Motifs and Symbols in American Beauty

In a film a motif is usually a visual image, a camera shot, an action, or a word or
phrase that is repeated several times. It is a unifying device. Because we see or
hear it more than once, it becomes significant.

A symbol is an image, an idea, a word that represents something else, other than
itself. Symbols may have universal significance – e.g. the Christian cross – or
meaning only in the work in which they are used. Symbols are used in film, as they
are in literature and painting, as short-cuts. Universally accepted symbols can
carry a great weight of meaning and thus save film time for other developments.
Symbolism requires a measure of knowledge, of instant recognition on the part of
the viewer.
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The following motifs and symbols are frequent in American Beauty.
Item
Motif/ Symbol/ Both
Means…
Used to convey
theme/ used for
unity
Lester does not actually drive
it; it is a symbol for him of a
reversion to youth – or just a
way of annoying Carolyn.
Theme: trying to
regain what has
been lost. Trying to
assert
independence.
Entrapment: characters are
unhappy but cannot find a way
to resolve their external/
internal conflicts. They have
caged themselves OR they
find themselves in one.
Unity: common to
both families.
Theme: search for
freedom/ true
happiness.
An indicator of a character
prepared to be vulnerable.
Ricky, however, is
comfortable and
unembarrassed, reflecting his
general state of confidence
throughout.
Theme: natural
beauty; what lies
beneath the
surface.
+ Examples
Lester's red
car
Symbol
images of
cages
Both motif and symbol
nudity
Symbol
Appears in the centre of the
drive; is reflected in the wet
concrete later cf. blood; and
the original is shown in the final
montage.
Lester looking out window at
Carolyn in garden; Jane and
Lester talking in kitchen;
Carolyn against blinds; …
Lester looking at himself, Jane
stripping for Ricky. Ricky is
nude in one scene with Jane.
Angela allowing Lester to
undress her.
How the
viewer
responds the intended
effect
Turn over
TASK: Create a similar table for the following:
roses and rose petals
the plastic bag
Ricky's camera
'beauty'
mirrors and reflections
a.
For each, decide whether it is a motif, a symbol, or both.
b.
Give example(s) of when it occurs in the film.
c.
Explain the meaning and significance of each symbol.
d.
Work out why particular motifs recur and whether the director is using them as a
short cut in the meaning of the story i.e. thematically, or merely to help keep the
story together- for unity.
e.
Comment on the way the viewer responds to the explicit use of motifs and symbols in
this film.
Other motifs and symbols in the film:

photographs: Burnham family photos – shown at the start of sc. 11 - provide a sense of
history for the family; the fairground photo [12] is the one Lester is holding when he is killed;
photos are used in the montage.

guns: the Colonel's gun case, to which Ricky has the key; Carolyn shown shooting – and
good at it – and twice with it in her car.

'freak'

'ordinary'

white walls: Ricky and Lester smoking outside; Jane and Angela smoking against one; in
the kitchen

replayed movements or gestures: in all four fantasies

doors, especially opening and closing doors: Carolyn in her 'open house' - twice; the
door out back at the real estate do, the door to Ricky's room; Lester outside Jane's
bedroom door; the two doors in the address book scene, the door to the bathroom fantasy,
etc

empty rooms

windows, and view through windows
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