In this movie thread, users /u/12thMANGOHAWKS and /u/legendofpasta recommended the movie American Psycho.

One scene fascinates me. It's the one where Bateman makes a long-winded speech at the restaurant Espace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENMukvnEDes

You could call it a deadpan joke; the two other Wall Street guys at the table almost seem to recognize it as one.

I don't think the women and the goth kid recognize it as a joke. Which is part of the joke, if it is one.

You could also call it a dominance ploy. Did Bateman feel a bit threatened by Bryce's "joke" about Sri Lanka? If so, he one-upped it outrageously.

He's talking like a politician, mouthing platitudes. This isn't the tense, angry voice of someone with a political "opinion". Rather, he's a high priest of orthodoxy reciting the familiar mantras. The subtext is "I'm aligned with the power structure".

His speech contains a contradiction, and this strengthens its "alpha" quality.

I think he's hitting the note that presidential candidates try to hit.

Notice how the background music supports him.

I'd like to hear your thoughts