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  • Essay / American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes - 1163

    “American Beauty”, through images and character representations, attempts to depict and question the banality of middle-class sexual mores. One of the main ways director Sam Mendes portrays this is through symbols, most notably in the seductive color red, used to represent both sexuality and youth. The film's characters, through their dialogue and various deceptions toward the outside world, also pose questions about society's expectations regarding sex. Mendes also uses lighting, props, settings, and music as a commentary on the sexuality of all his characters, both sexual awakening and oppression. The film's visual style coupled with the character's unique struggles and opinions make "American Beauty" a haunting look at how our culture perceives gender and sex. The color red, mainly used in the symbol of a rose, is the most important and visible color. memorable visual image of the film. The American Beauty rose is a “perpetual rose,” which grows back every year and is known for its blood-red color. When the film opens and we are introduced to Carolyn, the uptight wife of the film's protagonist Lester, she cuts the roses growing at the stem, symbolizing her stifled and loveless marriage. We see Carolyn's roses a few other times in the film dying in a vase, never as vibrant as when she first cut them in the front yard for the world to see. However, when Lester first sees Angela, his daughter's high school friend, she arouses him sexually and everything about her is red. She wears blood red lipstick and a red uniform while Lester imagines her with flowing, vibrant red roses. Although these characterizations and images help establish pink and the color red as definitions of these women's sexuality, they are a...... middle of paper ...... associations with their own youth contribute to forming the divide between The director's choices of symbols, music and characterizations in "American Beauty" successfully portray several statements about our culture's sexual beliefs and how Mendes' characters perceive their own sexuality. The symbols used to represent youth, conservative ideals, and liberal sexual ideals help shape the melancholy portrait of the suburban middle class. Many of Mendes' comments are critical, showing conventional aspects of life as dull, bleak, and uninteresting through simple settings and dull lighting. Being adventurous or rebellious is portrayed in a positive way through upbeat music, bright lighting, and bright colors. The stylization and character development in "American Beauty" make many poignant statements about middle American sexual archetypes..