American Beauty - a Sociological Movie Review Essay

Carolyn Burnham in American Beauty Directed by Sam Mendes in 1999, 'American Beauty' is set in a seemingly typical suburban neighbourhood that gives an in depth look beneath the surface. An ordinary, financially well-to-do family is followed through the point of view of the father (Kevin Spacey). He narrates his life and lets the audience in on all of his quirks, flaws and limitations, as well as those of his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) and his daughter (Thora Birch). The film exemplifies the idea of achieving the 'American Dream' - not necessarily to reach your ultimate goal in life but to portray the image of reaching that goal.

American Beauty is a movie that sets in suburban America. The story is about Lester, whom is a middle-aged writer working in a magazine company. He was having a midlife crisis where he felt lonely and numbed by continuous unchanging routine of his everyday life. In the movie, his wife portrayed as a successful real estate agent, but she was also going through her own midlife crisis in both her career and personal life. Lester’s daughter, Jane Bumham had alienated her parents and was going through puberty. They have a new neighbor who is a U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts, and he has a son, Ricky Fitts, who is a drug dealer. Lester was going to get fired from his company that he had worked for fourteen

Yes I believe this represents the life of an average American because during this movie many of the characters are similar to events people encountered during this time. For example James wasn't able to heat his house and pay the bills because he wasn't making enough money. This occurred to lots of people because they couldn't get jobs and couldn't afford to pay the bills. James also lost lots of money in stocks, he said he put it all into one stock and the stock never grew causing him to lose it all. This happened to many people because they would take out loans and use credit to get rich quick off stocks. Though when the market crashed and the stock that they choose, weren't successful they lost a lot of money. During this time people wanted

When she realizes that her life isn’t perfect, she goes to her real estate rival for advice and ends up cheating on Lester with him. This drives Lester and Carolyn apart because, Carolyn starts drifting away emotionally and that drives Lester to seek pleasure elsewhere such as, Angela and drugs. Lester first finds Angela attractive when they go to Jane’s cheerleading performance. When he sees her dancing “attractively,” his mind singles her out in the room which symbolizes his initial attraction to her. Then later in the film Lester over-hears Angela tell Jane that she would find her dad attractive if he worked out more, this causes Lester to start working out.

American Beauty is widely described as a drama because it is a narrative that identifies relatable emotional struggles that persist in suburban life, yet American Beauty portrays so many other elements that could lead viewers to categorize the film into different subgenres based on intertwining conflicts and scenarios throughout the movie. Because of the untimely death of multiple major characters, the film could be deemed a tragedy; Jane and Ricky’s relationship displays elements that are common in romance films; Lester’s grim, yet humorously depressive perception of his life is typical of dark comedies; and the use irony, ridicule, and dry humor creates a satire of the American

“American Beauty”, the 1999 film, is a motion picture that more or less shows a different side of the average suburban family. Although all of the characters have significant issues, I have chosen to take a closer look at Lester Burnham. Lester Burnham is a 42-year-old businessman who is married to the career-obsessed Carolyn and they have one daughter, a teenager named Jane. One of the first scenes of the movie explains how the family works: Carolyn is driving, just like she “drives” the family, Jane is sitting right next to her in the front seat, and Lester is slouched in the backseat, visually becoming more miserable by the second.

Jake also at times seems to realize how bad his life is, but then never regrets it. He is in love with Brett Ashley, but she is always with other people, including Robert Cohn, which makes Jake jealous. This jealousy turns to anger when Jake gets into a fight with Robert and is then knocked out.

American beauty is a drama-comedy type film directed by Sam Mendes in 1999.The film won 5 academy awards in 1999 including that of best actor and best director. It follows the story of the Burnham family and specifically Lester Burnham, a middle aged American man who is facing a midlife crisis and is falling deeper and deeper into a pit of endless depression. Because of this he has become imprisoned by all aspects of his life. Mendes deliberately uses motifs and camera work to illustrate this theme of imprisonment to the viewer. As Lester makes changes in his life the theme changes from imprisonment to freedom which is shown by Mendes’ deliberate use of symbolism as well as Lester’s new confidence displayed by his dialogue and posture.

American Beauty, released in 1999, was a tragic comedy, created by Sam Mendes. The movie had audiences questioning the ideal American family. You see the usual midlife crisis that most people go through but watching further uncovers a deeper conflict of feeling oppressed with what society considers a “normal” life. The movie has many connecting themes through plot, characterization, and cinematography and these themes carry well throughout the movie. The main themes are listed accordingly, appearance versus reality, loneliness versus feeling connected, denial and repression, and beauty.

In conclusion, these films were new to myself I usually don’t watch these types of films. Due to the fact that it’s our reality and it gets be traumatize. Like if this dystopian world would happen right now I would probably be one of the first to die. I have no survival instiks and all the fast food I eat would slow be down. I’m over eat and so out of shape. At least the cannibals would have plenty to enjoy. In “The Road,” and “Children of Men,” they are a reflection of dystopian communities that display violence’s, giving up, and dehumanization.

Winning a Golden Globe and Oscar in 2000 for Best Motion Picture – to name a few – American Beauty is an American drama starring Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham. Lester Burnham, a middle-aged depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to make some major changes in his life after becoming infatuated with his daughter’s attractive friend, Angela. When he drastically changes his life while in the midst of his mid-life crisis not only his wife, Carolyn, and daughter, Jane, affected but everyone around him as he goes through the stages of his mid-life crisis: Depression, Nostalgia, and Freedom.

''... look closer'' (American Beauty, 1999) is the tagline of the film American Beauty, telling us to look underneath the surface, the image of the picture-perfect family, living the dream that many are trying to achieve. Lester and Carolyn Burnham, along with their teenage daughter, Jane, are a middle-class American family, living in a wealthy suburban area. Nonetheless, beneath the image of success and happiness, lies a dysfunctional family in which each individual is fighting their own battle. Carolyn is the portrayal of the Amercian Dream. She is a real-estate agent, whose main goal is to be successful and efficient. Ignoring the problems she has with her family, primarily her husband, she is more focused on how she presents herself outside

Fantasy, sitcom, thriller, or a moral fable? The answer is “all of the above” when attempting to categorize the film American Beauty into one genre. Some may say this movie is about a marriage gone very bad. Others claim it to be about the meaning of life. In my opinion, the film resists any one interpretation. While it is difficult to pinpoint the meaning of the movie, it is not difficult to conclude that each character is struggling with his or her own problems and that each character grows to a great extent throughout the film.

“I have lost something...It’s never too late to get it back,” stated Lester Burnham, the main character of American Beauty. American Beauty is a 1999 film that provides a look into the lives of a modern married couple that is dealing with issues within their relationship. As the story progresses, it is easily identifiable that the roles of the husband and wife are not what the viewers would expect. On the other hand, the homosexual couple presented throughout the movie seems to be the normal pair. Furthermore, society’s definition of beauty and contentment is questioned. Throughout American Beauty, the homosexual couple has a healthier relationship than the heterosexual couple and beauty is falsely represented.

In the very beginning of the movie one of the main characters Lester is giving a brief introduction to his life. He states how he feels dead inside and that basically he’s unhappy with his life. Throughout the film Lester, Jane and