Comments on: The Futility of the Palatable Ideal in American Beauty http://www.moviesaboutgladiators.com/2009/11/the-futility-of-the-palatable-ideal-in-american-beauty/ Thoughts on Film Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:49:25 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 By: The 10 Best Picture Winners of the 2000s http://www.moviesaboutgladiators.com/2009/11/the-futility-of-the-palatable-ideal-in-american-beauty/#comment-18 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:25:10 +0000 http://www.doyoulikemoviesaboutgladiators.com/?p=23#comment-18 […] Regarding the nymphet fantasy, it’s important to note that Lester Birnam does not go as far as Humbert Humbert or Noah Cross, who both fulfill their sexual fantasies through statutory rape and incest, respectively.  Instead, Lester recognizes the inappropriateness of the situation and retreats, re-embodying the father figure that he should be.  This doesn’t necessarily redeem him or make him perfect, but it exposes human vulnerabilities that emerge in a world driven by socially-constructed expectation that suffocates personal desire.  Plus, his deviation from social norms results in his murder, which should stifle any stigma about pedophilic fantasy.  More on the notions of futility in American Beauty can be found here. […]

]]> By: The Ten Best Picture Winners of The Aughts (or, One Out of Ten Ain’t Bad) http://www.moviesaboutgladiators.com/2009/11/the-futility-of-the-palatable-ideal-in-american-beauty/#comment-17 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:03:57 +0000 http://www.doyoulikemoviesaboutgladiators.com/?p=23#comment-17 […]  Regarding the nymphet fantasy, it’s important to note that Lester Birnam does not go as far as Humbert Humbert or Noah Cross, who both fulfill their sexual fantasies through statutory rape and incest, respectively.  Instead, Lester recognizes the inappropriateness of the situation and retreats, re-embodying the father figure that he should be.  This doesn’t necessarily redeem him or make him perfect, but it exposes human vulnerabilities that emerge in a world driven by socially-constructed expectation that suffocates personal desire.  Plus, his deviation from social norms results in his murder, which should stifle any stigma about pedophilic fantasy.  More on the notions of futility in American Beauty can be found here. […]

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