American Beauty

The movie “American Beauty” is a drama film that depicts the inter-persona family relationships of repressed middle-class people, describes the process of rediscovering true values in life, and how personal changes affect inter-personal relationships (Cohen, Jinks, & Mendes, 1999). The Burnham family are the main characters of the movie, and the family consists of Lester Burhnam, Carolyn Burnham, and their daughter Jane Burnham. Lester is a desperate and frustrated man who hates his job, cannot confront his wife, does not have any respect from his daughter, and has no control over the events that occur in his life. However, Lester soon decides to leave the role of the victim and replaces his job at the magazine with a job at the fast food restaurant while blackmailing his previous boss to give him $60,000 dollars.

Lester befriends a teenage boy Ricky Fitts, who moved to the neighborhood recently with his parents Frank and Barbara, and starts purchasing marijuana from him. Furthermore, he starts fantasizing about his daughter's friend Angela and starts exercising in the garage to improve his physique for the purpose of having sex with her. Carolyn was frustrated by her husbands immature behavior and started an affair with Buddy Kane. When Lester found out about her affair, he claimed he was happy for her because he did not see any point in their marriage any more. Meanwhile, Jane Burnham bonds with Ricky Fitts and starts to openly talk about her issues at home which caused her low self-esteem and reserved behavior. Although Lester finally finds true happiness and begins controlling his life, the repressed colonel Frank, who mistakenly believed Lester was gay and tried to kiss him, shoots him in the head. While it seems unfair th...

... middle of paper ...

...lly beneficial (Dams, 1997). Jane would spend less time and resources on improving her mental health and gain the same or better results. Therapists who know how to form therapeutic alliances and set goals with their patients will spend fewer resources to produce effective outcomes, so both the patient and therapists will benefit from spending fewer resources, such as time and money, to achieve beneficial results. Outside of the health care system, support is a valuable resource in psychotherapy because people who are dealing with their issues often require it for motivation. While Jane was lacking a supportive environment while growing up, she is able to create one with Ricky after meeting him. Although she still has to monitor her addictive behavior, creating or finding a supportive community will decrease her depression and increase her self-esteem significantly.