Happiness
Happiness exists in American Beauty as a myth, as a
goal, and as a disguise. All of the characters are engaged in the pursuit of
happiness, although they have very different ideas about what happiness is and
how to find it. This is one of the qualities that truly make American Beauty a
film about the modern American experience: if being American means having the
intrinsic right to the pursuit of happiness, why is the "typical"
American so deeply unhappy? At the beginning of the film, Lester Burnham
realizes that despite the dire nature of his current state, it is still
possible for him to become happy once again. Slowly - and then with growing
intensity - he begins to pursue happiness by paying close attention to his true
desires, and ignoring the screeching dictates of society (as embodied by his
wife, Carolyn). At the close of the film, Lester finally realizes that he has
found true happiness...and in the most unlikely way. What makes this film so
unique is that Lester pursues happiness in a manner that runs directly counter
to the ideals of "respectable" society: he does drugs, takes a
meaningless job, and pursues a sexual affair with a fifteen-year-old girl.
Lester has become so blinded by his willingness to walk the straight and narrow
that he must return to a fundamental - and arguably juvenile - state in order
to recapture the happiness that he once enjoyed. Meanwhile, Carolyn Burnham
represents the commonly-held belief that happiness is about perception: she is
happy if she seems pulled together, confident, and successful - in other words,
she is happy if others think that she is happy. She believes that by pursuing
success she is pursuing happiness, but in reality she is merely attempting to
dampen her own misery over the wreckage of her marriage and the narrowness of
her life. Her daughter Jane, in contrast, is completely immersed in her misery.
She displays it for all to see, from the clothes she wears to the company she
keeps. Jane is so used to living in a state of perpetual unhappiness that when
she meets Ricky she continues to obsess about her terrible home life despite
the fact that Ricky's situation is clearly far worse.Ultimately, American
Beauty endorses the pursuit of happiness as the only thing worth living for. At
the end of the film, Lester's murder seems almost inconsequential; how can
Lester's end be viewed as a tragedy when he was lucky enough to know true
happiness in the months before he died, and when so many others never know it
at all?
Identity
Many of the characters' problems stem from their
failure to develop or maintain a coherent identity. Lester finds happiness by
separating his sense of self-worth from his job and his home life. He learns
that even though his boss and wife treat him as though he's worthless, that
doesn't mean that he is. Angela believes that her identity is founded entirely
on her sexuality. She fears being "ordinary" because she has confused
ordinariness with physical plainness, and has confused physical plainness with
having no identity. Carolyn Burnham is one of the film's most tragic characters
because she has literally replaced her identity as a person with a collection
of material things. Carolyn Burnham has a perfect suit, an expensive couch, and
a new car, but she has lost the vivacious personality that Lester Burnham fell
in love with. When he attempts to remind her of how she once was, she viciously
defends her current state, thus protecting her belief that her priorities are
in order and that she is successful because she possesses the
"important" things in life. Ricky is the one character who does not
fall victim to this problem of identity: his awe-inspiring strength comes from
his ability to retain a clear sense of self despite constant abuse from his
father. Even when he discovers that his father's love is truly conditional,
Ricky is able to fearlessly pursue Jane's love and acceptance.The power of
identity is underscored by Lester Burnham's death. Colonel Fitts kills Lester
because he has revealed his true self to him, and cannot bear the idea that
some part of himself - a part that he has always tried to keep hidden - has
been exposed. In killing Lester, the Colonel preserves an identity that he can
live with, albeit a false one.
American Culture
From its title to its allusions to several iconic
American texts, American Beauty explores different aspects of American culture
and American identity. The title refers to three different symbols of American
culture: American Beauty roses (a popular variety), Angela as a representative
of youthful, innocent, "American" loveliness, and the American
aesthetic of beauty, as represented by Ricky's films. Lester Burnham has
distinct similarities to Willy Loman, the everyman protagonist of Arthur
Miller's Death of a Salesman. Lester, cognizant of his situation, reinvents his
life in order to save himself from a similar end. Carolyn Burnham represents
American consumerism and the unfortunate belief that things can replace
relationships. Lester's job at a fast-food restaurant and Jane's participation
on the cheerleading team (both "typical" American roles) inject a
humorous note into Mendes' discussion of American culture. All the same,
American Beauty forces the viewer to consider whether there is anything worth
saving at the root of this culture. When American Beauty was released abroad,
many critics were surprised that Americans responded so positively to a film
that seemed so critical of traditional American values. Americans, it seems,
were ready to question these values much as Lester does in the film, and move
towards a more satisfying, emotionally fulfilling existence.
