Den amerikanske drøm i 'American Beauty'

The far majority of people have come across The American Dream in their lifespan in some way or another. I think most people have had a dream of moving to LA and chasing the high life, living the American dream. Although many have the dream, for many it stays a dream and never becomes reality. The American dream is a highly discussed subject. Recently the debate of whether the American dream is on the edge of the abyss or if it’s still a dream worth pursuing. Why it might not be worth pursuing is well portrayed in Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty”.

In “American Beauty” we follow the Burnhams. The Burnhams give us an insight into the American dream by showing us 2 different perspectives. Lester Burnham, who has had enough of chasing the American dream, and his wife Carolynn who is an ambitious realtor still chasing success and wealth. Lester and Carolynn’s marriage is lacking love and attention for each other, and it seems like they’ve both had enough. An example that shows this is when Lester quit his job and is relaxing with a beer in the chair. And when Carolynn gets home from work Lester and she is about to get intimate. Carolynn quickly interrupts and ruins the mood when Lester is about to spill beer on the expensive couch. This scene also shows that they have different views on how to live their life. Lester is less materialistic and has grown to focus more on human values, whereas Carolynn is more materialistic resulting in her worrying about the couch. The difference in their opinions drives them into multiple rows and infidelity. You can argue that Carolynn has lost her way on her journey to success. She is an unsuccessful realtor, and she does pretty much everything to get a sale. As an example, she describes a pool as a “lagoon-like” trying to sell a house, when the pool is rather disgusting and filled with bugs. Carolynn who was chasing the American dream ends up, with nothing left. This display some of the downsides of the American dream, it can get out of hand and can fail gruesomely. If you look at Lester, he is tired of not being respected by the people closest to him, as Lester himself says in the voice-over at the beginning of the film “Both my wife and daughter think I’m this gigantic loser and they’re right” This shows the respect lacking from his daughter and wife but also the low self-esteem he has at this point. Later in the film, he gets a major confidence boost, resulting in him quitting his job. Lester just wants to live life instead of being bound to a career-oriented life.