The American Dream In Sam Mendes's American Beauty

Sam Mendes’ American Beauty (1999) is a film that proves the American Dream is dead. Acting as a humorous commentary on contemporary American society, the film shows us what it means to be “ordinary” in a way that is almost like a plague. Everyone aspires to conform to the same standard: a big, two-story house with a white picket fence and a kid (or two) in order to be seen as successful (after all, if one wishes to be successful, one must “project success”). In reality, the underlying fabric of these families is dysfunctional and unstable, as seen in the film’s portrayal of the two major families: the Burnhams and the Fittses. With a careful attention to mise en scene, production designer Naomi Shohan creates a world where everything is orderly

As she prunes roses in the garden outside (while Lester remains inside, masturbating in the shower, showing, in a strange, twisted way, how separated they are from one another), Lester remarks “see the way the handle on those pruning shears matches her gardening clogs? That’s not an accident.” This introduces us to Carolyn in a way that immediately presents her as neat, orderly and obsessed with perfection. She isn’t satisfied with her life, as Lester states (“she wasn’t always like this… she used to be happy). Much like Lester, Carolyn is miserable, though her perfect exterior shell would never allow for that side of her to be seen. The point I’m trying to make is that it would appear these characters have conformed to what society tells us the American Dream is (the aforementioned house, fence and kid), yet they couldn’t possibly be more miserable. After all, Lester openly proclaims “...and in a way, I’m dead already”. He is miserable with his life, to the point where jerking off in the shower is the high point of his day. The way mise en scene is used to present them creates this

Lester is not particularly good at his job, and thus is subject for being let go. The first conversation is essentially a reflection of Lester’s life at the time. He is small and insignificant in the frame, with the rest of the room overshadowing him. Speaking of the room, it is rather bleak and lifeless itself: the lighting is scarce, and the only real decorations are an ugly plant in the back of the room and a painting that is proportionally tiny to the much larger wall it hangs on. In other words, the office isn’t a particularly pleasant place to work. Moreover, we’re looking at Lester from his boss’s perspective, who, when the camera focuses on him, is significantly larger and more in charge in the frame. This represents Lester’s current status in life: he is tiny, insignificant and looked down upon. He is inferior, and feels inferior. Something has to change. Later on, when Lester quits his job, Lester is much larger and more in control, sometimes appearing much larger than his boss. He is no longer a backdrop in a room filled with nothing, but rather is the focus of the scene. This use of mise en scene shows that he has rebelled against conformity and come out as a new man who isn’t afraid to take charge and make his own decisions. As Lester says, “I’m just an ordinary guy with nothing to lose”, though he is anything but ordinary in this instance (as I have already