Themes are prominent statements in both film and novels that help to add substance to characters and plot; language or film techniques are used to express these themes. American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, was released in 1999 and is a satirical insight into the lives of American families during the 1990’s. Golden Boys, by Sonya Hartnett, was released in 2014 but is written from the point of view of children growing up in the 1960’s. These texts are heavily centred on the major theme of family conflict, which can be further broken down into the subthemes parental roles within the family, lack of freedom and manipulation.
In the film camera style shows the parental roles, music choice and the narrator voice demonstrates the lack of freedom and manipulation is shown through the symbolism of props. The novel shows parental roles through the use of imagery, characterisation demonstrates the lack of freedom and symbolism indicates the manipulation of characters. Although the techniques differ between the film and novel, the same themes are being revealed throughout. In both texts the theme of parental roles is present, however they are demonstrated in different ways.
Parental roles in American Beauty are shown through differing camera styles as the film progresses, to show the growth of characters and their status within the family. At the start of the film Lester Burnham is seen dropping his briefcase on the ground as Caroline Burnham, his wife, is yelling at him to hurry up. As she is yelling, the low camera angle shows her having a dominant position over Lester; when the scene changes to show Lester’s reaction to her nagging it is from a high point, which demonstrates the dominance his wife has over him. As the movie progresses however, the camera angle in hich Lester is viewed changes from this high angle to a lower angle. This change coincides with Lester taking control of his life; he quits his job and blackmails his boss in the scene where the change of angle is quite significant.
Golden Boys expresses the theme of parental roles using imagery; the word choice throughout the novel is thought provoking and provides an emotional connection to the characters. When we hear his car come home, we feel sick, wondering what’s going to happen – if he’s going to fall asleep telling some story, or if he’s gonna kick the cupboards in or throw a glass at Mum... This quote from the youngest son in the Kiley family, Syd, provides an insight into the life of a child living with domestic violence. Hartnett’s word choice in saying ‘we feel sick”, offers an image of a family of children forced to suffer with their father’s unwarranted outbursts and not know whether to love him because he’s their father or fear him because of his alcohol – fuelled abuse. Both Mendes and Hartnett have used their respective techniques to their advantage in the texts, which share the theme of parental roles.
The theme of lack of freedom prevails in both texts, however is depicted differently when comparing the movie to the novel. In American Beauty music choice establishes the lack of freedom identified with Lester Burnham, but as this characters gains freedom the music associated with his scenes also changes. His life is dictated by his wife, Carolyn, and her strive for a perfect image. Until Lester quits his job, the music identified with his scenes can only be described as elevator music; quiet background music that complies with the scene, much like the way Lester complies with Carolyn’s control of his freedom.
After Lester quits his job however, one song stands out to suggest that Lester has gained his freedom back from his overbearing wife. As Lester is driving American Woman plays out, the lyrics, ‘Got more important things to do, than spend my time hanging round with you’ suggest that he is done giving in to his wife’s constant control. Golden Boys also shows lack of freedom through a character who has been put through physical abuse by a family member. ‘Never think you have to have a man in your life, you don’t.
They make you think you do, but you don’t. I was too dumb to know better, back then. ‘ Elizabeth Kiley is speaking of the freedoms she lost by getting married to Joe and also by having children. She is warning her daughter, Freya, that if she gets married to the first nice man she meets and has children that she will also lose that sense of freedom. This quote demonstrates the societal pressures put on women to get married and have children perhaps against their free will, and how their lives change when they are no longer able to do what they please.
Again, Mendes and Hartnett have used their respective techniques to express the themes present in these texts, in particular the lack of freedom present in the character’s lives. Symbolism has been applied in both American Beauty and Golden Boys to provoke an insight into the manipulation of characters. The film has roses placed in scenes that show Lester Burnham in situations with his wife and Angela Hayes, Janie’s friend, as roses symbolise love. Lester is being manipulated by the love life he is trying to keep alive with his wife, Carolyn, and what he believes to be his love for Angela, but in reality is his lust for her.
The way in which he responds to the manipulation of his wife and Angela; making himself appear younger by reliving his college days, causes him to pay the ultimate price by losing his life. The novel also uses a similar form of the symbolism of an inanimate object to show the manipulation between Rex Jenson and the young boys of the neighbourhood. ‘Colt sees it all, suddenly, for what it is. His father spends money not merely to make his sons envied, but on making them – and the word seems to tip the floor – enticing.
This quote from the mind of Rex Jenson’s son, Colt, shows how the playroom itself symbolises manipulation; Rex uses it to attract the boys of the neighbourhood, much like flies to a spider web. Manipulation has been shown in quite similar ways throughout the texts, and is an effective portrayal of symbolism through the use of inanimate objects. American Beauty and Golden Boys are quite similar in their content in terms of common themes, but the ways in which they are portrayed through techniques are different, due to the fact that one text is a film and the other a novel.
The film uses camera techniques to convey certain themes which a novel is unable to do, obviously. This goes for the use of music as well; the novel unable to provide a musical score, however, word choice is used to invoke sounds and give an idea of the imagery and scenery. e symbolism in both texts was used to provoke a higher level of thought about certain items that are commonly present, whether it is the roses in the film or the significance of the playroom in the novel. Overall, the language and film techniques were displayed effectively by the author and director, they truly connecting the themes.
