious and something to look up to. This is extremely alarming and disturbing to see such a large number of young males idolizing a murderer; although fictional, they are excusing his actions. Even Kanye West publicly admitted that he “embodies the role of Patrick Bateman,” which could help explain why his behavior has always been so erratic. He even recreated one of the iconic scenes from the movie for his Yeezy brand. These men are also stunned when they discover that women enjoy the movie. They automatically assume that women “don’t get it” when in reality, more oftentimes than not it is women who realize it is satire and the men who take it seriously.
This brings up Christian Bale, who has risen as the face of ‘sigma males’ which he denounces the “honor” of having. Aside from American Psycho, one of the other number one “film bro sigma male” movies is The Dark Knight, which coincidentally stars Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, who is categorized as guess what? A sigma male. These two roles have cemented Bale in a legacy that he does not want. Bale himself is a rare kind of celebrity. He is not caught up in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, and it was even rumored that at one point in time, he only owned one suit. This may categorize him as a ‘sigma male,’ but I really don’t want to satisfy the “lone wolves” by giving him that title. He has repeatedly discussed how stunned he is at how people react to the character of Patrick Bateman. He has continuously said that he thinks the movie is hilarious and completely ridiculous. In preparation for the film, Bale went to the Wall Street trading floors (Bateman is a stockbroker) to get a feel of their working environment. He told them that he was playing Bateman and was stunned when they told him they loved the character. In disbelief, Bale assumed they were saying it ironically and asked them to clarify, and they were being serious, which said was worrying to him.“CLEARLY, it’s a satire…it is so bloody far-fetched and ridiculous I can’t help but think it is hilarious,” Bale said to GQ. He had no idea the movie’s impact and the cult following it would obtain. Most of these men probably don’t realize that their favorite ‘sigma male’ movie was directed by a woman, Mary Harron, which is ironic due to their women-hating natures. This is yet another reason Bale does not want to be associated with this mindset, as he has been married for twenty-three years, and it is undeniable that he loves his wife. He only started crying in his Oscars acceptance speech when he began to thank her, so needless to say, he is not a woman-hater.
Having established that Bale doesn’t understand the obsession with Bateman and the ‘sigma male’ mindset, it is safe to say that he probably does not enjoy being the face of it. People put Bale on this pedestal and treat him as if he is their God. Listen, I get it; he was very attractive, is a fantastic actor, and can give a funny interview, but the way that I see grown men talking about him and obsessing over him is too much. Someone could post a current photo of him on social media that has nothing to do with his past works, and all of the replies would be flooded with quotes from American Psycho. The most popular being “Let’s see Paul Allen’s card” and “I have to return some video tapes.” It is crazy that twenty-three years on, one movie can have such a huge impact. Bale was fantastic in the movie and was not even nominated for any of the big awards for his performance. He has won one Oscar and two Golden Globes. Yet, people will always associate him with Patrick Bateman, even if they don’t understand the satirical nature of the character. The idolization of characters such as Bateman concerns me and is a bit terrifying. If people continue to look up to characters like this and misconstrue the complex meanings behind them, they will start to act like them, which could cause a lot of problems. This mindset and the ‘sigma male’ community have deified Christian Bale as the ultimate sigma male, and I would not be surprised if any of them would take a bullet for their ‘sigma king.’