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Philosophy
American Beauty is a movie that Allan Ball wrote and Sam Mendes directed in 1999. The main character in the film is referred to as Lester Burnham. Lester is a 42-year-old husband and father. He works as an advertising executive. Lester is married to Carolyn, who works as an agent by selling and leasing real estate, though she is not successful. Carolyn and Lester have a 16-year-old daughter known as Jane. Jane is, however, often unhappy and continually struggles with issues of self-esteem. Lester is experiencing a midlife crisis, and he is typically a depressed person. Lester meets Angela, his daughter’s friend, and he instantly becomes infatuated for her. Lester’s attraction and infatuation towards Angela become apparent even to his family. Lester crashes and then makes a choice that changes his life by blackmailing his employer, quitting his job, and also trading his current car to obtain a red sports car. Throughout the movie, Leister’s wife, Carolyn, cheats on him with a rival real estate agent. Leister’s daughter, Jane, has a romantic relationship with the neighbor’s son, known as Ricky.
Interestingly, Lester usually purchases marijuana from Ricky. However, Col. Fitts, Ricky’s father, notices that Lester and his son’s relationship is growing more substantial, and he begins to think that they have a homosexual relationship. When his family is falling apart, Col. Fitts witnesses what he perceives to be an act of homosexuality between Lester and his son. He is filled with anger and rage, making him kill Lester in his home. The movie is concluded by Lester’s narration being satisfied with his death, and he is filled with gratitude for every moment of his life.
The real message of the movie, American Beauty, is that most of the people from Middle America always strive to work to achieve an American dream. The American dream means different things to different people. Still, generally, the American dream means having the freedom to own his/her property, have financial success, and live a dignified life. The message being delivered by the movie is that there are always consequences when it comes to achieving the American dream. Despite the consequences, the American dream has always been desired by a majority of the people in Middle America. The movie shows the struggle that American families have in finding happiness when striving to achieve their dreams. American Beauty brings out the cultural tendencies of most of the families of focusing on achieving their dreams such that they end up losing themselves and even their loved ones.
The director of the movie, American Beauty, is trying to say that anything can happen in Middle America when one tries to achieve the American dream, and it is not something that many people would be expecting. The director shows how people usually sacrifice their lives when striving to achieve an American goal because none ever knows life outcomes. Lester Burnham, the main character, is the kind of a man ignored by his wife, not loved by his daughter, and is unnecessary at his workplace because their lives are very much consumed by the desire to achieve the American dream. American Beauty has displayed the family as being trapped by a belief and the ideology of achieving the American goal. The family has further been revealed to need to find a balance, have a chance to escape from the reality of the American dream, and break away from the norm. Therefore, the movie tries to bring out a story of liberation, showing how Middle American families try to live their lives with a certain level of satisfaction after achieving what they consider to be their American dream.
The real bad guys in the movie are Lester and Carolyn. Lester is considered a bad guy in the movie because, even though he is married, he is still infatuated with Angela, her daughter’s friend, and his romantic attraction towards Angela becomes even evident to his family. Furthermore, despite his age, he is still experiencing a midlife crisis, and this is evident in various instances, such as his close relationship with Ricky, who sells him marijuana. However, Lester’s actions and decisions may be considered right since he explains that he is tired of being ignored by being treated as if he does not exist. Leister finds a new identity, happiness, and satisfaction from the decisions he has made. Carolyn is also considered bad because she allows her obsession with achieving the American dream to destroy her husband’s intimacy. For instance, when Lester was trying to engage Carolyn sexually, they end up arguing because Carolyn is more concerned about her furniture than the intimate relationship with Lester, her husband. If only Carolyn could balance and prioritize differently, then her marriage could not have been so dysfunctional.
However, the movie is not so much pessimistic since it offers some chances of redemption through the character known as Ricky. Ricky is a character who has embodied beauty in the movie. He is not a victim of the American dream like the characters. Ricky searches for all the world’s beauty, and he is not attached to the conformed world. Through Ricky, American Beauty allows redemption, truly happy, and set free because the American dream does not consume him. Ricky feels that he can connect with everything around him since he sees so much beauty in life.
Some of the movie’s philosophical themes include theme success and material possessions, imprisonment and redemption, and sexuality. The theme of success and material possessions has been brought out in the movie through Carolyn, who is so much obsessed with material possessions and a life of success. For example, there is a scene where Carolyn abuses herself in front of a mirror because she cannot sell a house. Carolyn slaps herself and cries since all she desires is to be a very successful real estate agent. Carolyn’s obsession with success and material things end up clouding her happiness, making her even cheating on her husband with another man she considers to be successful.
The theme of imprisonment and redemption has also been brought out in the movie. Lester’s life has been related to that of a prisoner who is determined to redeem himself. His intimate relationship with his wife has not been good, and it has been like a prison to him. For instance, when Carolyn catches Lester masturbating in the shower, he expresses his anger towards his wife concerning their lack of intimacy for the first time. By confronting his wife concerning their intimacy issues, he tries to regain his respect and voice in the family. His midlife crisis has also imprisoned Lester. However, his redemption comes when he is almost having sex with Angela. During that time, Angela confesses to Lester that she is a virgin. At that point, Lester no longer thinks of Angela as an object of sex, but as a daughter. In the end, Lester begins to act his age again and achieves closure. Therefore, the movie ends when Lester has achieved redemption from midlife crisis imprisonment and poor intimate relationship with his wife, Carolyn.
The theme of sexuality has also been brought out in the movie. For example, Lester’s attempts to relive his youth and their poor intimate relationship with his wife make him lust for Angela. Moreover, due to sexual frustration with her husband, Carolyn ends up having a sexual affair with another man. Jane and Angela regularly refer to sex during their conversations. Angela describes Jane as her supposed sexual encounters. The nude scenes of the girls have been used to communicate their sexual vulnerability in the movie. American Beauty also upholds the importance of prohibiting taboos, such as incest and homosexuality. For example, when Col. Fitts, Ricky’s father, noticed that Lester and his son’s relationship is growing stronger, he suspected that they could be engaging in homosexuality. During the period when his family was falling apart, Col. Fitts witnessed what he perceived to be an act of homosexuality between Lester and his son. He is filled with anger and rage, making him kill Lester in his home. The anger that filled Col. Fitts was caused by the fact that he was ashamed of his son, engaging himself in acts of homosexuality considered taboo in the society.