A Typical Teenager Wants to Stand out

Lester and Carolyn Burnham’s relationship is a strained one. They don’t seem like they are very close at last. It seems as though they were once in love, then their love seemed to dwindle. His wife thinks he’s a loser and all they do is argue.

Jane Burnham is a typical teenager, she angry and confused just like her father said. Her and her mother don’t seem to get along. Her mother seems to criticize her a bit and her and father used to be close, but that's all gone. she has hostility towards her father. She seems to secretly want a relationship with her parents, mostly with her father.

Near the beginning of the film we see Lester in his office, gazing into a computer screen that is covered by columns of figures. His reflection is like a face behind bars, picking up the theme of imprisonment. All the characters seem to be imprisoned in their own way. Lester is stuck in his same old routine that he follows every day; his life is boring, and he feels sedated. His wife, Carolyn, is stuck in a marriage that is unhappy, and job that she dislikes. Jane doesn’t want to be where she is at the moment, she's a normal teenager, with a normal teenager mentality, and she just hates like and everything right now. Ricky has to deal with his father every day and his father is a homophobic gay guy.

Lester Burnham describes Janes as a typical teenager. She’s angry, insecure, and confused. this is an accurate description as she is a teenager, going through a phase in her life in which she’s emotional and doesn’t know how to cope with all of these emotions. She's insecure, she wants to be wanted and feel prettier, which is why she wants to get a boob job.

The relationship between Colonel Fitz and his wife seems to be not a relationship at all. His wife seems to be a normal house wife. The colonel seems to be the one in charge, as well as homophobic. Ricky and his mother are a weird relationship. She doesn’t seem to know her son at all, she seems like a body with nothing in it. Ricky only says whatever it takes to please his father. Ricky's parents don’t seem like they have a connection or like they are even married, while janes parents argue too much.

The two characters that have the healthiest relationship are the gay couple. Every other relationship in this movie is very toxic and unhealthy. there is cheating, infidelity, judgment, degradation, and abuse.

Ricky’s film of the blowing paper bag isn't beautiful, but the way he explains it quite beautifully. Angela says, “There’s nothing worse in life than being ordinary.” I don’t agree with Angela’s statement, I feel as though there a different interpretation for ordinary. People live the lives that are best for them.

Carolyn Burnham and Buddy Kane say, “in order to be successful, one must project an image of success at all times.” I feel that they weren't successful the just look successful and looking and being successful is different. Carolyn didn't successful in any aspect of her life, her marriage or her career. Lester Burnham changes jobs from an advertising agency to a burger joint. Lester is more successful at his job because he is happier, this is something he wants to do, not sit in an office.

The film set about challenging the assumption that beauty is about youth and good looks because of Lester. Lester is taken in by Angela’s beauty and youth. He does get the excitement from his wife that they once had when they were younger.

'Never underestimate the power of denial' Ricky Fitts says to Lester on how his father willingly believes the lies fed to him. There is a lot of denial in all of the movie Carolyn is in denial that her life and marriage aren't perfect. Jane is in denial that she really cares about her father. Angela is in denial that her beauty isn't the answer to everything.

Lester's behavior after his 'awakening is the total opposite of how he was in the beginning. He’s changed, became more sinister, not dead like. Talks about setting his job and boss up. He states that he has nothing to loss. He does what he wants to do no and doesn’t care about anything else. He’s in a search for his happiness.

The music, Ricky's video camera, and roses are all used to set the scene. They are also symbolic. The camera is Ricky’s way of seeing the world, while the roses represent love and passion. The music is one of the main things that is setting the scene. It plays the song according to the scene as with any movie.

Characteristics that are common to each member of the Burnham family are change and lust. Especially for Carolyn and Jane, change seem like something that their afraid of. Once Janes dad stopped paying as much attention to her, she started to resent him, even joking that she wanted him dead. As for Carolyn, she wants her family to look like the perfect family and when they don’t, then she starts to put the blame on everything including herself. As for lust, all of them had a situation like that Jane with Ricky, Carolyn and Buddy, and Lester and Angela.

Ricky talks about the day that he realized that there was, 'this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid. Ever.' This was while he and Jane were watching the paper bag video that he filmed. He says the bag was dancing with him like a little kid begging to play with him, for 15 minutes. It helps him remember that there's so much beauty in the world and he just can't take it.

“It’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world,” Lester says. “I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life.” Lester is having a flash of his life and realizing that his life wasn't all that bad, and that he had a pretty decent life. He’s sad that he’s dying.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” No one person can say what beauty is because there is no one type of beauty. Everyone sees beauty differently. I think that beauty matters both in the appearance as well as their personality. To me is the ability to carry yourself with grace and correctly. “Beauty” is a form of deviance because if someone isn't beautiful by societies standards then, they are ugly. If society doesn't deem it to be normal or acceptable it is deviant. 

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