American Beauty
American BeautyThe beauty that is found in something or someone can be a very difficult thing to describe. The definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary reads: “Beauty- the combination of qualities that make something pleasing and impressive to listen to or touch, or especially to look at”. In the film American Beauty a different type of beauty is depicted. Beauty is not merely defined by aesthetic means. The simplicity of beauty and the overpowering feeling that a person gets at the sight of it are given as guidelines to discovering the beauty found in conventionally unbeautiful things. Seeing this true beauty, as Ricky describes it, would be overwhelming and would make one feel like “their heart was caving in”. This is the beauty that is at the core of Ricky’s recordings; he tries to capture the pure simplicity of beauty on film.
When Ricky’s family first moves next door to the Burnham family, he is immediately drawn Jane’s inner beauty and thus attempts to film her. In the scene in which Jane is in her room with Angela, Ricky is in his room filming her through his window. The true intentions behind his shots are shortly revealed. When Jane realizes that she is being filmed, she immediately closes her curtain. Her friend Angela however would love the attention; she reopens the curtains so that she can be filmed. Although the scantily clad Angela is dominating the screen Ricky sees the beauty that is sitting behind her. He uses the zoom on his hand held camcorder to focus on the real and pure beauty, the beauty within Jane. The use of a hand held camcorder within this scene further highlights the emphasis placed on simplicity. The grainy picture of Jane as she sits smiling subtly represents an image of all that is good within the world. She is plain but genuine. Jane does not need to be the center of attention for her beauty to radiate. The image of her smile reflecting off the mirror sitting on her desk is what captures Ricky’s desire to film her further; her beauty is luminous, her simplicity is...
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