Allegorical Beauty Lester is lying in bed smiling contentedly at the ceiling. “I feel like I’ve been in a coma for the past twenty years. And I’m just now waking up.” (American Beauty). On the ceiling is Angela covered in deep red rose petals. Slowly the petals float down from her to Lester, showering him with lust. Does Lester Burnham’s quote sound like a line from a comedy? Roger Ebert seems to …showed first 75 words of 881 total…

…showed last 75 words of 881 total…sudden splatter of red blood hits the white wall. The last scene of Lester shows him lying in a pool of his red blood. Red, happiness and beauty are all metaphors that define American Beauty as an allegorical film. Leaving the movie, the audience realizes it was not a Lolita remake. The movie instead offered an insightful view into the definition of beauty. Like Lester, maybe we all have a little “waking up” to do.