Christian Bale is most famous for his role as the Dark Knight in Nolan’s trilogy, making his mark with his gruffly “Where Is Shes.” A role he’s less known for, however, is Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. In this novel-inspired movie, Bale’s day job is in investment banking company with a business card envy. At night, he’s a more colorful character – a drunk, cokehead, narcissistic diner, and often psychopathic killer.
The movie pokes fun at the yuppies-consumer culture of the 90s, where Bateman and his fellow investment bankers are nearly identical, from appearance to taste to, believe it or not, the font of their business card. Bateman, however, is special : While there is an idea of who this Patrick Bateman is, it is all a facade he puts up to fit into his surrounding.
What does this say about our own representation on digital media? Are we putting on makeup and trying to give a curious employer or friend a sense of warmth and flesh through our words, videos, and pictures? Or is our digital presence yet another way to hide who we truly are and a tool to maintain a fake facade, hiding whatever less-than-popular (or using an outdated term, “personal,”) lives.