Abstract:

It is recognized that by changing the shape of industrial capitalism, it is now flexible or transformed into a new capitalism. This new form of capitalism affects the daily life and individual character as well as economic relationships. Richard Sennett, one of the most important sociologists of our time, has described the status of the character under these new conditions by addressing the concepts that form the new capitalism in his work, The Impacts of Business on the Personality in the New Capitalism. In this direction, Sennett developed the concept of “character extinction” and evaluated the impact of capitalism on the micro-level, in other words, on the person’s character and in the context of interpersonal relationships. According to Sennett, the new capitalism causes a person’s character degradation. This study is based on the concept of Sennett’s deprivation of character, the negative reflections of new capitalism on individuals in the American Psycho (American Psycho, 2000, direction. Mary Harron is going to look through the film. In this context, the visual analysis method has been adopted and the conclusion has been made that the basic concepts such as ‘short valley, fluidity, flexibility, risk’ which lead to the exaggeration of the character of flexible capitalism are effectively filmed.

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Abstract:

It is accepted that industrial capitalism has changed shape and has become flexible or new capitalism today. This new form of capitalism affects everyday life and the character of the individual as much as economic relations. Richard Sennett, one of the important sociologists of our time, discussed the state of the character under these new circumstances by addressing the concepts that shaped new capitalism in his work The Corrosion of Character: The Personal Consequences of Work in the New Capitalism. In this direction, Sennett developed the concept of “the Corrosion of Character” and evaluated what effects capitalism has on the micro level, in other words, on the character of the person and in the context of interpersonal relations. According to Sennett, the new capitalism causes the corrosion of character on individuals. Based on Sennett's concept of the corrosion of character, this study aims to examine the negative reflections of new capitalism on individuals through the movie American Psycho (2000, dir. Mary Harron). In this context, the descriptive analysis method was adopted and it was concluded that the basic concepts of the new capitalism such as “short term, liquidnes, flexibility, risk” that cause the corrosion of character were effectively transferred to the film.