Character Analysis of Lester Burnham in the Movie American Beauty Essay

American BeautyIn the movie American Beauty we see a commentary about people in contemporary society both as individuals and as members of families. I selected the character of Lester Burnham, played by Kevin Spacey, and did a psychological examination on him using the biopsychosocial model. I noticed many important details that had to be read under close evaluation which represented the heart of Lester. He is a man weighed down with a soul-sucking job as a corporate slave at a media marketing magazine. And he hates his life. He doesnt have a good outlook on much. He starts out as sort of a schlep with bad posture is out of shape. He jump-starts each day by masturbating in the shower, and it's all downhill from there. He masturbates because of the fact that he does not get sexually fulfilled by his wife. Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression, but ironically he is downright lively about his own misery. He is so depressed but yet he has this feeling of making a joke about it. I believe he is repressing feelings and trying to get others around him to feel sympathetic. Biologically this depression could be from lack of serotonin produced by his endocrine system. Which his psychological stress brang about the neurotransmitter imbalance. Their could also be reasons for a genetic hereditary component for his depression which did not manifest until later in life. Many people would love to have the luxuries this man has and not think of the severe problems with his family communication. Today their is not a majority of people who do not live in a successful middle class society. Maybe his depression turned the wife off and their for he created his own downfall. His job of fourteen years is now letting him know how irreplaceable he is. This makes him feel worthless. Which decreases his self confidence also. This is one of Lester's first...

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