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American Beauty Spectacle Culture Analysis

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American Beauty Spectacle Culture Analysis
American Beauty demonstrates how construction of spectacles can be used to obfuscate our true selves. Mendes reflects on society during the 90’s whereby technological advances had been made evident through the computer and success of the mobile and Internet. The mass production of goods, rapid industrialisation and urbanization enabled individuals to compare their prosperity, achievement and success to each other. Mendes thereby refers to “spectacle culture” developed by theorist Guy De Bord (1931, 12) that is described as, “[…] societies where modern condition of production prevails, all life presents as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation”. This can be described as how individuals in American Beauty as well as real life create spectacles for outside parties to observe. …show more content…
The matching gloves and clogs is a manifestation of her hard work and achievement in order to live in luxury and incur a social status of hedonism and wealth. The spectacle Carolyn Burnham constructs is one of success, independence and affluence however this image is subverted through her alienation from her family, and crumbling marriage. In this way, Mendes demonstrates the deceptive nature of appearances individuals construct in order to conceal a sinister reality evident through Carolyn Burnham. He therefore, challenges individuals to ask whether they construct spectacles and identities in order to fit in, and whether their lives are dictated by “conspicuous consumption” (Veblen 1912). In this way he reinforces individuality and persuades us to reassess values such as commodification and acquisition, which desensitizes and distorts our perceptions of reality, enabling individuals to choose a reality that is free and authentic over simulation and
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