“Abandon All Hope” - consumerism and loss of identity in Bret Easton Ellis’s "American Psycho" as an example of blank fiction

Table of Contents

0 Introduction

1 Blank Fiction

1.1 A new direction of culture and literature

1.1.1 Blank Fiction and Postmodernism: attempts to classify a new literary movement

1.1.2 Fiction within a cultural context: Consumer Culture as a defining factor of Blank Fiction

1.2 American Psycho as Blank Fiction

2 Consumer Culture in Literature – A Recent Development?

3 Consumerism and Loss of Identity

3.1 Belongingness or: Trying to Fit In

3.1.1 Labels

3.1.1.1 Fashion

3.1.1.2 Otherness

3.1.1.3 Looks

3.1.1.4 Narcissism

3.1.1.5 Choice: Shopping and Accumulation

3.1.2 Food and Restaurants

3.1.3 Drugs and Drinks

3.1.4 Producer or Product?

3.2 Reality

3.2.1 Narrator Reliability

3.2.1.1 Violence

3.2.1.2 Voice

3.2.1.2.1 Changes in Tense and Point of View

3.2.1.2.2 Music

3.2.2 Media

3.3 “This is not an Exit”

3.3.1 Circularity

3.3.2 “Abandon all Hope”

3.3.2.1 Values

3.3.3.2 History. Or: Past, Present, Future

4 Conclusion

Objectives and Topics

This paper examines the correlation between consumer culture and the erosion of personal identity in Bret Easton Ellis’s novel American Psycho, categorizing it within the literary movement of "Blank Fiction." The study explores how the protagonist’s immersion in a consumerist society leads to a total collapse of individuality, using F. Scott Fitzgerald's modernist works as a comparative framework to highlight the specific nature of this postmodern deterioration.

• Analysis of "Blank Fiction" as a literary movement rooted in postmodernism.
• The symbiotic relationship between commodified language and the subject.
• Comparative study of consumer culture in Modernism vs. Blank Fiction.
• The impact of mass media, labels, and status symbols on self-identity.
• The blurring of reality and the desensitization toward violence.

Excerpt from the Book

Summary of Chapters

0 Introduction: Introduces the novel as a work of "Blank Fiction" and outlines the core argument regarding the critique of consumer culture and the resulting loss of identity.

1 Blank Fiction: Defines the literary movement of "Blank Fiction" within the context of postmodernism and discusses the influence of 1980s consumer culture on literature.

2 Consumer Culture in Literature – A Recent Development?: Compares the treatment of consumerism in modernist works by F. Scott Fitzgerald with the more extreme, totalizing immersion found in Blank Fiction.

3 Consumerism and Loss of Identity: Analyzes how the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, loses his identity through the compulsive need for status symbols, labels, and the commodification of his own self and those around him.

4 Conclusion: Summarizes the findings, asserting that Bateman's loss of identity is a direct consequence of a culture defined entirely by surface, where redemption and escape are impossible.

Keywords

American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis, Blank Fiction, Consumer Culture, Loss of Identity, Postmodernism, Patrick Bateman, Commodification, Consumerism, Materialism, Yuppie, Status Symbols, Narrative Reliability, Modernism, 1980s.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary focus of this academic work?

The paper focuses on the effects of 1980s consumer culture on personal identity as portrayed in Bret Easton Ellis’s novel American Psycho, categorizing it as "Blank Fiction."

What are the central thematic fields explored?

The central themes include the relationship between the individual and consumer goods, the loss of individual identity, the influence of media, and the specific socio-cultural environment of the 1980s.

What is the main research question or goal?

The goal is to demonstrate how Patrick Bateman’s existence is defined solely by consumption, leading to a complete erosion of his self and a detachment from reality.

Which scientific methods are employed?

The author uses a literary analysis approach, employing comparative studies between Blank Fiction and Modernist literature (specifically F. Scott Fitzgerald) and incorporating cultural theory.

What is addressed in the main body of the work?

The main body examines the role of labels, the obsession with looks and status, the failure to distinguish between persons and products, and the circular, hopeless structure of the protagonist's life.

Which keywords best characterize this research?

Key terms include Blank Fiction, Consumer Culture, Loss of Identity, Postmodernism, Commodification, and Yuppie-culture.

How does the author define the "Blank" in Blank Fiction?

The author uses "Blank" to describe an emptiness created by consumer culture, where the characters are defined entirely by superficial, external markers rather than an inner self.

Why is F. Scott Fitzgerald used as a point of comparison?

Fitzgerald’s modernist novels provide a contrast to illustrate how consumerism has shifted from being a "prop" or status symbol to becoming a total environment that consumes the subject itself.

How is the narrator’s reliability assessed?

The narrator, Patrick Bateman, is considered extremely unreliable because he loses touch with reality, confuses identities, and provides a narrative stream that mirrors his own fragmented, consumer-driven insanity.