Ethical Issues In American Beauty

American Beauty follows the last year of Lester Burnham’s life. Lester is a middle-aged husband, father, and advertising executive, as well as the film’s narrator who shares his struggles as an average suburbia inhabitant trapped in a boring routine. In the film, he is the omnipresent narrator who is trapped in a loveless marriage with Carolyn, a real estate agent who is obsessed with appearances and not able to fulfill her full potential as a businesswoman. Their daughter, Jane, is a typical rebelling teenager who thinks that her parents are lame, but is also very shy and reserved and struggles with a “teenage identity crisis” (Lund, n.d).

Lester is suffering from a midlife crisis and is sexually frustrated due to the absence of physical interaction

Instead, she grows very close to Ricky and develops a romantic relationship with him after they both open up to each other about their lives, flaws, and desires. Ricky makes a substantial income by selling marijuana and quickly becomes Lester’s supplier. Having noticed Ricky visiting Lester at his house, a suspicious Colonel Fitts goes through his son’s room and finds a video of Lester working out nude at night that Ricky had coincidentally recorded while filming Jane. Misunderstanding that his son is gay, he beats Ricky who uses this chance to finally flee his home. He asks Jane to join him and when faced with Angela’s protests and accusations of being a freak, he confronts her by saying that she is a boring person who needs friends like Jane to feel better about herself and boost her public image. After Ricky leaves the house, an emotionally distraught Colonel Fitts goes to Lester’s garage all soaked in rain and misunderstands Lester’s attempt to console him and silently reveals to Lester that he is gay by kissing him. Lester gently pushes him away and tells him that he has the wrong idea. Lester, still confused by the previous episode, finds Angela in his house who seduces him. However, just before they engage in intercourse, she confesses to being a virgin and causes Lester to withdraw and return to his father-figure