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MY LAST HIGHSCHOOL PAPER EVER!!!!!!! 2 more days left :)
Megan Sand
Film critic “American Beauty”
Senior English/Arnold
5/14/04
“My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course I don't know that yet, and in a way, I am dead already.” Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughters friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a relationship with the boy-next-door named Ricky who lives with a homophobic father.
In the film “American Beauty,” the color red is used throughout as a symbol. The first time we see Annette Benning (Carolyn), she's cutting bright red roses. What does the color red mean in this movie? It refers to life’s force, and natural instincts to try and defy the suppressiveness of suburban life. She's attempting to cut away the life’s force, and the suppression.
For Kevin Spacey (Lester), the life’s force which suburbia can't repress is sex, in his fantasies, Mena Suvari (Angela Hayes, Jane’s friend), floats on a bed of red rose petals, or soaks in a tub covered in roses. In their final, near-sexual encounter, a vase of red roses are in view. Peter Gallagher's (‘Real Estate King’ Buddy) bus stop posters have a red background, for he unleashes Annette Bening's pent-up sexuality. For Spacey, red also symbolizes rebellion, individuality, self-discovery, and impulses. When he buys the sports car of his boyhood dreams, of course it’s bright red.
Carolyn Burnham, “Uh, who's car is that out front?”
Lester Burnham, “Mine. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. The car I've always wanted and now I have it. I rule!”
For Chris Cooper (Col. Frank, Ricky’s father), red is both sexuality and also the assertion of individuality. When he kisses Kevin Spacey, Kevin's bright red car is in the background. For Thora Birch (Jane), Spacey's daughter in the film, red also is related to the assertion of individuality. When she leaves dinner after telling off her parents, she wears a sweater with red flowers, and at the dinner table there is always a vase full of roses slowly in bloom.
There's a scene with Cooper's near-catatonic wife, Allison Janney (Barbara), where she's cooking. On the wall, is a red oven-pad. It flashes by fast. It’s as if that is her soul hanging on the wall. She lives a life without love, and her and her husband are in a state of denial over their son’s problems. For Wes Bentley (Ricky, Jane’s boyfriend), red defies the emotional and psychological restrictions of suburban life. He shows Birch his video of a plastic bag dancing in the wind as an example of the endless beauty behind all life. “This bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and... this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.” The wall behind the bag is red. Red also reappears as a nirvana-like state when Kevin Spacey dies. Though he has bled a great deal, there's a slight smile on his dead lips. His voice over lets us know he's reached a kind of infinite happiness.
Sex, individuality, happiness, and beauty all are examples of the life’s force. For some of the characters, the life force leads them to freedom; for others, not. Lester Burnham , “It's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst ...And then it flows through me like rain. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. Don't worry you will someday.”
Megan Sand
Film critic “American Beauty”
Senior English/Arnold
5/14/04
“My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course I don't know that yet, and in a way, I am dead already.” Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughters friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a relationship with the boy-next-door named Ricky who lives with a homophobic father.
In the film “American Beauty,” the color red is used throughout as a symbol. The first time we see Annette Benning (Carolyn), she's cutting bright red roses. What does the color red mean in this movie? It refers to life’s force, and natural instincts to try and defy the suppressiveness of suburban life. She's attempting to cut away the life’s force, and the suppression.
For Kevin Spacey (Lester), the life’s force which suburbia can't repress is sex, in his fantasies, Mena Suvari (Angela Hayes, Jane’s friend), floats on a bed of red rose petals, or soaks in a tub covered in roses. In their final, near-sexual encounter, a vase of red roses are in view. Peter Gallagher's (‘Real Estate King’ Buddy) bus stop posters have a red background, for he unleashes Annette Bening's pent-up sexuality. For Spacey, red also symbolizes rebellion, individuality, self-discovery, and impulses. When he buys the sports car of his boyhood dreams, of course it’s bright red.
Carolyn Burnham, “Uh, who's car is that out front?”
Lester Burnham, “Mine. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. The car I've always wanted and now I have it. I rule!”
For Chris Cooper (Col. Frank, Ricky’s father), red is both sexuality and also the assertion of individuality. When he kisses Kevin Spacey, Kevin's bright red car is in the background. For Thora Birch (Jane), Spacey's daughter in the film, red also is related to the assertion of individuality. When she leaves dinner after telling off her parents, she wears a sweater with red flowers, and at the dinner table there is always a vase full of roses slowly in bloom.
There's a scene with Cooper's near-catatonic wife, Allison Janney (Barbara), where she's cooking. On the wall, is a red oven-pad. It flashes by fast. It’s as if that is her soul hanging on the wall. She lives a life without love, and her and her husband are in a state of denial over their son’s problems. For Wes Bentley (Ricky, Jane’s boyfriend), red defies the emotional and psychological restrictions of suburban life. He shows Birch his video of a plastic bag dancing in the wind as an example of the endless beauty behind all life. “This bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and... this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.” The wall behind the bag is red. Red also reappears as a nirvana-like state when Kevin Spacey dies. Though he has bled a great deal, there's a slight smile on his dead lips. His voice over lets us know he's reached a kind of infinite happiness.
Sex, individuality, happiness, and beauty all are examples of the life’s force. For some of the characters, the life force leads them to freedom; for others, not. Lester Burnham , “It's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst ...And then it flows through me like rain. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. Don't worry you will someday.”