The film American Psycho has been described as pornographic and extremely misogynistic. If you have intention of seeing this brutal film, do not read any further.

Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) is wealthy, his father 'practically owns the company,' in the words of his fiance (whom he detests). I formulated the theory a number of months back that the wealthy are not happy with their wealth. Sure, they may believe that it is their duty in life to make more money, and they most likely believe that they are happy; but it is my opinion that they are not. They can go anywhere, do anything - life becomes boring and mundane.

That was, in essence, what American Psycho was about.

Patrick Bateman was bored with his wealth. He didn't find pleasure in anything other than killing people - primarily the prostitutes with whom he would engage in a Ménage à trois. He drove himself to madness.

Contrary to the title, which implies Bateman to be a psychopath, my diagnosis is that he is in actuality a sociopath.

A psychopath is born that way. They cannot help themselves. They can have a fairly normal childhood, but they lack emotion and empathy.

A sociopath, however, is not born that way. With the proper upbringing it is quite unlikely that he would have ever felt the need to kill. They, too, are cold and emotionless. There is a scene in the film where he says the following:

"I have all the characteristics of a human being: blood, flesh, skin, hair; but not a single, clear, identifiable emotion, except for greed and disgust. Something horrible is happening inside of me and I don't know why. My nightly bloodlust has overflown into my days. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip."

Sociopathy is believed to have a number of causes: poor parenting, poverty, etc. But I believe that 'wealth' should be added to the list, right up there with poverty.