American Beauty essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the movie American Beauty directed by Sam Mendes. Best summary PDF, themes, and blogger.com: Sam Mendes Free American Beauty Essays and Papers. Page 1 of 50 - About essays. Satisfactory Essays. American Beauty. Words; 3 Pages; American Beauty. American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes in , is one of the best and most unique films I have ever seen. One of the opening scenes of the movie starts with a view of Lester Burnham, his Essay Writing Service. American Beauty is narrated by Lester Burnham, the husband of Carolyn Burnham and father of Jane Burnham. He informs the audience that he has less than a year to live but in reality he is already dead; and the whole movie looks back at his life through his eyes
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Carolyn is thrilled and bursting with passionate joy; perfectly in focus while the world around the two lovers appears as a dark blur full of unknown terrors that are for that moment completely irrelevant. When he dies at the close of the film, Carolyn is understandably consumed with grief and guilt. To appreciate how Carolyn grows throughout the film it is important to have an understanding of american beauty essays daily life and its entrapments. Carolyn works as a real estate agent and in a cleverly constructed scene in the first act we watch her clean and attempt to sell a run down house in a lower middle class neighborhood.
We are aware at this point in the film that her primary focus in life is maintaining an appearance that suggests success, competence and flawlessness, and her job perfectly embodies these values. In response, Carolyn — before even having begun her work — grimaces and lets out a defeated sigh. Instead of developing her own definition of success, Carolyn looks to the world around her. Naturally, as a result of this constant focus on image and the successes of others, Carolyn has developed rigid, unrealistic expectations of herself and leaves virtually no room for self-forgiveness.
Rather than create a trustworthy rapport with her clients by marketing the house for what it is, she describes it to her clients as precisely what it is not. When her last client is gone, Carolyn walks inside, slams the door, and weeps in private; a near silhouette against the vertical blinds that oppress the scene like prison bars. Her failure to sell leaves her feeling fraudulent. When she arrives home after a fling with Buddy Kane, she is annoyed with Lester and reprimands him for his recent streak of bold behavior, and yet Carolyn has an unmistakable glow about her. She stands in the entrance of the living room behind Lester wearing a tight fitting blue dress and her body language shows that for the first time in years she feels sexy, confident, desired.
Curiously though, only her body is lit in this shot while her head remains in the shadows, suggesting a reawakening that is strictly sensual. This change in Carolyn is not lost on Lester, for he too is experiencing a cathartic renewal of passion and freedom and he too is wrestling with confused and inappropriate desires as a result of it. But the most significant similarity in their metamorphoses is that they both remain without real, american beauty essays, meaningful intimacy and in a manic race to fulfill their long ignored desires have continued to neglect the importance of familial love. In an inspired and perhaps drunken fit of passion, Lester makes an advance on Carolyn and they end up face to face on the sofa. Up close we see their smiling faces reflecting a deep mutual attraction, so much so that it serves to emphasizes exactly how hollow her affair with Buddy Kane is.
She lashes out at Lester for his carelessness and we realize that she is not yet capable of prioritizing love over material wealth and image. She remains captive to the toxic aspects of her known world that are being reinforced by her false mentor, Buddy Kane. Carolyn, having the same day been publicly confronted by Lester while on a rendezvous with Buddy, suffers immensely and with Lester dying before amends are made it may seem that all hope is lost for her. Against american beauty essays chest, she clutches desperately to the two hollow truths of which her affair with Buddy Kane has fed on: her purse and the gun within it.
The next shot of Carolyn shows her inside the house crossing the threshold into the master bedroom. The trance is broken as soon as the door is shut, american beauty essays. She leans back and breaks into hysterical sobs. We are reminded of the shot in act 1 of her weeping after the failed real estate pitch, american beauty essays, but this time there is no prison bar imagery, nor does she attempt to hold back her grief. She is released from the grip of money, power and emotional repression. This last devastating shot of Carolyn in the modern day dissolves into the aforementioned flashback of her on the spinning carnival ride without a care in the world.
The transition is brilliantly jarring; at once heart wrenching and hopeful, american beauty essays. Luckily, Mendes and screenwriter Alan Ball are masters of clever motifs and subtle prompts that enable the story to serve as both a scathing critique of the American dream and a multifaceted tale of hope and redemption. While we are certainly left feeling deep remorse for Carolyn, we have seen her learn from her missteps and discover new meaning in life. In letting go of her obsessions with wealth, power and image, Carolyn has acquired the most powerful tools in coping: forgiveness, love and human connection. Its moments of comedy and tragedy are a result of its essential melodramatic intentions.
However, it differs from classical melodrama in the sense that the idea of maintaining a nuclear family is not an important theme. Similarly, both American Beauty and American beauty essays Boulevard are told in a flashback sequence of events all taking place in the recent past. Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, the protagonist who is fed up with the lack of respect from his wife Carolyn and daughter Jane. As the film progresses, we learn more and more about Lester, while following him on a journey to achieve happiness. In one of the first sequences of the film, Lester narrates the american beauty essays of his day-to-day life.
There is a shot where Lester is clearly masturbating in the shower. This will be the high point of my day. Melodramatically, the sexual longing for a desired mate american beauty essays a cornerstone to the genre. There is always sexual tension that needs american beauty essays be resolved, or in some cases, unresolved, american beauty essays. Such symbolism is quintessential to the melodramatic genre. In one scene in American Beauty, the phallic beer bottle plays a pivotal role Lester tries to seduce his wife. He leans over her on the couch, speaking sweet nothings into her ear. Lester recoils in disappointment. In one of the final sequences of American Beauty, the phallic beer bottle metaphor appears once again.
When he encounters her in the kitchen of his home, Lester is again holding a bottle of beer. She accepts his offer, taking a swig from the bottle. This metaphoric fellatio empowers Lester to continue pursuing her, american beauty essays. The sexual blonde is a common figure in melodrama, most notably in actresses like Lana Turner, Kim Novak and Marilyn Monroe, and the Angela character supports the melodramatic nature of American Beauty. When Lester first notices Angela, it is at a cheerleading rally for the high school basketball team. Halftime begins and the cheerleaders disperse on the court.
The choreographed cheer commences normally, and then Lester catches a glimpse of Angela. The music changes with the point of view shift, american beauty essays. It is clear that Lester is american beauty essays looker while Angela is the object of his gaze. The foreground lights dim, shadowing the american beauty essays cheerleaders, and Angela is the only one left visible. It appears that she american beauty essays looking directly at Lester. The camera reverses angles and shows Lester sitting alone in the gymnasium bleachers while the rest of the crowd hides in the shadows. Angela performs a provocative dance, clearly portraying the sexualised, youthful female that Lester longs for. She dances while caressing herself. A sequential triple-take shows Angela opening her sweater.
On the third take, red rose pedals pour from inside her top, american beauty essays, obstructing what Lester really wants to see. Back to american beauty essays. The rhythmic tempo from the cheerleading music continues while the cheerleaders finish their dance routine, american beauty essays. Coincidently the catering company who is servicing the party employs Ricky. American beauty essays introduces himself to Lester, american beauty essays, american beauty essays they hit it off instantly as they smoke a joint in the back parking lot. The male gaze represents the desire for a female counterpart. His gaze represents an interest for both Jane and Lester.
The more prominent of the two is the female gaze towards Hal. Hal is looked at from many female perspectives, and not just as a sexual object. When Hal first reaches the small town, he is looked at american beauty essays Helen Potts, american beauty essays, the widowed women who lives next door to the Owens family. Her gaze is that of a sexual nature. When the Owens girls see Hal later in the scene, it is apparent that all three of them view Hal a little bit american beauty essays. She does not see Hal as a sexual object. Millie, the tomboy daughter, american beauty essays, sees Hal not as a sexual object, but as a male friend and perhaps even a role model.
By contrast, when Hal first sees Madge, it is apparent that he sees her as an object of desire, american beauty essays. This theme runs parallel in American Beauty. Lester overhears a conversation between Angela and Jane. During this realisation, Lester reacquaints himself with Ricky Fitts. Ricky sells Lester the same marijuana that they had smoked a few nights prior. Lester also regains his youth by listening to old rock bands such as The Guess Who and Bob Dylan, american beauty essays. There is one scene in particular that encompasses all three of these transitions that Lester undergoes.
Carolyn crosses the driveway after finishing some gardening work. She notices a strange smell coming from the garage. I think using illegal psychotropic substances is a very positive example to set for our daughter. He writes a letter to management stating why they should release him from his current position. He quits his job in pursuit of a life with fewer responsibilities. This is determined in the sequence when Lester applies for a part time position at local fast food restaurant. Youth and beauty represent the symbol of power in the melodramatic genre, if not always explicitly.
Archie Lee must regain their furniture to make Baby Doll happy. But Archie is in strong competition with Silva, american beauty essays, the rival cotton gin owner who discovers Baby Doll when he heads over to the Meighan home to confront Archie about burning down his business. Both men perceive baby Doll as an object of desire. As the film progresses, she is the ultimate deciding factor as to which man she decides to be with. In the end, Baby Doll leaves Archie Lee to be with the sexualised, american beauty essays, tall, dark and handsome Sicilian stud. Similarly, in American Beauty, it is Lester who with his sense of youth and his heightened self-confidence eventually comes to the point of confronting American beauty essays about how he feels.
After a fight with Jane, Angela is left abandoned in the Burnham kitchen crying while Jane and Ricky leave the house. Lester approaches her, noticing that she had been crying. This is the scene where he offers Angela a sip of his beer.
Ten Liberal Myths in American Beauty
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Jul 10, · The Burnham couple, Lester and Carolyn is a typical working couple who lived comfortably in the suburbs with their teen-age daughter Jane. Order custom essay American Beauty with free plagiarism report. Lester Burnham is apparently at a turning point in his life and in an apparent approach to mid-life crisis Apr 15, · June 14, by Essay Writer. The final glimpse given to the audience of the character Carolyn Burnham in Sam Mendes’ film, American Beauty, is a point-of-view shot taken from her husband’s perspective on a fast spinning carnival ride. Carolyn is thrilled and bursting with passionate joy; perfectly in focus while the world around the Free American Beauty Essays and Papers. Page 1 of 50 - About essays. Satisfactory Essays. American Beauty. Words; 3 Pages; American Beauty. American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes in , is one of the best and most unique films I have ever seen. One of the opening scenes of the movie starts with a view of Lester Burnham, his
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