GO. OUT. SIDE. vol. 33

 

The ‘New World Order’ Conspiracy Is Back With an Ugly Vengeance

Awwwwww Yeah vol. 248

 

Doll Parts: The Anarchic 1990s Origins of the Ladies of Yellowjackets

GO. OUT. SIDE. vol. 32

 Should it matter that a bunch of 14-year-olds on TikTok aren’t in on the Bateman joke? How can you even tell? Just like any co-opted trend or meme or hand gesture that is taken on by trolls and adapted to become something vicious, if you say something hateful enough times, even while pointing at it with a smile, the hate becomes the point. And to ignore the origins of the aesthetic - tied heavily to the rise-and-grind “sigma male” identity previously associated with male dating coaches and wannabe investment bankers - would be foolish. To a generation of men online, American Psycho was more than a satirical take on excess – it was a bible for true development. And now, as a fresh audience tackles the character with an arsenal of new platforms and groupthink, Bateman’s illusory gaze is everywhere.

In January, Günseli Yalcinkaya documented the rise of the “sigma bro” in DAZED, riffing out a laundry list of Instagram accounts like @billionairebullclub and @entrepreneurshipfacts. These accounts have flourished by capturing the sigma male aesthetic - something originally devised by a far-right activist to describe “an introverted alpha male who likes to play by his own rules” - and focused it in on itself. It’s content parodying itself for those in the know, and inspiring idolisation for those who aren’t. Patrick Bateman’s voice, image, and values are just as equally used to mock a brand of male archetype we’ve seen too much of as they are used to encourage that same, old, tired visage to a generation of young people who might not be in on the joke.

American Psychos: Unpacking the Internet’s Long, Awkward History With Patrick Bateman

Books... Are FUN vol. 28

 

PUBLISHING DURING THE APOCALYPSE & SURVIVING ADAM’S UNTIMELY DEATH!

#gorenoise vol. 138 / Awwwwww Yeah vol. 247

 

Woman charged with strangling and dismembering lover during drug-induced frenzy, leaving his head in bucket

NERRRRRRRRRRRD! vol. 172

 

Adi Shankar broke in, blew up, spiraled, healed, then made Netflix’s weirdest show ever

The Guardians of Justice is a gory mixed-media experiment fueled by genuine passion

abso... lutley enjoying this dirt mall mixed media atomic geekshow opera of a show, which plays like a collaboration between Rich Veitch's King Hell Universe and the creators of Jesus Shows You The Way to the Highway. 

hopefully this and Kyle Mooney's resplendent S.M.A.S.H. are an indicator that Netflix might be heading into places both wonderful and strange... getting out of this bland true crime k-hole and overbloated false prestige drama. 

NERRRRRRRRRD! vol. 171

 

Batman changed how blockbusters look—and how Hollywood sold them

Batman wasn’t just the biggest movie of 1989—it was a cultural phenomenon