The Fear of Freedom in Hyperreality and its Adverse Effect on Identity in Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho

Neoliberal ideology immensely celebrated individual and collective freedom, yet fell short of realizing that freedom itself can sometimes be the cause fear anxiety. In seeking to “liberate” processes capital accumulation, neoliberalism essentially created a form hypercapitalism: relatively new capitalism marked by advancement in technology, media, virtual reality. This economic system lead fragmentation social life allowing commercial or business interests penetrate every aspect human experience, leading to, what Jean Baudrillard called, hyperreal mode existence. Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho (1991), notorious Wall Street banker, Patrick Bateman follows an apparent decline from cynical misanthrope psychotic serial killer within free-market environment Reagan era. The novel portrays nightmarish vision unbearable anxiety it creates, individual’s psychological urge flee it. Through three socio-psychological mechanisms, Erich Fromm calls, automation conformity, authoritarianism, destructiveness, attempts brings with itself. Although these unconscious are employed sooth Patrick’s loneliness alienation, they do not solve underlying problem. cost is crisis individuality, subsequently forfeiting all comprehension his own selfhood identity.