What It Means to be a Man: Masculinity in American Beauty

What It Means to be a Man: Masculinity in American Beauty For many, American Beauty is a sober admonishment of the modern suburban society, a class of “bloodless, money grubbing freaks,” as Lester so eloquently describes Carolyn. Swirled amongst the various social commentaries is a particularly strong and thought provoking perspective in regards to how society constructs gender roles and expectations. This perspective takes on additional importance when viewing this notion of “what makes a man.” An analysis of the film’s male characters reveals the swirling gender identities at hand. While Lester spends much of the film attempting to regain his “lost” masculinity and consequently establish a more stable identity, Col. Fitts’ external identity is a charade, a cloak of lies meant to protect his shallow definition of acceptable masculinity. In the opening scene, director Sam Mendes provides the essentials to understanding how trapped Lester is in his position in American middle class society. As he says, “In a way, I’m dead already,” a bleak outlook that represents a “lost” generation of individuals disillusioned with the false promise of the American Dream. Locked into a menial corporate job, Lester drifts through life with little hope of mobility. The distinction of his role as a secondary character in his own life is enhanced by his wife’s character. Carolyn’s depiction as the pair’s dominant force, both at home and as the economic breadwinner, shoves Lester into a subordinate role, emasculating him (in the sense of traditional gender roles) and threatening his sense of selfhood. Her palpable disinterest in him physically, and the singular control she has over their sex life, leads Lester on an unexpected regenerative journey to reestablish his masculinity. While watching his daughter’s cheerleading routine at a high school basketball game, a figurative spotlight is placed on Angela, marking her as the new focus of Lester’s existence. In Angela,