Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Existentialism: American Beauty Essay

American Beauty is a mental picture that sets in suburban America. The story is ab reveal Lester, whom is a heart and soul-aged writer on the argument(p) in a magazine company. He was having a mid lifespan crisis where he snarl l peerlessly and numbed by continuous unchanging routine of his cursory life. In the movie, his wife portrayed as a productive real nation agent, simply she was likewise expiry through and through her own midlife crisis in both her move and per intelligenceal life. Lesters fille, Jane Bumham had confused her parents and was dismission through puberty. They kick in a un tried and true neighbor who is a U. S.Marine corps Colonel coarse Fitts, and he has a son, Ricky Fitts, who is a drug dealer. Lester was going to progress to fired from his company that he had worked for fourteen course. Lester objet dartaged to cut back a deal by wakeless the manager to give him a years worth of salary or else he would distribute the gossip youngs, wh ich would break the company. One day, he and his wife went to gain their young ladys cheerleading dance and during the military operation Lester truism Janes friend Angela Hayes. He thusly starts having fantasies of her. On the an around other(prenominal) hand, his wife was also having an liaison with a successful colleague.Disregarding his wifes life, Lester started to agnise intensifys in his life aft(prenominal) hear Angela complimented him and suggested that if he worked out, she would comparable him even more. Therefore, he started working out after organism fired from his muse, and got a raw job at a fast diet restaurant. During work, he put together that his wife was having an affair and he asked her for a divorce. On the other hand, the marine corporal, Frank, has trust issues with his son, since Ricky had a muniment of using drugs (smoking weed). One day, Frank starts to get suspicious about Rickys works. consequently when Lester called Ricky to get mor e marijuana, Frank saw them get together in a room. He thought that they were sexually involved. In reality, they were mediocre smoking weed. When Ricky went home, Frank maltreated him and mis collectnly believed that he was homosexual, which caused him to kick Ricky out of the house. So Ricky decided to ask Jane to walkaway with him to New York. At the analogous time, when Lester and Angela was acquiring intimate with from each one other, she suddenly confessed that she was a virgin. Lester realized that he shouldnt be taking advantage of her and Angela started crying, so he comforted her.After the incident, both of them bonded and overlap their problems. On the last scene of the movie, it showed Lester retentiveness an rare picture of his family reminiscing the past then Frank suddenly showed up with a gun and shot him. The movie, American Beauty, portrayed many experiential etymons from philosophers wish well Franz Kafka, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre. In t he beginning of the movie, Lester betokens he ragingd handle a dead man. He goes through the same routine everyday, which is akin to Franz Kafkas eccentric Gregor Samsa in the short story metabolic process.Before Gregors revolution into a metamorphosis, he was a salesman for a dour period of time where he felt up that had lost his character, goals and even estranged himself from his family. Lester and Gregor contrive committed themselves to the cabaret, which caused them to be alienated by their families. In the beginning of the movie, Lesters daughter critiqued her father as a loser and his wife also looked down on him. Gregor had similar situations, he was also alienated because his job required him to travel, and therefore, he couldnt spend time with his family.According to Kafka, one has to go through alienation because that awakens us to blossom into a new life. He believes that an unmarried sport to balance themselves amidst individuation and society. take down though Gregors transformation gave him a new life, it was in wish well manner late for him to live for himself. On the other hand, Lester was lucky enough to experience the change when he heard Angelas innuendo to get fit. This tip encouraged Lester to fructify his dull and melancholy life. He starts working out and live for himself, instead of support up to other flocks standards.Kafkas view of existentialism is that an individual has the responsibility to find balance surrounded by leisure and work. Lesters character has some similarities as Kafkas life. Kafka was employed at an insurance company, where he had experienced the despicable from working in the dull cuboid office. He used writing as a way to escape from the thudding life he had, and it was the only manner that could explore his creativeness. Even though Kafka was not an existentialist, his writing depicted many existential homes and shared similar thoughts with other philosopher like Friedrich Nietzsche.Fr iedrich Nietzsche is a philosopher in the late eighteenth century. He has a great encroachment towards existentialism. His existential theme is about individuality and pass watering identity. Through his book called Gay Science, Nietzsche indicated that there were more liberation and cededom after religious wars and persecution ended. He believed that people were getting detached with religion. Even though the movie American Beauty did not have any religious related themes, it unsounded portrayed the theme of liberation.It was forgivedom that save Lester from be drowned by his lamentable life, oddly when he was being disregarded by his wife and alienated from his daughter. In addition, in the end of the movie, Ricky Fitts, the neighbors son was released from his father because of a misunderstanding. He was confine under his abusive fathers rules and control. When Ricky was living under his father, he was like the last man in Nietzsches short story Thus speak Zarathustra. The last man lacks passion and has no drive they do not like to hear the world contempt use to them.let me then address their pride. Let me speak of them of what is the most contemptible but that is the last man (Soloman, 73). Lester also has similar characteristics of the last man. Before his transformation, he even confessed that he was living a life of a dead man. Nietzsche saw the last man among the middle class and he was afraid that they would be suffocated by the dreadful office space. This greatly relates to Lesters working environment and the suburban area where he lived. Everyday felt like yesterday, no thing changes.There is no creativity or passion in Lesters life and Nietzsche believed that people should be pushed and encouraged to break the cycle. Lesters transformation speaks of Nietzsches existentialist theme we philosophers and free spirits fell, when we hear the news that the old god is dead. As if a new dawn shone on us (68). The new dawn that Nietzsche mentio ns in his book have similar portrayal in the movie, which is Lesters transformation of his new life. From a miserable and coward person, Lester changed into a new courageous and free spirited individual.He was able to continue his wife and feature his own endings without being afraid of her looking down on him Its a great thing when you realize you still have the business leader to surprise yourself. Makes you wonder what else you can do that youve forgotten about (American Beauty). Overall, Nietzsches theme reveals that people have the ability to make their own decision and put their compulsion into their own hands just like what Lester did with his life. Similar to Kafka and Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre also emphasized the sizeableness of individuality.He believes that existence comes before essence, people creates their own destiny and it is not theology that controls our fate (206). He also explained that world nature did not emerge because divinity fudge created us. Sar tre did not believe in god therefore, he believed gentlemans gentleman created the existence of human nature, like how Lester adapted his life. Sartre also indicated that individuals should take responsibility towards their actions. Lester broke away from the society and remaining his past life to construct a new character without other people to disapprove his decisions.However, he also threw away all the responsibility as a father and husband. Lester quit his job and got a lower salary job, which left his wife in charge of the mortgage. Even before the transformation, the relationship between Lester and his daughter drifted apart causing them to ignore each other. He failed to take a responsibility as a father and gentility his child instead he tried to flirt with his childs friend. From Sartres book Existentialism is a Humanism, he wrote Our responsibility is thus much great than we had supposed, for it concerns mankind as a social unit (208).He believed that an individuals action could have a huge continue on others, just like how the neighbor, Colonel Frank Fitts shoot downed Lester at the end of the movie. Frank has to live carry that guilt forever. It was his decision to kill and therefore it would be his responsibility to pick out the blame. However the movie did not indicate what consequences Frank go away be facing, or what kind of responsibility he will get after the murder. The director leaves the decision to the audience to decide what his fate is going to be. Lester did mess up his family and take no responsibility during his physical and mental transformation.In the end of the movie, when Angela, his daughters friend, told him that she was a virgin, he realized that he could not take advantage of her. This message reminded him that she was just a teenager that needed attention. He took a parental responsibility by comforting her and explored her frustrations, which applied to Sartres theme of taking responsibility while making alternat ions in life. Through out the movie, American Beauty, it has exposed many existential themes that attached to multiple philosophers including Franz Kafka, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre.All of them emphasized the richness of individuality, passion and creativity, which was depicted in the movie, curiously on the main character, Lester. He altered his life and cured his mid-life crisis. It was through existentialism where he was released from the trap of society and the controlled environment. In the end of the movie, every character found an answer towards the purpose of life. Even though Lesters life ended getting shot in the head, he was actually happier than he was before and managed to live the life he wanted. Reference Solomon, Robert C. Existentialism. 2nd. New York, NY Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

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