“American Beauty” attempts to portray and question the banality of middle-class sexual mores through images and descriptions of characters. One of the main ways director Sam Mendes portrays this is through symbols, especially the seductive color red, used to represent both sexuality and youth. The film's characters, through their dialogue and various deceptions of the outside world, also ask questions about society's expectations regarding sex. Mendes also uses lighting, props, sets, and music as a commentary on the sexuality of all his characters, both sexual awakening and oppression. The film's visual style, paired with the character's unique struggles and perspectives, make “American Beauty” a disturbing look at the way our culture views gender and sex. The color red, used primarily in the symbol of a rose, is the most prominent and memorable visual image of the film. The American Beauty rose is a “perpetual rose,” which regrows every year and is known for its blood-red color. When the film opens and we are introduced to Carolyn, the uptight wife of the film's protagonist Lester, she is cutting the stems of growing roses, symbolizing her stifled, loveless marriage. We see Carolyn's roses a few other times in the film essentially dying in a vase, never as vibrant as when she first cuts them in the yard for all the world to see. However, when Lester first sees Angela, his daughter's friend from high school, she sexually awakens him and everything in her turns red. She wears blood red lipstick and a red uniform as Lester imagines her with flowing, vibrant red roses. While these characterizations and images help establish pink and the color red as defining elements of these women's sexuality, they are a... middle of paper... associations with their own youth help form the divide between it is they who they drive the film's story. The director's choices of symbols, music and characterization in “American Beauty” successfully portray several statements about our culture's sexual beliefs and how Mendes' characters view their sexuality. The symbols used to represent youth, conservative ideals, and liberal sexual ideals help shape the film's melancholy portrait of the suburban middle class. Many of Mendes' comments are critical, showing conventional aspects of life as drab, dark and unexciting through simple sets and dim lighting. Being adventurous or rebellious is portrayed positively through upbeat music, bright lights, and bright colors. The stylization and character development in “American Beauty” makes many poignant statements about Middle American sexual archetypes.