american beauty

American Beauty
The Color Red
"The beauty that addresses itself to the eyes is only the spell of the
moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the soul." George Sand
hit the nail right on the head when he said this in 1872. Appearance
versus reality has been a central theme in many American creative works
including the film American Beauty. American Beauty is a film that
delves into your typical, middle-class suburban American home and
slowly uncovers all of the abnormalities that lie within. The family is
portrayed as normal but as the films tag line suggests "look closer" then
it is possible to fully understand the implications that takes place in this
seemingly happy home. The film is masterfully directed by the famous
theater director Sam Mendes and encompasses a great number of
cinematic techniques that appear fresh and exciting. Critics have
mentioned many of these techniques. However, they failed to notice the
clever use of color used throughout the film especially the color red.
Sam Mendes effectively uses the color red; as a central motif to
accentuate mood and theme, to contrast families, and to reveal characters
personalities and feelings. In American culture red is a color of various
meanings and images. The color red is the essence of life; it is the color
of blood. It can insinuate energy, vitality, passion, anger, power,
excitement, and sacrifice. It is a grounding color. Red can stand for
warmth, danger, love, sex, death, rage, lust, and beauty. Red is the color
used for the women's clothing, the cars, the doors and also it is the color
of Lester's blood splattered Gavrelis 2
across the white table at the end of the movie. Red is the central motif of
the film. Sam Mendes incorporated many of these meaning of red within
the film American Beauty, Not only did Sam Mendes implant a motif of
red, he also incorporated a motif of the red rose. Roses in American
culture are the ultimate symbol of love, life and death. Flowers are a
large part of the American culture. They have come to symbolize

compassion, caring and love. The beauty of roses are superceded with
danger, for they have thorns that can prick. Roses epitomize beauty;
perhaps that is why they chose the title American Beauty. The title
American Beauty is a hodgepodge of symbolism; it encompasses a
variety of meanings. For the viewer it can stand for the American beauty
rose a rare and antique climbing rose much like the roses in the Burnham
garden. It can also represent the American ideal of a woman such as
Angela, the ideal American beauty with her long flowing blonde hair, her
porcelain complexion and her ruby red lips and bright blue eyes. Another
adaptation of the title is the beauty of a perfect American home much
like the Burnham's home appears to be. But all have flaws, the rose has
thorns to prick, Angela has her fear of being ordinary and the Burnham's
home, well it too is cursed with the reality that they are a dysfunctional
family.
Red roses become not only a motif in the film; they come to represent
symbols. They are prevalent in almost every scene. They are in the
garden; almost every room in the house has a bouquet of brightly colored
roses in a vase. They are the centerpieces to the dining room table. This
table becomes a motif in the film as well, the family has its nightly
dinner ritual and over the course of the movie we see a delineation of the
family at this table. Rose petals are the symbol of sex as well, they are
seen surrounding Angela Gavrelis 3
for Lester, they burst out of her blouse, they pop out of his mouth after he
fantasizes of kissing her and they fall from the ceiling onto his face when
he pictures her above his bed. The front door to the house becomes a
motif as well, with constant references from neighbors about the house
with the red door. As if the door is a gateway to the oddities lurking
inside the house. Within the house Mendes restricted the colors to a
monochromatic blue-gray scheme to emphasize the isolation between the
Burnham's. Lester escapes from this cold and lonely house by creating a

domain for himself, it is framed in golden browns, and this separates him
even further from the blue-gray existence he had been living. To carry
further the theme that the Burnham's happy home is just a front for what
lies deep inside. Sam Mendes juxtaposes the Burnham's house with the
neighbor's homes. The bright, almost artificial colors of Burnham's house
are quite a contrast against the Fitt's which is very bland and regimented;
inside it is almost Amish looking. It is completely void of plant life and
aethstetics typically associated with homes. They have limited furniture
and décor, and the furniture that is present is plain, straight lined dark
and wooden. The lighting is dim and the prevalent color throughout the
home is white or cream. The Fritt's family is one of distances. Mendes
makes a point by surrounding them in bland, melancholy colors and
spacing them at length from one another. The family is clad in black and
white throughout most of the film to externalize the loneliness and
isolation between themselves and society. The other neighbors present
appear at first to be the most abnormal of the bunch. They are Jim and
Jim, two very successful men living together as "partners." They are
always bright and cheery dressed Gavrelis 4
in primary colors and portrayed as happy and full of life. The irony is that
they are most normal characters in the entire film. Color is used not only
to show juxtapositions in neighborhoods, but to bring out the characters
as well.
Sam Mendes captures the essence of each character with color. At first
we see Lester in cool desaturated colors to suggest a lack of energy and a
drained life. As the film continues and Lester goes through a rebirth we
see him develop a brighter outlook on life and the color of his garments
go through a rebirth as well, at first he turns to yellow, then green and
eventually he adopts red. He wears a red tank top, acquires a red car and
pursues a job wearing a red and white uniform. Mendes uses this color
transformation to show that Lester has remembered the things he wanted.

He suddenly realizes what is lacking in his life and red clothing gives
him a sense of power and control over his life. What started this change
was when he first saw Angela. She represents the ultimate sign of
American beauty; she is adorned with red throughout the movie. She
emanates sex and passion. Throughout the film she wears fire engine red
lipstick, she wears brightly colored clothing and she is seen to Lester as
surrounded by red rose petals, he has visions of her soaking in a bath tub
of rose petals. Red is the dominant color of nail polish and lipstick for all
the central females in the film including Caroline. Caroline Burnham
goes through a transformation as well she outwardly appears isolated and
controlling but underneath she yearns for passion and power. Mendes
ingeniously shows this in the beginning of the film when Caroline
undresses to clean a house and underneath her drab yellow suit is a
crimson red camisole. While she cleans the dark and shadowy house she
is backlit with brightly colored walls. She has a Gavrelis 5
private "breakdown" and covers her sobbing face with those powerful,
sexy red nails to mask her uncharacteristic behavior. Carolyn attempts to
fill her loneliness up with having the right things. The right car, the right
house and even the right garden, but she doesn't see the big picture. She
does transform, much like Lester into a more secure and grounded
person. This is most apparent in the last sequence of the film when she is
wearing a very sexy red velvet dress. She has become assertive and is
ready to finally connect with Lester, even though she is too late. Early on
it becomes obvious that she is obsessed with her image of success, and
this is why she envies Buddy Kane so fervently. Buddy Kane the "king of
real estate" is her competitor and the ideal figure of success, he has a
bright red sign mounted in the yards of his homes to advertise himself.
The sign represents his power and hints at his sexual appeal to Caroline.
Jane and Ricky are important too, they are the more grounded of the
characters, they are both presented in neutral colors throughout most of

the film. They represent balance and neutrality in the movie. Ricky's
parents are not so neutral; they are dressed in pale, washed out colors to
show their lack of vitality. Especially Mrs. Fritt's, she plays a minor role
in the movie and that is precisely the point Sam Mendes makes. She is
seen as a minor role in the family. She is usually wearing a long white
nightgown and appears almost as a ghost in the picture, t her family, she
barely exists.
American Beauty is a fantastic film that encourages viewers to "look
closer." Sam Mendes directed a film about American Beauty and foolish
things that Americans do to keep up with appearances. He is urging us to
find beauty in our lives, and to forget about having the perfect garden
and home. He effectively uses the color red; as a central Gavrelis 6
motif to accentuate mood and theme, to contrast families, and to reveal
characters personalities and feelings. "Mere colour, unspoiled by
meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a
thousand different ways." Oscar Wilde