Symbolism In American Beauty And The Graduate

Film Studies American Beauty and The Graduate

Scattered all throughout American Beauty, there is constant symbolism that reflects the movies main idea. Whether it is sexual liberation or the fragility of common patriarchal norms, American Beauty tends to convey these abstract ideas through concrete visuals that the audience can identify and interpret. The most common and identifiable ones that most audiences tend to pick up one are the rose petals that are in practically every scene which symbolizes youth and sexuality, and the transition of color throughout the movie which symbolizes how the fragility of a patriarchal household is starting to break. The mise-en-scène I decided to analyze reflects on Lesters transition throughout the movie
The camera motion almost leaves Elaine out of the frame similar to how Ben almost leaves Eliane behind as well. By this time the audience knows that it is out of character for Ben to be this aloof and that he is acting this way because of what Mrs Robinson said in a few scenes before. Mrs Robinson did not want Ben dating her daughter, so Ben keeps this demand by treating Eliane poorly. The fact that Ben changes his whole attitude for Mrs. Robinson shows her manipulative nature over him, affecting many of his decisions throughout the movie, most notably his desire on whether or not he really wants to have an affair with her. Ben’s aloof attitude for Mrs Robinson's satisfaction in this scene does not last long however, because in the next scene he breaks away from this nonchalant character he plays and returns to his true, awkward and caring nature indicating that Mrs. Robinson might not have a firm enough grasp on him after all creating a strong plotpoint of the
The camera is quickly panning left to right this time, following Elaine as she pushes past the crowd and Ben struggles to keep up. This time, Ben is almost lost out of the camera frame as he is desperately trying to reach Elaine. Ben’s desperation to apologize to Eliane is a complete juxtaposition from his uncaring demeanor in the previous scenes before that. In this scene it represents how Mrs Robinson is no longer in control of his decisions and feelings and his true sympathetic nature is brought to light to Elaine. When Ben and Elaine kiss at the end, it creates the main conflict of the movie because Ben is leading with his heart rather than his fears of what Mrs Robinson would do. Ben’s growing relationship with Elaine shows how he is beginning to make decisions for himself than letting others make his decisions for