American beauty revision

Q. The best creative techniques teach the audiences new ideas

Introduction
Paragraph 1: Colour
Red, American dream, success, happiness, house, blood, passion,
Lester at the beginning wears cool desaturated colours lack of energy & a
drained life. He then goes through a rebirth & develops a brighter outlook on
life & the colour of his garments turn yellow then green and eventually red.
When he is shot there is bright red blood all over the walls and on him. Even
though blood is spilling from a hole in Lester's forehead, he looks
happy...beautiful, even.
Red is the symbol of vitality, passion, emotion, beauty. It is emphasised by
dropping warm colours from the shots. Carolyn red + costume passionate
Paragraph 2: Costume
Carolyn -Matching, modest, concealing, look closer, success
In order to be successful one must project an image of success at all times
My company sells an image. Its part of my job to live that image.
At the start of the film we see Carolyn in a gardening costume; she wears a
white apron over a business type suit. This shows us she is not willing to get
dirty or wear normal clothes associated with gardening as she always needs
an image of sophistication and power. Lester also draws our attention to how
her clogs match the handles on her secateurs (which isnt a mistake),
enforcing the fact she is a perfectionist and image is everything.
Carolyns costume does not change significantly throughout the film as she
always wears a sophisticated business type dress. When she needs to clean
a house which she is trying to sell, she strips down to her undergarments
rather than her dress being possibly stained. From Carolyns costume we are
able to see her true personality as it defines her as an individual. Carolyns
costume allows us to understand she is a perfectionist, sophisticated, image
conscious and is projecting an image of power.
Paragraph 3: Lighting
Mood, darkness, secret, singular light, set, dining room
Lighting is one of the major elements in a film and is responsible for both
the quality of the images and for much of the film's dramatic effect.
The dominant style of lighting for a scene is described as "high key" and
"low key."
High-key lighting = brightly lit, creates a sense of sunniness, joy, and
security; comedy
Low-key lighting = greyer and darker, a good deal of shadow; mystery,
horror
Paragraph 4: Symbols
Rose, passion, vase, entrapment, fences,
When we first meet carolyn she is clipping roses in her matching gloves and
clogs. The rose is outwardly perfect, hard to maintain but common and
unsubstantial. Carolyn exemplifies how American Beauty shows us how the
American Dream is a flawed ideal. Like her, it is outwardly perfect; but like
most hot-house grown roses, it has no scent and therefore no soul. It is the
type that florists sell in a million transparent plastic packs, cultivated for its
flawlessness.

One irony is that it is associated with romance, but there is no romance left
in the Burnham marriage.
In Lesters fantasy it becomes also the symbol of lust and destructiveness. It
is significant that although red roses feature strongly in Lester's fantasy, it is
as loose petals. In his showdown with Angela, the vase of roses is very
visible,
Symbolism
Cages or Jail Cells
Lester trapped behind bars in the
computer screen, in windows,
Carolyn in the blinds, at the end it
is Fitts and Angels.
Symbolises being trapped in
ones life
Doors
Show transition, of moving from
one thing to another. Show a
journey. Closing doors indicate
the end of a journey. Opening
doors indicate changing
perspectives, opening a new
journey.
Empty rooms
Lack of connection, lack of
emotion, lack of love. The
emptiness that is left behind
when real family and love is taken
away. Shows that materialism
truly leaves emptiness at the end
of it all. Materialism overrunning
family. What might happen
against what has happened.
White walls
Symbolise a sterile environment.
Blood on the wall at the end
symbolises a victory of vitality
over sterility. Walls are barriers
between people. Magritte
reference. Shows that the walls
themselves are plain, houses
bring no happiness, but it is only
when people and love are there
when they mean anything.
Windows, views through
windows
Reflection, identity; caroln
washing windows, jane in mirror,
angela mirror

Nudity
Vulnerability once material
shields are stripped away
Roses and rose petals
Represent Carolyn. Lust, love,
appearance, reality, Carolyn
cutting roses, lesters fantasy,
deception, angela
The plastic bag
The beauty of things you dont
normally see beauty in
Guns
Violence, murder, Carolyns
empowerment, desperation
Lesters red car
Midlife crisis, return to youth
Beauty
Idea there is beauty everywhere
but that everyone has a different
idea of what it is, so it is thrown
around a lot
Freak
Used as an insult, but gradually
realise that freak is better than
being anything else
Ordinary
Angela is ordinary
References to death
Foreshadowing? The realisation to
be grateful of every moment
means he can be okay with dying
and thus release his life.
Realisation that life on earth isnt
everything, so neither is material
goods
Roses

Repeated gestures

Symbol of love, life & death.

Hidden danger thorns.
Rickys camera
Way of creating intimacy with
Jane. Represents motif of viewing
through a medium. Intimacy and
separation. Ironic has to go
through something to become
close