Stuart Hall was a Jamaican born theorist who played a pivotal role in shaping media studies. His theory of Encoding and Decoding changed the way we understand communication today.
‘Encoding’ refers to the construction of messages, injecting them with cultural meanings, values and ideologies, whereas ‘Decoding’ refers to the active process of interpreting and making meaning out of them. Hall argued that audiences would be influenced by their own social context while decoding the messages they consume.
This highlighted how fluid interpretation in media consumption can be, as it acknowledged the prominent role of culture and individual perspectives when forming meaning.
In that context, the film “American Psycho” serves as a compelling example to illustrate how diverse our perspectives can be and how it can impact interpretation.
“American Psycho” is a 2000 psychological horror thriller directed by Mary Harron. The film immerses its audience in the life of Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker who conceals a dark psychopathic alter ego; while critiquing the extravagant practices, materialism and overall lack of moral values in Wall Street during the 1980s.
Hall’s ideas were evident through Harron’s meticulous construction of “American Psycho”. The excessive attention to detail when showcasing Bateman’s morning routine and grooming rituals, along with his obsession with brand names, encoded a critique of superficiality; whereas the film’s satirical tone, highlighted in scenes where characters dine at high-end restaurants and obsessively discuss business cards, encoded a critique of the excesses within the Wall Street culture, as well as emphasise the hollowness of the characters’ priorities.
Harron’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho” reflects Hall’s argument on how fluid interpretation can be in the decoding process.
Throughout the film, there is ambiguity surrounding Bateman’s actions and mental state. In one scene, for instance, Bateman violently interacts with a bar server yet she seems oblivious or dismissive of the incident. The film also portrayed scenes where Bateman’s violent actions seemed stylized or surreal, such as multiple murders with bodies disappearing or a cat being fed to an ATM machine.
These examples leave a sense of uncertainty for the viewers, as they struggle to grasp whether the events depicted were real or just part of Bateman’s distorted and unhinged imagination. Most audiences have either interpreted this film hegemonically or in a negotiated manner, but there was never a definitive conclusion to the decoding process.
The ambiguity of the film brought a wide spectrum of speculations, discussions and theories, which ultimately aligns to Hall’s emphasis on the dynamic nature of interpretation.
In fact, the complexity of “American Psycho” has contributed largely to its popularity even in pop culture today. As more watch on, they will continue to grapple with what truly is the intended meaning behind the film.
REFERENCES
Hsu, H. (2017). Stuart Hall and the Rise of Cultural Studies. The New Yorker. Available from https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/stuart-hall-and-the-rise-of-cultural-studies.
Lealos, S.S. and Gray, N. (2022). American Psycho Explained: What It Really Means. ScreenRant. Available from https://screenrant.com/american-psycho-themes-meaning-explained/#:~:text=As%20American%20Psycho%20explained%2C%20Patrick [Accessed 21 November 2023].
Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Kellner, D.M. (2001). Media and cultural studies : keyworks. Malden: Blackwell.
I love your blog! It is such a straightforward and engaging read. I agree with you — I think American Psycho is interpreted differently by different audiences, which is a clear example of Stuart Hall’s ideas. I have seen many people (particularly men) praise Patrick Bateman for his “sigma male” mentality, calling him a role model for being a driven businessman and womanizer (hopefully not for his murdering tendencies). Yet, the film was directed by a woman and the book was written by a gay man, and it is meant to make fun of toxic masculinity (Bateman is notoriously misogynistic and superficial). So, the takeaway of the film is different depending on who is watching it and their personal biases/social context.
American Psycho is such an interesting piece of media- especially when you look at the people who wrote/directed it and the things it critiques- especially because of how audiences interpret it. Sometimes it is slightly worrying how people online seem to idolise Patrick Bateman despite the book and film being a satire of these types of people. Sometimes the most interesting pieces of media are the ones where the audience reaction reveals a lot about said audience. It is an amazing piece of media to apply Hall’s theory to.