Feminist theorists often analyze society in terms of gender relations and specifically in terms of how issues of differential power affect gender relations. Society today asserts that men and women are equal, but this is not the case in practical terms. They may be treated equally under the law, but they are not treated equally in most respects. They simply do not have the same opportunities in the business world, for instance, and even gender relations are shaped more by what society decides is correct than by individual desires. The plight of women in society has been addressed by a number of feminist theorists as diverse as Mary Wollstonecraft in the eighteenth century and Catherine MacKinnon and Carole Gilligan more recently. These issues have also been addressed in a number of films as well, and a film like American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999) reflects many of the same concerns as these theorists have discussed.
American Beauty is a film about the modern American family. It is also one of many films in recent years suggesting that the ideal of the suburban way of life is false. Male-female relations are also a central issue in the film, and the two main characters are a husband and wife in a disintegrating marriage. The Burnhams barely speak to one another most of the time, and when they do, they fight. This is a clearly dysfunctional family, and it is implied by the title that this condition is endemic in American society. The way the story of the Burnhams plays out says much about the state of family life in America today, about the social and sexual pressures which divide people, and also about the roles of men and women in this society, both in terms of what seems to be expected of them and what they may really decide they want.
Lester Burnham is a man having a mid-life crisis. He is certain that his wife no longer loves him and that she has come to care more about their possessions than about either him or t...