Subjects:
‘American Beauty’, directed by Sam Mendes, is simply a study of a dysfunctional American Family which reveals the nature of modern suburbia with wit, precision, and invention. Allan Balls script continually explores ideas about what constitutes ordinariness in our lives and what ‘beauty’ truly is, and why people who have everything, live ‘lives of desperation’. Far more importantly, though, is what the film has to say about the American Dream – or rather the American Nightmare.
American modern society (not too different from New Zealand’s own society), is constructed around the notion that happiness is found through material success: a lucrative job, a nice house in a quiet neighbourhood, fancy cars etc. ‘American Beauty’ doesn’t expose this lie – it shows how hideous this lie could be. Screenwriter Alan Ball, says “ On of the movies themes is how we have preconceived notions of things, but the truth often turns out to be something we never even considered – where you find beauty might be in the place you least expect it.”
Kevin Spacey (Lester) and Annette Benning (Carolyn) play a couple
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Lester, is a typical suburban husband whose life seems to have slipped into a rut. Meanwhile Carolyn has an affair with The King, whose swagger and machismo she finds irresistible compared to Lester’s increasingly rebellious behavior. Lester is rapidly beginning to realize suburbia has left him soulless. He realizes the lack of honesty in his life, the lack of communication.
Mum and Dad, however, aren’t the only ones becoming unraveled. It doesn’t seem to be a midlife crisis, but rather a short rebirth.
‘American Beauty’ forces society to confront the reality of our own life. ’’ He says his life holds no joy – masturbating in the shower is the highlight of his day! “Both my wife and daughter think I’m a gigantic loser,’’ Lester reveals, ''Never have I felt so sedated’’. who, on the surface, seem to have it all. He tells us, ‘In less than a year I’ll be dead. They are things that many people depend on to try and give themselves a sense of identity and wellbeing, a place in the world. Her materialistic perfectionism is tinged with a deadly vanity – everything is about her, and maintaining her image of success. Left to obsessive masturbation by his frigid wife, Lester lusts over his daughter’s best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari).
Essay's Topics
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