A2 Textual Analysis of the horror thriller film American Psycho.

2. Camera
In the opening shot we have a close up of a company card which is effective in giving the audience straight away the fact that the
character is in business , he is the vice president and that he has a good job and doing well for himself , it is typical in all movie
trailers to give something away about a character so this isn’t unknown.
In the next sequence of shots we have a close up of the male character who is accompanied by a female , we see him a lot higher up
in the camera over the female as if he is looking down on her which suggests male dominance over females during the 1980s which
is the setting of the film.
We have a mid angle shot and medium shot of the male character again looking over a female character as she is sitting in the bath
and he is outside of it looking down on her again , this continues to convey the idea of male dominance over females but maybe
suggesting something about his character , that he denounces girls and mistreats them , as he believes he is a higher power , which
most people will be familiar with as men had much more authority over girls then than they do now , also this fits the typical
convention of males having superiority over females in all films but horror films is most typical , as a male character is typically more
powerful therefore best fits a stereotypical strong villain.
There is an over the shoulder shot over the male character showing him opening a draw which gives the audience the idea that the
character is practical as he has many utensils like scissors and knives which connote that he is a masculine character.
A medium close up is used again to show the male character , he is centre frame also connoting that he is an important character
and a dominant character.

3. Mise-en-scene
Costume: In the opening three shots we see the male character wearing a suit which connotes his wealth and authority as a
leading businessman which is made clear with the close up of his business card in the opening shot , the costume for a lot of
women shown in the trailer are barely clothed which connote the idea of maybe prostitutes as there are two almost naked
characters in one shot , this suggests that the male character is wealthy as he can afford for two prostitutes instead of one and
also shows his treatment of women that maybe all they are used for is sex.
Props: The first prop used is a business card which is shown with a close up , we see key details like his name , business and role
in the company which connotes his wealth as he is a vice-president. Also the prop of headphones also suggests his wealth as in
the 80s they were rare as only the upper class of people could afford this type of technology. The wine glasses connote that he is
sophisticated and that again , he is wealthy as wine is typical of an upper class household. A chainsaw is used and held by the
male character which is a very lethal weapon and usually typical with murderers and psychopaths and the character using it
connotes his evil character and that he is a psychopath.
Lighting: The lighting in the trailer begins with high key lighting which is typical as the trailer starts off slowly and trailers usually
begin by giving the audience some background information and at about halfway we will see the disruption of the characters ,
however after this part the lighting is still high key lighting with fade to black sequences often used between shots which can
signify that that the film isn’t all horror as the trailer doesn’t fit the typical horror trailer convention of heavily used low key
lighting.
Setting: The setting is a business setting which is clear as we see a desk, and a window looking out onto other buildings in the
city which looks like New York, a typical area in which business takes place, also the expensive looking apartment shows that the
character is in good money and likes to spend his money.

4. Editing
The trailer starts with a fast pace as there are multiple shots that are quickly combined together which attracts an audience
straight away as it suggests that the film is fast and the action begins straight away which is very appealing to an audience.
We then see multiple still shots that are from the point of view from a camera lens which shows sexual activities between
the main male character and two females suggesting the male characters love of sex and how he treats women as sex
objects.
A fade to black is used after to suggest the turning point as the audience is aware something bad is going to happen as black
signifies horror and darkness so in the next shots an audience is expecting death and horror , this fade to black is used often
afterwards instead of typical fast cuts which creates an effect as it builds up tension making a pause between shots.

5. Sound
The sound begins with both non diagetic and diagetic sound as we have the background non diagetic sound which has a piano
playing to begin with then a high pitched sound, the diagetic sound is dialogue where the main character is being
complimented for his business card, the sound continues up to about 30 seconds, when the sound drowns out which could
suggest the disruption stage in the trailer or the turning point.
Emphasis on the dialogue is used after as we hear the narrative of the character telling you about himself, he then says
“something bad will happen” and then the sound of drumming begins with a high pace, suggesting the idea of something bad
happening linking in with the narrative.
The sound is the same throughout and goes against the typical horror convention as scary ambient music is used usually but
this type of music could suggest that the movie is a horror but not particularly scary as the word psycho doesn’t always connote
horror but a person with mental health problems.

6. Conventions
Todorov’s theory: This theory is used as we begin with the equilibrium stage as we gain an idea that the main character Patrick
Bateman is a wealthy business-man and vice president of a company and we see him with an attractive female in the second
shot , the disruption stage is when we see the character running at somebody with a chainsaw and the next stage , recognition
of disruption is when we see the character hit somebody with an axe showing he has murdered somebody , the next two
stages; attempt to repair and new equilibrium are not shown as it is a trailer and they don’t want to give anything away.
Character Types: His character types hypothesis is clear in the trailer as we have a clear villain as he is shown murdering
somebody who isn’t armed and we then have a lot of princess characters as a lot of females are shown in the trailer to
connote the main characters love of girls and sex.
Propp’s theory: The only character types shown are a clear villain which is extremely typical in horror movies, as they install
fear into the audience, also princess character’s used by numerous female characters but the theory isn’t accurately portrayed
as we don’t have all 8 character types for two reasons as firstly it is rare to have all of these character types in horror movies as
there isn’t always a hero as horror movies most notable characters are villains as they set the mood of the film, and it is a
trailer so it is hard to get all 8 character types across in such a short time but I don’t believe the film has many of the character
types from what I have seen, as a hero character for example is typically the main character and therefore the trailer being
centered around them and the villain but there wasn’t so a hero character isn’t portrayed.
Binary Opposition: This theory reflects the idea that two characters are complete opposites, this is showed in the trailer
multiple times as the dominant male character is shown with various females in which he is shown as an opposing figure as his
attitude towards females is shown as treating them like objects whereas the female characters are shown as being the
opposite which is to fulfill the males needs and they aren’t shown mistreating people therefore are extremely different. Also
the male character is shown as a binary opposite in himself as in some shots he is shown as a psychotic killer and in others he
is shown as a calm businessman, this is typical of people with Schizophrenia.

7. This opening shot shows a business card
which puts an emphasis on business and it
gives you an idea of a character as we see
his name ‘Patrick Bateman’ and that he is a
vice president which suggests he is wealthy
and has a high prestige in his company.
Lastly the card is central meaning it is the
thing the director wants the audience to
focus on also relating with the dark
background which is dull.
In this medium close up we see a male and
female character, the male is shown
looking over her which shows his authority
over her and maybe his treatment of
women that he images himself being
better than them, also the female
character is more central in the shot which
gives her more significance because she is
speaking but the male still gets in the shot
which shows the importance of the male
character.
In this medium shot we see the same male
character, who is relaxing on an expensive
looking sofa and with the blinds and the
window it looks like he is at work which
maybe shows the authority he has that he
can relax in his office as his feet being up
on the sofa suggests it belongs to him, the
sunglasses indoors with the cigarette
makes the character look like a villain as
his face is barely visible and his body
language suggests he doesn’t do much and
a hero character would be shown on their
feet. The darkness on his face gives the
idea that he is a villain as black is typical of
death and evil, which are traits of a villain.

8. Here we see the male character looking at
himself in the mirror, tensing suggesting
that he loves himself and admires his looks,
the leg on his shoulder suggests that he is
having sex and him being on top of the
female character again connoting his
ongoing authority shown over female
characters, also the character looking at
himself suggests that he is more into
himself than the female character which he
clearly has no interest in suggesting it may
be a one night stand which connotes his
mistreatment of women, treating them as
sex objects.
Here we see what looks like a meeting using
an eyeline match as the camera is shown on
the same level as the characters maybe it
being the point of view of somebody. Two
sides of this shot are shown, we see the
right side where the blinds are open
suggesting that the male character to the
right has a clear personality and character,
whereas on the left, the dominant male
character in the trailer is on the left where
the blinds are shut which could suggest that
his character is unknown and nobody
knows his true character.
In this shot we see the male character
again holding a chainsaw with the facial
expression which makes him look
aggressive, connoting his evil intentions
with the chainsaw, also this is obvious as
he is indoors with a chainsaw and you
would typically be outdoors with this sort
of equipment as that is where it is useful,
the character is naked on the top half
which suggests the idea of sex which he
was doing in a previous sequence.

9. In this shot we see the male character
again, shown just in front of the blinds
which shows tall building again connoting
the idea of business also with his attire
which is smart with a shirt and tie, the
colour blue of his shirt suggests that the
character is calm, which is unusual as the
previous sequence shows him holding a
chainsaw indoors and his evil intentions so
this could signify his split personality which
he may have as it is typical in horror
movies.
Here we see a shot reverse shot sequence between the predominant male character who
is clearly a key character at this point as he is in almost every shot, and the female
character, the setting in the background looks like a club of some sort which suggests the
male characters lifestyle which is going out and meeting women, which is already clear as
he is shown with multiple women within the trailer, also the female is attractive and
blonde which may connote the male characters type which is only extremely attractive
women or blondes as all women he has been seen with have been blonde which must
signify his love of blonde women or the stereotype that their stupid as he is shown
walking all over them and treating them like sex objects.