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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 4 page paper that provides an overview of "American Beauty". The characters are analyzed in the context of the philosophical quest for happiness. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFfil008.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
about or why the characters behave in the way in which they do. However, developing some insights into the reasons for characters behavior in the film is necessary if one
hopes to understand the themes on display in the film, and understand the films sizable contribution to American culture at the end of the millennium. With this in mind, this
paper will explore the psychology of several of the films characters through the lens of Jonathan Haidts "The Happiness Hypothesis". To begin with, one should come to terms with
the reality that a primary theme of the film is what constitutes happiness in contemporary American society. The film opens with a monologue by the character Lester Burnham stating that
he has finally achieved a state of happiness, and announcing that the story told in the film will be the story of how he achieved that happiness ("American", 1999). Throughout
the film, the developments of each character are explained by their individual pursuit of happiness; the only differentiation is that they all have differing definitions of happiness, and all pursue
that happiness in decidedly different ways. Haidts text examines the philosophical concept of happiness in a synthetic way, including understandings derived from ancient thinkers, as well as the modern conjectures
of psychologists and mental health specialists. It is this that makes Haidts work such a valuable paradigm through which to study the film; its manifold conceptions of happiness provide a
strong framework for analyzing the behavior of the various characters. With this in mind, the behaviors of two key characters, Lester Burnham, and his neighbor Frank Fitts, will be examined.
Haidt puts forth that the pursuit of happiness in human life necessarily proceeds from a state of unhappiness; it is because one is in a state of unhappiness and senses
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