'American Beauty' and the psychology of the American dream

Having a home of her own, an emotionally stable attractive partner who is madly in love with us and herself, three healthy children, and two dogs; Or maybe a cat... A car, a successful job, an attractive salary with benefits, paid vacations... Oh yes, and a friendly boss who does not demand too much.

These are some of the idealistic expectations not always met of almost everyone who seeks to achieve a standard of living more or less in line with what marketing has tried to convince us. Are these ideals just a dream that is passed down from generation to generation? Or is this actually the life expectancy most long for? Too good to be true? It's possible.

The movie American Beauty by American director Sam Mendez shows us how regardless of the period of life, people are in a constant struggle with each other with themselves and with others to find a place in society that allows them to feel that their life has a sense.

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American Beauty and the ideal life

This psychological film allows us to reflect on how we look at our individual ideals, forgetting that sometimes it is necessary to work together to achieve them.

This narrative shows us the reality seen from the perspective of the main character; Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a man in middle adulthood to whom life shows in more than one way that the decisions we make can change what happens to us in a way and that we cannot take anything for granted. Somewhat uncertainly, Lester understands that it is we ourselves who have the power to give a beginning and an end to the situations that overwhelm us.

Economic success and family happiness

Nobody imagines himself immersed in a neurotic relationship with someone who represents not only a competition but also constantly reminds us of what we are not. With a disoriented teenage daughter who has grown up to realize that you are not the hero that he once believed in and with whom you seem not to have a minimum degree of kinship; a mortgage, with no chances of growth at work and with high levels of stress barely starting at forty, especially when you did everything you thought was in your power to achieve it, (yes did).

The movie American Beauty shows us through what we are shown about the Burnham family, that financial success does not always equal a full and happy life. And obtaining what one day we want is not always an indicator of success. In other words, "not all that glitters is gold."

Today's society seems to be programmed to want these things. There is a large number of media that distort the perception of what really matters to achieve the true common goal of people: their own happiness. There are those who mistakenly consider that the value of things is dictated by the price.

Lester's existential crisis

Lester's central problem is the existential emptiness in which he finds himself not satisfied with what he has (a daughter, wife, home, job, etc.) and being unable to meet the expectations and goals that he and society have imposed on him according to the role to play: being head of the family, an exemplary father, a successful businessman, etc.

Among other things, Lester, he realizes that he has lost something and is determined to find it. Lacking apparent reasons to make a change and just when he seems to resign himself to the course of life that he himself chose, he finds that "something" that he had lost; a reason.

The feeling of feeling that he can still achieve things to achieve his own happiness gives him a different perspective on what he thought he was hopeless. The possibility of reaching what seemed lost (his happiness) allows him to take back the reins of his life and with this the necessary decisions to change his vision of the world and of himself; he begins to do what he really wants for himself and not for others. That is when Lester lose something that is undoubtedly a guarantee for failure: lose fear.

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The fundamental questions

Everything has a limit; It is important to be aware of which one is ours and, what is more important, to know the limit of others in order to establish before them and us the guidelines that will define the success or failure of our decisions, always seeking to be congruent to these.

Where do I come from? Where do I go? Who I am?... The plot of American Beauty reminds us that it is easy to get distracted and divert our attention from what is really vital to us, that "something" that makes everything have meaning and purpose. That answer to the most important of the questions, what for?

The decisions we make today will undoubtedly have an echo in our future in the short, medium and long term. It is essential to be honest with ourselves and be clear about what is intended, where we want to go, how we are going to achieve it and how far we are willing to go to make this happen.

But above all, be clear about the purpose and meaning of what we do. If we do not have defined the for what? We will hardly assign a value or meaning to everything we possess; only we ourselves have the power to effect an effective change in our lives.

Bibliographic references:

• American Beauty (1999), Sam Mendez (director), Alan Bail (screenplay).

• Papalia, D. (2012). Human development. McGraw Hill Publishing House.

• Frankl, V. (2004). Man's Search for Meaning. Publisher: Herder Editorial.