Inner Beauty
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In the film American Beauty, Sam Mendes and Alan Ball develop the idea that in order to develop a sense of self-realization, one must overlook the American Dream of being very wealthy and well liked and take a closer look at ones self as an individual. In the beginning Lester is feeling dissatisfied with the way his life is going. He says, "In less then a year [he] will be dead, in some ways [he is] dead already". In saying this, he shows us how bad he thinks his life is going and he does not think it is going to get any better. Lester soon realizes that his life can be better, and decides to change. He realizes this when he begins to meet new people such as Angela and Ricky. After meeting these two, Lester quits his job, and starts to smoke pot and work out. In the end of the film Lester begins to find beauty by taking a more positive outlook on life and looking closer. He looks back on all the good times that him and his family had, and smiles. Lester knows that he can have those good times back...