The Mask We All Wear Essay

Submitted By abujachen
Words: 2021
Pages: 9
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Chin Jan Chen
861058584
Professor Bundy
Prompt 10

How does certain films portrait our everyday life of Gender, Race, Sexual Orientation, Class, Religion, Appearance, Occupation, Marital Status, etc. while showing the Mental Illness, Depression, Spiritual Dissolution, Drug Abuse, Identity Crises, Etc. of our society?

The Mask That We All Wear Regardless of our status in life, we all have a certain norm we live by, or pretend to live by. Our modern society as a whole runs in a very routine and specific way due to civilization, which is what separates us from the past. However, we are all somewhat mentally twisted. We act the way we act, talk the way we talk, and do the things we do not entirely because we desire to. We are forced to put on a mask that shields our true selves from everyone else to avoid social awkwardness. Moreover, the majority of our society determines it’s self worth through the things he or she own, not the characteristic he or she consist. We think that certain brands are simply better than the other because it is more expensive or popular; when in reality they have no differences in usage. Materialism furthermore defines how different social classes act, talk, and dress. The differences among our society is what define it’s metal illness where we all have to pretend to be someone who we are not and it can even lead to serious depression and drug abuse. Although our society seems to be in order due to norms and laws, our deepest thought and desire are hidden under the mask that we all wear to fit in. Human minds can be stretched very widely and wildly. Living our day-to-day life as if the earth is a giant clock and we are just the essential part of it to make it run can make us stray from our desire or even make us mentally ill. The movie American Psycho (2000) portrays the life style of a yuppie named Patrick Bateman who murdered countless of women and man due to society’s pressure. Even though the ending shows that Patrick did not kill anyone at all, this movie still relates strongly with the life style of higher-class businessman and their daily stresses. This movie consisted of several remarkable accusation based on gender, sexual orientation, and occupation. Not only does the movie clearly shows that Patrick has nearly no respect for women, but it also consistently tries to demean women through Patrick’s action. For example, Patrick invites two prostitutes to his apartment and the scene portrays how Patrick was just fulfilled by his own masculinity instead of sexual pleasure. Moreover, Patrick invites one of the prostitutes again and she refuses at first while even threating to hire a lawyer because of what happened last time. It is clear that physical violence was involved, however, the girl still got into the car after seeing all the money he had. The way Patrick lies, beats, drugs, and talks to women reflexes directly upon how some men treat women back then and even now. Gender inequality was definitely stressed as one can also find that the women in the movie all work under men as their secretary or server. Sexual orientation is also an essential part of the movie even though the scene was short. Patrick was almost about to choke his co-worker Luis in the bathroom after seeing his new business card, which means a lot to Patrick because he thinks every little detail of the business card defines a person, but stops because Luis kissed his hand and told him that he has been in love with Patrick. Not only did this gesture and realization of Luis’ sexual orientation consume his motivation for murdering him, but he also reacted with a face of disgust, which portrays truly on how unequally our society treats homosexuals. The business cards that I mentioned earlier was a metaphor for how Patrick’s life is defined by what he owns as he says that he is simply imitating reality, a rough resemblance of a human being, with only a dim corner of his mind functioning. Although it
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