Would you consider American Beauty to be an existentialist film?

Question

We're studying existentialism in school.. and it reminded me of American Beauty. Lester was at first living a failed life, and he was "unconscious" in a sense. Then he meets Angela, which helps him regain "consciousness". At the end of the movie, Lester discovers that he is truly happy and looks back and appreciates his life. This pattern of unconsciousness to consciousness kind of reminds me of The Stranger by Albert Camus... and I think it's an existentialist idea to appreciate your life even though you're going to die?

So if anyone can discuss their views or enlighten me more about existentialism (it's an interesting philosophy), that would be great! Thanks =]

Answer 1

Actually, it's post existentialism. It's not only about a possible evasive or contrarian approach to values, it's advocating a "transvaluation" by rising above the herd.

It's more Nietzschean than existential, with regards to the protagonist, Lester. His character is supreme with regards to his philosophical stance.

But, the storyline of the homophobe neighbor (Frank) is deconstructive. It removes the traditional value of that belief structure, but puts nothing back in its place of value.

Ricky is a classical existentialist characterization, as he casually evades societal norms. All the while, he inserts something rediculous and makes it seem seem worth while (a piece of garbage blowing in the wind). Beautiful, classical existentialism.

Jane is an encapsulation of what the audience is supposed to be feeling. She directs the audience from a position of tradition to one of discovery as Ricky brilliantly leads her to accept existentialism, and further to reject traditionalism. This transitional sub plot fertilizes the ground for the audience to accept Lester's new found perspective on life, which transcends existentialism.

Notice how Carolyn and the other characters (including Frank) who try to live according to societal norms are in a continual state of struggling with their views on life. It is only when Lester decides to no longer participate in that "game" that he begins to find life worth living.. The contrast is beautifully executed and hammers home the point of the author superbly.

The movie is a masterpiece of the most cutting edge philosophical ideas, therefore it goes way beyond mere existentialism

Answer 2

Very interesting question! and this is one of my favourite films, although my appreciation is not on an analytical level. I just love the central character, the actors, the music, and the 'black' humour of the film.

As for existentialism, I have also studied some of the plays and novels of Camus & Sartre, and struggled to understand their philosophy (in French studies at university). I can't say I'm any sort of expert (!) but I gather that existentialism grew out of a vehement rejection of French Catholicism, which had a strangle-hold on the French education system.

Camus and others felt that human beings did not need the fear of Hell or the reward of Heaven to give their lives meaning, or to give them a reason to behave morally. They believed that we must struggle with moral problems on our own terms and find our own solutions to them, as well as attributing meaning to our lives according to our own interpretation. Thus we shouldn't rely on religious authority to dictate the meaning of our lives and our actions.

That's the best interpretation I could come up with, anyway. How that relates to "American Beauty" I couldn't say, except that Lester appears to be a man who comes to reject the values of the society around him.

Hope this helps! For what it's worth, I find that the pleasure of these intellectual pursuits derives from the act of engaging with the questions, and not from ultimately coming to any particular conclusions.....

Answer 3

i think that in deed it is an existentialist movie because Lester goes trough a kind of middle life crisis because not he only learns how to appreciate life but he also learns how to not let anybody push him, he changes his point of view of life so drastically that he gets a year of salary without working

Answer 4

i didn't so it