Dining Room Scene Comparison
Dining Room Scene Comparison
Mendes manipulates the stereotype of the ‘American Dream’ by demonstrating aspects of it in three different scenes. The first dining room scene shows the façade of a perfect family. The table holds the motif of roses in the middle as 1950’s South Pacific music fills the silence in the room. Carolyn Burnham is placed higher on the table showing she has the power in the house. She feels superior to her husband due to the advice she was given “In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times”. Lester Burnham slouches in his chair showing low self-esteem and low-confidence. Their daughter Jane is placed directly in between the two. The room is symmetrical showing the perfect family they think they are. This aspect of the American Dream, demonstrates the ordinary people and houses, everything looks the same. Menses is showing the shallowness of the American Dream behind the fake impression of the Burnham family. Behind the wall the family is empty and selfish. The Burnham family is dysfunctional, this is shown in the later scene ‘Pass the Asparagus’. During this scene we see the reality of Lester and Carolyn’s relationship. Mendes shows this through the use of dialogue. Carolyn and Lester speak to each other in a sarcastic tone. The motif of roses are removed from the table, however Carolyn still has a rose pattern on her dress. You can see the atmosphere has changes as Lester is now drinking beer and not wine. This shows the cracks in their relationship and Lester changing as a character. The table itself is smaller, closing the gaps of the American Dream perfect family. It then lengthens when reality sets in. A table cloth is used to cover the smooth, reflective table used in the earlier scenes. The room is still symmetrical and the parents are now on the same level and Jane is still directly in the middle of it all. In the beginning of the film Mendes puts the façade up of a stereotypical American Dream
Mendes manipulates the stereotype of the ‘American Dream’ by demonstrating aspects of it in three different scenes. The first dining room scene shows the façade of a perfect family. The table holds the motif of roses in the middle as 1950’s South Pacific music fills the silence in the room. Carolyn Burnham is placed higher on the table showing she has the power in the house. She feels superior to her husband due to the advice she was given “In order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times”. Lester Burnham slouches in his chair showing low self-esteem and low-confidence. Their daughter Jane is placed directly in between the two. The room is symmetrical showing the perfect family they think they are. This aspect of the American Dream, demonstrates the ordinary people and houses, everything looks the same. Menses is showing the shallowness of the American Dream behind the fake impression of the Burnham family. Behind the wall the family is empty and selfish. The Burnham family is dysfunctional, this is shown in the later scene ‘Pass the Asparagus’. During this scene we see the reality of Lester and Carolyn’s relationship. Mendes shows this through the use of dialogue. Carolyn and Lester speak to each other in a sarcastic tone. The motif of roses are removed from the table, however Carolyn still has a rose pattern on her dress. You can see the atmosphere has changes as Lester is now drinking beer and not wine. This shows the cracks in their relationship and Lester changing as a character. The table itself is smaller, closing the gaps of the American Dream perfect family. It then lengthens when reality sets in. A table cloth is used to cover the smooth, reflective table used in the earlier scenes. The room is still symmetrical and the parents are now on the same level and Jane is still directly in the middle of it all. In the beginning of the film Mendes puts the façade up of a stereotypical American Dream