The film American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, views the American Dream as a constricting force that forces people into a materialistic, consumerist facade that adversely impacts their happiness. The characters are almost trapped by this ideology, and they have come to focus more on their material possessions and careers, rather than their family and those important to them. Throughout the film, we see constant examples where the characters value their material possessions over family, such as the couch scene with Lester and Carolyn. In this scene, Lester is attempting to kiss Carolyn, while she is visibly uncomfortable with his actions. Lester sees this as an attempt to rekindle their relationship, while Carlyn sees this as an uncomfortable moment, which
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Already we see how this idea of ‘the American dream’ is built on a facade of happiness, which only serves to obscure the truth from those around them. However, as the scene continues, right when Lester is about to kiss Carolyn, she pushes him off quickly, as he was about to spill a beer on the couch. While Lester exclaims that “It's just a couch!”, she replies that it is not “just a couch”, but one worth $4,000 and made of Italian silk. Thus, she sees these material possessions as more important and the focus of her life. She almost sees these material possessions as more important than her husband, which only furthers the idea that the ‘American dream’ is built off of a focus on materialism. Additionally, Carolyn also constantly puts up this facade of happiness in order to maintain this idea of an ideal American household. For example, when she fails to make a house sale, Carolyn begins to weep. However, she sees this sign of weakness in opposition of her idea of an ideal household, so she slaps herself and yells at herself to “stop crying”. This scene clearly demonstrates how Carolyn keeps her true emotions locked up deep inside her as she sees them something to be repressed and negative for
Already we see how this idea of ‘the American dream’ is built on a facade of happiness, which only serves to obscure the truth from those around them. However, as the scene continues, right when Lester is about to kiss Carolyn, she pushes him off quickly, as he was about to spill a beer on the couch. While Lester exclaims that “It's just a couch!”, she replies that it is not “just a couch”, but one worth $4,000 and made of Italian silk. Thus, she sees these material possessions as more important and the focus of her life. She almost sees these material possessions as more important than her husband, which only furthers the idea that the ‘American dream’ is built off of a focus on materialism. Additionally, Carolyn also constantly puts up this facade of happiness in order to maintain this idea of an ideal American household. For example, when she fails to make a house sale, Carolyn begins to weep. However, she sees this sign of weakness in opposition of her idea of an ideal household, so she slaps herself and yells at herself to “stop crying”. This scene clearly demonstrates how Carolyn keeps her true emotions locked up deep inside her as she sees them something to be repressed and negative for