Unsatisfactory In American Beauty

American Beauty American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, exploits the overwhelming misconception of beauty, and of how to achieve happiness. The tag line, “look closer”, prompts viewers to look deeper into the characters and thus into themselves; something that society should also be prompted to do. The characters in American Beauty are not what they appear, and throughout the course of the movie, reality hits and many realize the life they have been living is somewhat unsatisfactory. Through the use of narration and other techniques, Mendes illustrates how truly blind people can be, and how some luckily learn to see. Lester Burnham, the main character in the movie, is a middle aged man who has come to realize how unhappy he is with the life he is living. His wife is nothing but an inconvenience to him and his daughter has nothing but pure hatred for a man she claims does nothing but embarrass her. Lester’s first appearance in the movie is through narration; “In less than a year, I will be dead. Of course I don’t know that yet, but in a way, I am dead already”. Lester goes on to say, “Look at me, jerking off in the shower, this will be the high point of my day; it’s all downhill from here”. This
Sometimes you capture things on film in order to capture a feeling you had at that particular moment in time. Ricky didn’t tape a dead bird to be purposefully morbid, but because he felt something when he saw that bird, because he felt something he wanted to be able to remember. Ricky Fitts knows from the first time we are introduced to him to “look closer”. When talking to Angela he says (referring to Jane), “She’s not your friend, she’s someone you use to feel better about yourself”. Ricky is clearly aware of the insecurities and unhappiness surrounding