For this week, I decided to read Bret Easton Ellis’s
American Psycho. After a while, I started to skim through the acts of murder
just so I could read through the plot of the book. Aside from some of the
several detailed violent passages, I enjoyed the book for its refreshing point
of view from the murderer’s perspective and its use of black humor to offset
the disturbing action. Patrick Bateman tries several times to discuss his acts
of violence with his companions, but all attempts led to him being laughed at
or dismissed. Aside from the fact his attempts to tell his friends what he’s
been up to have all failed, the fact he even bothers to bring it up for no
reason on multiple occasion adds on to this humorous side of the novel. Along
with this book in the list of the New Weird installments, the Cabin in the
Woods also used humor to add a “weird” twist to the horror with its list of
monsters and bets the scientists have. There is a trend of dark humor that I
have noticed more and more that I predict will continue in the future of the
New Weird. The reason being that laughing is a great way to forget about stress
and an opportunity for relief. So when a novel or movie is so disturbingly
gross or weird, using humor for a breather and relief is a great way to balance
out the weirdness without forsaking it.
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