his life. After meeting Ricky and seeing how free-spirited he was Lester became inspired to turn his life around‚ all in the name of happiness. Not only does Lester struggle to be happy‚ but the people around him are all fighting the same fight. Carolyn is miserable with the life she lives and finds temporary happiness through a short-lived affair with Buddy Kane. The entire plot of American Beauty no matter which character one looks at leads to the same lesson. Happiness is not a measure of the
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American Beauty Analysis The film American Beauty focuses on a man named Lester Burnham and how his midlife crisis is affecting him‚ as well as the people involved in his life. Lester is in a horribly strained marriage with his wife‚ Carolyn‚ and has lost total connection with his daughter‚ Jane. His boss views him as completely useless in the workplace‚ and wants Lester to quit. Indignant by his wretched life‚ Lester decides to create changes in him. The viewer will watch Lester’s mundane personality
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takes a closer look at every individual as one and the purpose of their lives as individuals. The film focuses on one character‚ Lester‚ who feels like has no control over his life and no say in his family. Lester has many people who affect his life: Carolyn the wife‚ Jane the rebel teenage daughter‚ Ricky the next-door neighbor‚ Ricky’s dad Frank‚ the ex-marine‚ and Jane’s cheerleader friend Angela. As the film progresses‚ it is seen how these individuals’ personalities intervene in each other’s lives
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no reason to go on. Lester’s relationship with his wife Carolyn is quite dysfunctional‚ while Carolyn works hard to make it seem as if she has full control of her life‚ she is going through her own crisis as well; feeling empty and desperate (MSN Entertainment‚ 2013). Although American Beauty focuses on other characters as well‚ including Lester and Carolyn’s teenage daughter Jane‚ Jane’s shallow friend Angela‚ the next door neighbor Colonel Fitts‚ and his son Ricky; this paper is mainly going to
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http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/am.beauty.htm Journal of Religion and Film “Beautiful Necessities”: American Beauty and the Idea of Freedom by David L. Smith Vol. 6 No. 2 October 2002 “Beautiful Necessities”: American Beauty and the Idea of Freedom by David L. Smith Abstract [1] A central theme of American Beauty is the disjunction between the quests for liberation undertaken by its characters and the discoveries at which a few of them arrive. The world of the film is carefully structured
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Lester Burnham and Ricky Fitts are portrayed as mirror-images of one another and that they indeed are quite similar in their struggles against their respective overbearing authorities‚ share similar feelings of imprisonment and desires for escape. Carolyn‚ Lester and Jane Fitts seem like the perfect nuclear family. With both parents working successful jobs in the real estate and advertising business‚ the Burnham household appears to be the ideal American‚ nuclear family. Their house is filled with
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This being the idea of what people want for themselves and what they bring upon themselves. It can be argued that this idea exists in the film‚ although not the premise of the film itself‚ it is explored through the use of the characters‚ Angela and Carolyn; Both of whom want something for themselves or bring something on themselves‚ whether that is something social or
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Analyse the use of Performance/Mise-en-scène in American Beauty (Sam Mendes‚ 1999); how is meaning created in my chosen clip? American Beauty has been described as a “blood-chilling dark comedy” and a “beautifully executed drama”‚ both of which are appropriate. Through Kevin Spacey’s intelligent and realistic portrayal of Lester Burnham and Sam Mendes’ meticulously arranged image of Lester’s life‚ we can find humour and draw a bitter parallel between our lives and those of the characters. I have
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marijuana; he starts to work out again‚ etc. etc. Spacey’s wife‚ Carolyn (Annette Bening) is a realtor obsessed with her job almost as much as beating Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher) the supposed ‘Realtor King” whom she beings to have an affair with. Lester’s daughter‚ Jane‚ (Thora Birch) develops a relationship with one of the new neighbors‚ Ricky Fitts who smokes and sell marijuana. His father is a retired United States Marine Corps Colonel and abhors homosexuals‚ which plays a large role later on in
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Introduction There are few films that achieve the high level of quality exhibited by American Beauty. The film is a true masterpiece in both content and how this content is delivered to the viewers. It excels at being an enlightening and relevant drama about American life‚ and never fails to keep the audience entertained by providing many instances of well-placed humor. Every scene was filmed containing metaphoric elements that not only show great set aesthetics‚ but also create a mood and feeling
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