From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Wed Aug 17 2005 - 00:00:33 BST
Hi Jon,
Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts. Some comments
below...
On 16 Aug 2005 at 7:14, Ascmjk@aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 8/16/2005 1:15:35 AM Central Standard Time,
markheyman@infoproconsulting.com writes:
What bit or dialog did you find to be "leftist", as opposed to
rational? The part about drugs? Homosexuality?
Or do you have a secret longing for Kevin Spacey?
Or mary jane?
Look, if someone here writes about certain action movies (such as
Rambo, etc) being "right wing" then I'm going to offer American
Beauty as left wing. Both views are pretty superficial, but equally
interesting.
msh:
I agree. But I think the real question is, how many Rambo-like
movies do we see in comparison to movies like AB? I mean, if you're
going to argue that Hollywood is flooding the world with leftist
propaganda you need to address this obvious lack of balance, don't ya
think?
jon:
All you have to do is look at the obvious juxtaposition. The soldier
represents the right, while Kevin Spacy represents the left. The
message: being married, in the military makes a person an unhappy
racist with repressed homosexual desire. Meanwhile, cheating on your
wife, taking drugs, quitting your job, and so forth, makes a person
happy. Rational? I suppose someone could make that argument if the
film conforms to their worldview.
msh:
But to me the Chris Cooper character did not represent ALL of the
military, for heaven's sake. He was just one screwed-up guy,
battling his own demons; and I found nothing particularly admirable
about Spacey's cheating on his wife (this is from memory, but he
didn't actually cheat on her anyway, as I recall), though it was
pretty clear that their marriage had failed on both sides, as
marriages often do. I remember that he had some what, "impure"
thoughts about his daughter's girlfriend, but when push came to
shove, his paternal instincts took over and he did the right thing.
jon:
Personally, I liked the movie. I give it two and a half stars out of
four. Do I see why some people in the military find it insulting?
Yeah, I do. And as you know, for whatever reasons, the entire
military is generally considered much more closely aligned with the
conservatives rather than the liberals. Whether or not this is the
correct view isn't the point, it is the stereotype, and American
Beauty perpetuates this stereotype in a rather extreme way.
msh:
Well, I think they, and you I guess, are imagining insults that are
not obvious to me, at least. To me the movie was more about how
people consistently misunderstand what their very eyes are telling
them, and then act on their misunderstanding, often with extremely
negative results. Such as someone being removed from life just when
he's spotted a chance for self-realization and, yes, dare we say it,
happiness.
And happiness isn't out of the question, remember, even with that
movie's terrible ending. The kids, Spacey's daughter and Cooper's
son, had a chance and took it. Sadly, and paradoxically, the first
step toward happiness is often the one taken in walking away from
one's parents
Thanks for your thoughts, Jon.
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
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