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Window Motif In American Beauty

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One especially prominent cinematic device of American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, and Shame is the window motif. Not only does is serve as a mirror reflecting both peoples outward appearance and inner self, but it also fulfils two further crucial purposes: deception and separation. The window as another symbol for stories of seeing and being seen highlights how deceptive appearances can be.

Fig. 38. American Beauty: Observing Others. Appearances are Deceptive (01:27:37; 01:28:25)

The life of one’s neighbour might not be as perfect as the terribly expensive living room furniture, nor might it be as dark as the clothes a person is wearing. Glimpses through windows merely allow observing a fractional part of the whole. Consequently, wrong interpretations of the mere details of a story might then result in fatal misunderstandings. As …show more content…

40. Revolutionary Road (01:05:12) and American Beauty (00:08:51): Windows Separating Families

physical separation can be seen in Fig. 40 showing a Frank not participating in ana quality time with his children. Concerning Frank and Jane, Fig. 40 illustrates a a visual separation, isolating family members from each other, by a fractured frame. Furthermore, a contrast of bright and dark lighting (occasionally according to day and nighttime) mirrors the degree of optimism and relief or pessimism and desperation of characters standing close to windows, such as in Fig. 41. One can

Fig. 41. Shame (01:01:37; 00:38:44) and Revolutionary Road (01:05:21; 01:28:16): Trapped behind Windows compare Brandon, who is going to have sex for the first time during the day and with a woman he actually has feelings for, in the centre of a brightly lighted frame with Brandon, standing at the margin of the frame staring in dark emptiness overwhelmed by the emotional chaos in his life. A similar example shows Frank starting the day full of hope in front of a lighted window vs. Frank in darkenss and sorrow after a fight with

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