I realize Im comparing a film which is ostensibly a work of art to two unabashedly simplistic pop comedies. DreamWorks seems to be learning lessons -- but theyre entirely the wrong kind of lessons. troubled home life. For all its ambitions, when it works, it does so only on the immediate level (excepting Spaceys great performance). of confines. Today I will examine one of them. American Beauty s tortured metaphors and plot twists fail to give substance to these poorly developed characters, but instead end up pointlessly morphing one caricature into another. Throughout the film, the rose is said to symbolize Lesters desire and lust for Angela in one of the most memorable scenes, we see Angela covered in roses while lying on a bed covered in rose petals. In addition, you learn that hes a professional drug dealer. The roses and the rose petals symbolize two different things. Through the vehicle of the plastic bag, the film conveys the message that beauty and happiness can be found even in a piece of garbage i.e, where one least expects it. There are many ways symbols that can be used in a movie. "American Beauty" is more than a biting satire on suburban life. Heres a simple quiz for you. The daughter finds her happiness with the neighbors son Ricky who shows her how to break free of the controlling influence of her family and friend. Similarly, the same disastrous result awaits Carolyn who is devastated at her husbands death and almost embraces the death of red herself, but stops herself at the very end, realizing that she has a family to look after. The title refers to three different symbols of American culture: American Beauty roses (a popular variety), Angela as a representative of youthful, innocent, "American" loveliness, and the American aesthetic of beauty, as represented by Ricky's films. While red represents life and death, lust and bloodshed, the garbage represents transience and aimlessness, happiness and confusion at the same time. The very title of the film is thus a metaphor: beauty can be found anywhere if one has the time and senses to appreciate it. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice. Thus, the film American beauty is a metaphorical look at life itself, a satirical representation of the so called suburban utopia, revealing that the source of happiness is in simple, everyday, ordinary things. Saddled with a soul-sucking job, a shrill wife Carolyn (Annette Bening), and a sullen daughter Jane (Thora Birch), he encounters a vision of grace and loveliness: his daughters cheerleader friend Angela (Mena Suvari). American Beauty: Reflection A consistent metaphor throughout the film American Beauty is the feeling of imprisonment and trying to escape it. The Metaphor of Black Beauty The issue of race has haunted America since the colonial era. At that point, American Beauty clearly exemplifies the concept of metaphor. -Buddy Kane, American Beauty-Roses as a metaphor for in American Beauty. The Tech 84 Massachusetts Avenue Suite 483 Cambridge, Mass. The tenor of the metaphor is the actual subject or the principal focus of the metaphor, while the vehicle is the means that is employed in order to convey the tenor and is therefore the secondary frame or the visual representation of the metaphor in the film. Examples of Popular Metaphors All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players. William Shakespeare I am the good shepherdand I lay down my life for the sheep. The Bible, John 10:14-15 All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind.Khalil Gibran