Everything That's Meant to Happen Does (Media Blog Post #3)

Kevin Spacey in American Beauty

If there is one movie that absolutely lights up my life, it is American Beauty. From the amazing acting to the wonderful music, watching this movie is definitely one of my all-time favorite media experiences. The movie revolves around the image of the perfect suburban family. However, at the heart of every family is a mess of unresolved issues and complete dysfunction, and this film exemplifies this perfectly. The film begins with the narrative of the father, telling the viewer that he will be dead in exactly one year from when the story starts. From there, the viewer meets the crazy, career-driven mother and the sad, sixteen-year-old daughter who finds love in the new neighbor. The movie may seem dull and ordinary just from the synopsis, but the film in itself definitely has taught me to look at life from a completely new perspective.

First of all, anything with Kevin Spacey is bound to be a awesome from the start. His narration from start to finish is wonderful; his voice really fits his character. He plays the perfect image of the average suburban father who is having a mid-life crisis. Throughout the film, he lusts after his daughter's best friend. Though this may seem slightly creepy for the viewer, it is actually very comical the way he dreams of her in his sleep and even during the day. The entire cast is spot-on; the mother and the daughter play the average, happy family on the surface, but later, it is clear that even the happiest-looking family has its issues.

In terms of life lessons, this film really makes me look at every single day of my life in a slightly different light. My favorite scene in the movie involves a video recording of a plastic bag floating around in the wind. Ricky Fitz, the neighbor of the suburban family, talks of how this plastic bag was simply floating through the air, and how such a small gesture represented how beautiful even the simplest events can be. I personally believe that there is beauty all around us, and people often forget to take a second and look around them. Simplicity itself can even be beautiful, and with the fast-paced world we live in, people often forget to simplify their lives.

The infamous plastic bag scene in American Beauty

This media-experience is just plain incredible- from the hypnotic music that stimulates the limbic brain, to the funny moments and thought-provoking narrative that make my neocortex ache (in a good way), everyone should see this movie at least once. As for me, I could watch it all the time!