"American Beauty"

Paper Summary:

An examination of the wealth of symbolism in the movie "American Beauty." The writer shows that one of the main motifs of film is the exposure of the American dream for what it truly is--a pursuit of happiness through material objects. It examines the various characters and how they represent and symbolize this false dream, as exposed through the life and transformation of the main character, Lester Burnham.

From the Paper:

"Winner of 5 Academy Awards, American Beauty captivated audiences with its stunning screenplay and cinematography and its stellar acting. Sam Mendes executed Alan Ball's script with flair, and the film is accompanied by an indispensable score that accentuates its darkly humorous mood. The title of Sam Mendes' 1999 film American Beauty seems slightly ambiguous, as it refers to a multitude of meanings and symbols in the picture. However, the theme of beauty, and specifically American beauty, emerges through all of the main characters in the movie. The American Beauty could be the sultry teen Angela, the epitome of blond American sex appeal. Carolyn's obsessive tending her rose garden is a pervasive and double-sided symbol of beauty, as her flowers are a thin cover for the ugliness in her life. Perhaps the greatest messenger of beauty in the film is Ricky Fitts, the eccentric pot-smoking teenager who through his camera lens perceives beauty everywhere he looks, so much beauty that he feels his "heart is going to cave in." Regardless, beauty is found everywhere in this film and is portrayed by various characters, symbols, and scenes."

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