Analysis of Lester Burnham When I was told to choose a movie to perform a psychoanalysis on a character. I did not know what movie to choose. After watching the two hour long film on the multiple characters that seemed to be struggling to find their inner happiness: American Beauty. I knew that I should not look any further. One character that especially stood out was‚ Lester Burnham. A forty-two year old father with a mid-life crisis. In the film‚ American Beauty Lester Burnham is portrayed
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November 17‚ 2010 American Beauty: An Analysis of Lester Burnham and Ricky Fitts American Beauty‚ written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes‚ invites the viewer to do one thing: look closer. Look closer at life‚ look closer at your surroundings‚ look closer at your possessions‚ and finally look closer at your loved ones. What is integral about the subject matter of the film is how applicable it is to almost anyone who watches it. The film’s grotesque depiction of American middle-class society
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Sam Mendes’ American Beauty‚ at first‚ evinces the perfect picture of the ideal middle class suburban American life. The Burnham family appears to have everything anyone would want- success‚ money‚ status‚ and with that‚ presumed happiness. However‚ reality contravenes this façade and paints a much darker and more sinister truth. Throughout the film‚ several interpersonal communicational concepts are incorporated to depict the elaborate layers of the characters and their relationships in the film
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The Color Red "The beauty that addresses itself to the eyes is only the spell of the moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the soul." George Sand hit the nail right on the head when he said this in 1872. Appearance versus reality has been a central theme in many American creative works including the film American Beauty. American Beauty is a film that delves into your typical‚ middle-class suburban American home and slowly uncovers all of the abnormalities that lie within. The family
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A True Beauty Sam Mendes’ ‘American Beauty’ is a daring‚ startling and gut-wrenching film that explores a seemingly typical mid-life crisis of a middle-aged office drone‚ which quickly turns into an unbelievably dysfunctional dimension of self-discovery. The drone in question is none other than Lester Burnham (played by the terrific Kevin Spacey) - a 42 year old who has reached the lowest point in his unexciting‚ boxed in‚ suburban life. However this all changes when Lester meets a friend of his
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American Beauty tells the story of a man’s mid-life crisis set in contemporary American suburbia. The character of Lester Burnham is already dead and tells the story as a flashback. Lester works in a steady job‚ is in a loveless marriage‚ and has a tense relationship with his daughter. However‚ he doesn’t like his job‚ has extreme marriage troubles with his wife‚ and feels depressed and hopeless. He ends up changing quite a bit‚ he gets sexually obsessed with his daughter’s friend Angela‚ decides
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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
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The American Dream is futile. There is not much point chasing after something that is pointless and unsatisfying once it is thought to be obtained. People thought that the American Dream was a measure of how successful you were in life. If you had a wife‚ two children‚ a nice house‚ two cars and a stable job you were the definition of success. If you didn’t have a few of those things‚ or had none at all‚ then you hadn’t succeeded in your life. That is not the case. Procuring the American Dream does
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Reflection Paper American Beauty 4/14/2011 American beauty is a quirky film about a middle aged mans rebellion‚ and the live of the people surrounding him. The opening scene shoots over what appears to be the perfect suburbia. Perfect little white houses‚ friendly neighbors‚ the whole nine yards. The question is “Is suburbia perfect. is After watching this film‚ I felt the best way to go about a reflection paper was to do more of a character analysis. In the beginning of the film‚ we are
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American Beauty Essay 2 Question (a) A successful film offers an insight into our own society. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Many successful films provide insight into our own society. This is observed in the film ‘American Beauty’ by Sam Mendes‚ which presents us with the idea of the American Dream/Materialism which is also relevant in today’s society. In this essay I will explore this idea by linking our society to what is portrayed in American Beauty‚ along with the aspects
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