American Psycho
Last night I rewatched American Psycho. My parents were in the room, which made the hilarious sex scenes, soundtracked by Phil Collins and others, slightly uncomfortable, but not as bad as when I saw He Got Game with my grandmother.
I first watched American Psycho in theaters when it was released in 2000, and I’ve rewatched it a few times since. It is a gory, hilarious, and biting commentary on the unique American excesses of the 1980s - fashion, fucking, restaurants, and business card envy. I was struck by how prescient it felt for the “wellness” crazed, ab-wielding, peptide-pounding, creatine-guzzling, botox’d up era of now. (Apparently, a remake is in the works.)
I love health, but lately it’s been confused with aesthetics, and it gives me a stomach-ache. Looking good is a delightful by-product of eating well, exercising, having a laugh, and taking a sunny walk in nature, breathing in fresh air. Now that we are pumping all kinds of shit into our bodies and faces, it seems like we’ve lost the plot on “wellness,” and the narcissistic main-character energy of our time threatens to turn us all into Patrick Bateman, feeding stray cats to ATMs.
Perhaps I am just naive and out of touch. I respect someone’s right to feel their best, even if their approach differs from my own. I just think this Botox era isn’t going to age well, pardon the pun. I love old people that look old, that wear their wrinkles with confidence; I fear our future elders (of which I will be one) are at risk of looking like Jocelyn Wildenstein.
Ditch the David protein bars and cans of Celsius. Get outside. Laugh with friends. Have a drink from time-to-time, and make it a good one. Eat vegetables and fruit. Snack wisely. Avoid sugar. Cook at home more. Take the stairs. Jump into natural bodies of water. Entertain. Go for a walk. Lay in the sun. Have sex. Go for a run. Read a book. Engage with your community. Seek out cultural experiences. Hike. Look at art. Hug your children. Tell your family you love them.
Solid!!
Heck yeah.