Character Analysis of American Beauty (1999)

American Beauty Character Analysis One of the most interesting and most obviously disturbed character in the movie would have to be Ricky Fittz: a drug-dealing-film-maker who is able to find beauty in seemingly mundane things. He’s an obsessed observer using his camera and endless supply of videotapes to capture the beauty he finds no matter where he finds it. He portrays a non-conformist attitude with his strange clothes, hobbies and mindsets that contradict those of his militaristic father. His worldviews can be described as far-fetched and melancholic, and he doesn’t seem to realize the distance between the videos he captures and the real people in his environment. He literally videotapes everything he sees, then views them in private afterwards. The traits he portrayed throughout the film lead me to believe he exhibited behaviors to match that of schizotypal personality disorder, regarding his peculiar dress, thinking, beliefs and behavior, the way he expresses his emotions in a flat tone causing him to come off as indifferent, how he takes pleasure in solitary activities, and his detachment from the real world. Lester’s wife Carolyn Burnham is probably one of the most unstable of all the characters, whose unrealistic expectations of perfection led to her ultimate downfall. She is obsessed with the appearance of not only herself, but also everything associated with herself (her husband, her daughter, her career, etc.). Because of this she is extremely materialistic, and lets the conservation of her possessions get in the way of maintaining social relationships (interrupts her and her husband’s moment together on the couch with the worry of him spilling beer on her expensive sofa). She is the epitome of an image builder—one who stops at nothing to better herself in regards to status, appearance and success (plays “self-development tapes” in her car, cheats on her husband with a man in a position of power). She is entirely self-oriented and lacking empathy