American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes in 1999, is an American film that criticizes, with some satirical air, the society of the time, but turned out to be a classic, so we can perfectly apply the social portrait it outlines. any Western society today.
It is worth mentioning the choice of title, which already anticipates what we will attend: the ideal of American beauty. American Beauty outlines in detail the established pattern, the imposed mold of the “perfect family”. However, from the first few minutes we realize that all this beauty is nothing more than a mere appearance, ephemeral, superficial, and that entails dangerous consequences. This is a totally grotesque society, where each character plays a role and must adapt to it.
Everything happens in a quiet residential area and the focus is on the Burnham family, consisting of:
Finally, these characters will somehow find their release from sex; sex assumes the natural, non-artificial and wild side that we are trying to suppress in society.
After a while new neighbors arrive in the neighborhood, another deconstructed family, in the dome stands Colonel Fitts, soldier and father, who has developed a strong denial as a defense mechanism: it has consolidated as a model, must continue. him and follow him blindly, though it leads to the loss or denial of his own being.
On the other hand, his wife is totally submissive in character, barely speaking and obsessed with cleanliness. They have a teenage son, Ricky, who completely opposes his father: he overcomes social norms and sees beauty where no one else finds her. .
it shows the consequences of a completely dehumanized and materialistic society, which contrasts with the most intimate concerns of being. Seek a critical look at our reality, in which we play roles, we constantly put on masks to try to integrate into models.
Our society is like a big masquerade, which changes over the years: son, father, grandfather, etc. , all to form a lifestyle, an aesthetic based on appearances and artifices, which began to emerge after World War II with the promotion of the American way of life.
It is interesting to see how these masks are lost when sex appears on stage, when individuals get carried away by these passions. From Lester to Colonel Fitts to teenage girls Jane and Angela (Jane’s friend), everyone succumbs to desire and reveals their genuine anxieties and insecurities.
“To be successful, you have to project an image of success. “Buddy Kane at American Beauty?
Beauty is the key to the film and roses are the metaphor, since ancient times they have been considered a symbol of perfection, however, pink is a treacherous flower, delicate in appearance and fragile in its petals, which contrasts with the hardness of its stem and spines. Equally, perfect families? American women are only perfect in appearance.
At the beginning of the film, Carolyn is seen cutting roses from his garden and how neighbors praise its beauty. By cutting them and placing them in a vase, we transform them into something artificial, something whose sole purpose is contemplation; over time they will fade, lose their petals and therefore their beauty. Roses are a constant, they give clues as to what happens to the life of the characters.
The character of Angela, Jane’s teenage friend, is related to the rose. Does she fit the prototype of American beauty: blonde, pretty, slim, and cheerleader? It has a strong influence on Jane.
She likes to feel loved and admired by men and would do anything to make her dream of becoming a model come true. However, she is full of insecurities, her life is based on aesthetics and the image she projects of herself has little to do with reality.
Rose petals have sexual connotations, so it’s no wonder they’re related to Angela’s character, plus these petals fall slowly, showing ephemeral beauty.
We are looking at a film that seeks the reaction of the viewer, seeks to provoke an embarrassment and awaken a reflection, a critical vision of our daily life, with it we immerse ourselves in the minds of the characters, their deepest longings, the relationships they have with each other and how they relate to the world at different stages of life. The design of beauty? Standard: Contrasts with the beauty ideal of Ricky’s character, which, curiously, is the most marginal life in the work bench.
It is interesting to highlight the role that music plays and how it envelops us in this environment, how the characters select a particular song depending on the moment they are, this we see, in particular, in the scenes that unfold inside the vehicle. There is no mask on them; they can be themselves, loneliness frees them and the power to drive is accompanied by the music chosen for the occasion. It’s time to be themselves.
American Beauty presents the harsh consequences of our contemporary society, shows how fear is the main culprit for trying to maintain appearances and not accepting us as we really are We reject, hide and wear a multitude of masks to adapt and survive the established standards No doubt appearances deceive.
“Never underestimate the power of denial?” Ricky Fitts at American Beauty?