American Beauty

Keith Benson Persuasive Writing Dr. Sarah Byker James 3.5.2008

So a middle aged man is in crisis due to lack of personal fulfillment, a middle aged woman struggles with lack of professional success, and a teenager battles with self-esteem issues. Who knew that this collection of characters so cliché, so ordinary could be woven together masterfully to produce a film as celebrated and didactic as American Beauty. American Beauty, originally a play written by Alan Ball, a native Georgian and alum of Florida State University, was produced for the sliver screen in 1999 and was directed by Sam Mendes. The movie sought to highlight the longing Americans possess to be validated by outside forces other than ourselves, and to what extent we will go achieve that validation. By providing an all-access look into the lives of the Burnhams, an affluent Anglo family living in AnySuburb, USA, American Beauty takes both a comedic and tragic look at the of Americans across generations and economic status. The American Beauty, for which the movie was named, is a type of rose native to, presumably, America only, and is grown abundantly on the Burnham property thanks largely to the labor of Carol Burnham. Carol Burham, a physically fit and attractive woman in her middle aged years that is obsessed by image. Her occupational success, as exhibited by the Burnham’s home complete with picket fence and rose gardenand the Mercedes Benz she drives, is an image. The “happiness” in her marriage is an image.