American Beauty Does the Film Portray Realistic Heroes Essay Example

American Beauty Does the Film Portray Realistic Heroes? Essay The premise of this topic suggesting that characters are both heroic and realistic is too narrow and generic to apply for most films and indeed all films of high literary merit whose aim is to impart philosophical ideas on an audience ready to be challenged. In Sam Mendes’ American Beauty the characters portrayed are eclectic and differentiated from the mould of being both heroic and realistic. These characters to focus on are Lester Burnham, the narrator and protagonist, Carolyn his wife and arguable antagonist and Ricky Fitts the fringe character who may be considered the true hero of this commentary on American society. Where the premise does ring true somewhat is in the characterisation of the main character Lester Burnham who is very realistic and reflective of the modern middle-aged American man while also developing into a hero once he finds his identity after experiencing a mid life crisis. This isn’t always so though and in the beginning of the film Lester Burnham is a self-confessed loser who is lauded by his own family. As someone who transforms into his later role as a hero from one who initially isn’t this portrayal can be seen as more realistic. At first though Lester isn’t a hero which is made glaringly obvious when he laments: â€Å"I feel like I’ve been in a coma for about twenty years?. The production techniques of costume show Lester as someone who needlessly dresses formally in a grey ‘everyman’ type suit in order to make him seem like he fits in with the â€Å"advertising whores? he works with in his industry. His hair is combed and his cl othes are ironed and tucked in. This way Lester garners no sympathy with the audience as he is seen as someone who is bland, boring and doesn’t take control of his life. Camera techniques used are used to show Lester as if he is in a prison while he masturbates in the shower or while he is at work and his face is reflected of vertical â€Å"bars? of words. We will write a custom essay sample on American Beauty Does the Film Portray Realistic Heroes? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on American Beauty Does the Film Portray Realistic Heroes? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on American Beauty Does the Film Portray Realistic Heroes? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In an archetypal way Lester changes to become the vivacious personality who spent all time: â€Å"partying and getting laid? to become more of a hero. Lester has audience sympathy **** for him because reclaiming his life and making decisions for himself so that he no longer is unhappy and spends the rest of his life in a coma. In this way Lester is viewed a hero in a domestic setting and the same production techniques reflect Lester differently now. He is wearing more brighter colours such as a yellow top while jogging and now his hair is messy and there are fewer ironed, tucked-in clothes on him which mask his identity. (This maybe why he strips naked while working out). Also low angle shots are employed while he is jogging conveying how he now has a new lease on life and is more assured of himself. Here we see a realistic hero served up to an audience for a purpose. Through the positive characterisation of Lester Mendes wanted to advertise him as a role model of someone who lives life for himself and doesn’t let convoluted American society views such as materialism and superficial beauty cloud his mindset. From here the crux of the premise can be addressed: certain characters are portrayed positively and others aren’t which is because the director has intentions on how the audience should react to certain characters. Through a positive portrayal of Lester Mendes wanted to promote anti-authoritarianism and conforming to hypocritical middle class America. A reversal of this characterisation is seen with Carolyn Burnham who is arguably the films main antagonist. Carolyn is far from heroic as she is first presented to the audience cutting an American Beauty rose from its stem in order to horde its superficial beauty. Film techniques of costume convey Carolyn as a self-absorbed aspiring real estate agent who dresses in formless business suits to conform and suit in her opinion the aspects which her job entails. When she is first selling a house the costume choice is of an unattractive beige working suit under which lies a striking red coiffe. This shows Carolyn filters her personality to shape her image into that which she thinks is desirable. She tells Lester: â€Å"my business is to sell an image and part of my job is to live that image.? The obsessive and hysterical accumulation of material wealth is also something that stirs negative perceptions toward this character. At one point in the film she bursts out toward Lester: â€Å"thi s is a $4000 sofa upholstered in Italian silk? when he implies it is not really important life. Carolyn’s portrayal can be seen as anti-heroic but very realistic which supplements Mendes vision of the two sides of the coin of how Americans should choose to live their life in modern society. She is deliberately contrasted to the equally realistically portrayed Lester to put forward to the audience two ways of thinking: one which is favourable and should be embraced and another which shouldn’t. Both of these characters are realistic reduce distance between characters and audience to make the directors intentions more potent and relevant. Lastly an example of a film character who is heroic but isn’t realistic is the Norman Bates-esque Ricky fits. This is a character who embodies the films main ideas but is portrayed unrealistically with a key idea in mind. Throughout the film Ricky is shown as radical and progressive, he is filming a dead bird and looks past the superficial beauty of the high school blonde cheerleader Angela Hayes instead to her friend the â€Å"plain? Jane who he sees far more inner beauty in. The main theme of American Beauty is where beauty can really be found in this world and how it is not necessarily where people think. Ricky Fitts is a character who is intelligent and perceptive enough to understand this but he cannot be seen as realistic given his age (18) and the fact he manages to do this while also being a drug dealer who has been diagnosed with a mental condition. The unattainable ideal of the way living can be seen in Ricky Fitts and he is shown as unrealistic because the director s purpose is that he knows the audience will never be able to think like him. However Mendes does manage to juxtapose Ricky with the realistic portrayal of Lester to show that audiences can break out of its coma of materialism and obsession with image to find true beauty in the world. To conclude, Mendes has effectively presented his audience with a range of different characters with different attributes who all in unique ways contribute to the richness of the ideas he wanted to portray. Not all characters can be uniform in their one-dimensional attributes otherwise directors will not be able to have the tools available to get their message across when films are made these days.

Writing SOL Prompt 4 Essay Essays - Attitude, Positive Psychology

Writing SOL Prompt 4 Essay Essays - Attitude, Positive Psychology PROMPT: It has been said that a positive attitude is the key to success in life. Do you agree or disagree with this statement about the importance of attitude? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. I agree with the statement that a positive attitude is the key to success in life. Not only does a positive attitude lead to greater success, it also makes it easier to gain inner peace, better health, improved relationships, happiness, and satisfaction. Our world isnt perfect and its not an easy task for anyone to survive and live a content life. People struggle each day in order to achieve their goals and to be successful; every person has their own set of problems and challenges that they must face and overcome. The only way to defeat obstacles in life is to keep persevering and staying determined. The power and force that drives people is their attitude or how they perceive things. If people always keep a positive outlook in life by believing in your own abilities and spreading positivity to others, they will eventually be able to reach their destination and achieve their desired goals to become successful. During times of failure or difficulties, its crucial to always think positive and believe in your own abilities. People who are successful always think positive about achieving their targets, even during problematic times, and dont let negative thoughts pass through their minds. In order to become successful, one must not give up easily and keep fighting to the end regardless of the current or upcoming obstacles that they encounter. Failure and making mistakes is inevitable. For example, when a student fails a quiz, they cant spend the rest of their year beating themselves up it. That student must learn from what they did wrong and find better ways to improve in their studies. They cant feel discouraged and give just because of one mistake. They have to believe themselves and keeping reminding themselves that if they work harder and find better study methods, it wont happen again. People need to believe in themselves and always remind themselves that anything is possible, as long as you work for it. Nothing is impossible and if you truly try to accomplish something, it will be completed. People need to keep in mind that positive thinking is contagious. Others around you sense your mental mood and are affected accordingly. Just like when people tell you to avoid people with negative thinking, its the same thing. Being negative causes others to feel discouraged and can make you feel tired psychologically. However, if you continue to think optimistically, it will cause others to like you and want to help you because they enjoy the vibrations that a positive mind emits. When someone arrives to work every day with a smile on their face and ready to work, is sets a positive and motivated environment. When that person focuses on getting their work done is always cheerful at their workplace, their positive attitude acts as a domino effect. Their optimism affects others by making them feel happy and want to do the same. When you are cheerful and a positive thinker who always looks on the positive side of life, it encourages you and your objectives can be achieved more easily. In order to make positive thinking yield results, one must develop a positive attitude towards life, expect a successful outcome of whatever you do, and take any necessary actions to ensure success. Some people say that being too positive or optimistic about the future calms you down and can drain you of the energy you need to pursuit your goals. They believe that too much positive thinking can fool our minds into thinking that weve already attained our goal, which slackens our effort to pursue it. They oppose that just because positive attitude is pleasurable, doesnt mean that its always good for us. For example, if someone is trying to get their admission into a college, they have to work hard to get in. But if that student is always saying how theyll definitely get accepted, it might make their mind set on the belief that they