American Beauty and Rampant Materialism

The American Dream is an approach to life that satisfies a prescription of goals, designed to achieve happiness. The film American Beauty has a reoccurring motive of materialism in relation to these goals. The materialistic nature of these goals has a contradictory relationship with happiness, which is abstract in nature, far removed from materialism. The opening sequence of American Beauty incorporates both a foundation on which to build concepts, but also a reflection in the form of a voice-over. While were are displayed with seemingly pleasant interactions such as Carolyns conversation with their neighbor, Lesters odd and negative voiceover appears incompatible with the nature of the image being presented. He says I have never seen her so unhappy, illuminating the faade which Carolyn hides behind and so desperately tries to believe is happiness. Carolyns conversation consisted of trivial content lacking any depth creating an aura of superficiality. What becomes apparent here is that this example shares major characteristics with the idea of materialism. Materialism is associated with the idea where an emphasis is put onto matter rather than qualities that are abstract in nature. This renders emotions and spirituality, which could be considered the metaphorical depth of matter, null and void. Cinematically, devices were also used to subtly convey the materialistic nature of the situations encountered throughout the film. The viewer is immersed into an idealistic world where everything from the bedroom furniture to the maintenance of the garden follows a conventional and restricted manner. This is further emphasized by the framing techniques, employed, specifically The Rule of Thirds. This is a set of rules based on human perception and is essentially constructed on the idea that objects placed on a line that makes up a third of the frame either horizontally or vertically draw more attention. We see this in the birds eye view of the bedroom where Lester becomes a visual hotspot surrounded by a symmetrical, sequential pattern of furniture. Sequential patterns are also produced in the pan over Lesters suburb. We are presented with a palette of dull earth tones, which form the infrastructure. The pan is constant and steady in fashion with scene. A very important concept arises in reference with the housing. All the housing follows a standard style, which attempts to achieve the idea that there is a common goal among the population. The colour scheme is important, as it is a strong indicator that shows lack of individuality and in turn a strong dependence on materialism. This scene is accompanied with a sparse, atonal soundtrack, which is presented as an omen towards the future in the film. Lester says something very dynamic in the context of materialism, he says: That's my wife Carolyn. See the way the handle on those pruning shears matches her gardening clogs? That's not an accident. This occurs when he is spying on Carolyn, maintaining the garden, through the window. This in essence exposes the materialistic nature embodied within society. The rhetorical question captures the viewers attention and triggers

them think about what has just been said. This followed by the accident statement, which lacks room for ambiguity, produces a powerful feature to the film. An interesting link is created in the film, between the teenage mindset and that of adults in the film. Lester says: Janie's a pretty typical teenager. Angry, insecure, confused. I wish I could tell her that's all going to pass... The American Dream with its materialistic values has inspired insecurity, created confusion and has lead to anger. The views that teenagers are developing in this period of time further develop into ones that have a cause, the cause being the success in the American Dream. The glorification of material success has trampled the merit of success in other areas. In western society, there has been a growing correlation between material success and misery. Once again this seems contradictory in nature but appears to be a trend. People have been driven to accumulate, accumulate and accumulate until they become satisfied. But whats happening is that this is not being achieved and these people are going down a perpetual path lacking gratification. They keep on wanting something more in hope that, that in itself will finally achieve the happiness they have been in search for from the very beginning. American Beauty shows the progression of this mindset with its various outcomes. Particularly relevant, the character of Lester embodies all possible character traits, the victim, the beneficiary and the enlightened. Lester uses the American Dream to his advantage while increasing his material value and status, in the same manner as glamorized figures in our society. It is only when he reaches a peak that he becomes enlightened and finally puts materialistic values to one side and truly becomes happy. The words from a religious figure, The Archbishop of South Africa, who has foundations based on spiritual rather than materialistic values, are very relevant to this topic: Wealth actually does not in itself give you the contentment you thought you would have The ever-declining appeal to this artificial perpetual process towards achieving contentment is what ultimately causes the search for a new avenue by which to achieve it and in many cases distant from materialism. American Beauty with its various character sets, illustrates the various interpretations of the American Dream and manages to show the emotional toll that it has on its occupants. In all cases, we see the breakdown of the characters whether positive or negative. What has emerged from this film and supported by the stimulus, is that material and abstract qualities dont seamlessly integrate creating unpredictable outcomes. By Zubin Nanavati