The title of the film, American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, contrasts the actual situation in the movie. This movie is an obvious tragedy, and was filmed with the intention to unveil the ugliness of the so-called beautiful American lifestyle. The intention Mendes had was to leave viewers confused about what the movie meant, but very confident about what they will never let happen to their own lives. The sarcasm in this movie identifies several things as being beautiful but in reality, they are ugly and repulsive.

The character in this movie that points out the majority of these so-called beautiful things is Ricky Fitts. At one point he is seen filming a dead bird. When asked why, Ricky calmly replies "Because it's beautiful." Obviously a dead bird is not beautiful it is horrid. Later in the movie, Ricky Fitts tells Jane Burnham about the time that he filmed a dead homeless person. Ricky says: "It's like God's looking right at you, just for a second, and if you're careful you can look right back." When Jane asks what he sees, Ricky replies "Beauty." Ricky shows Jane the video he thought was the most beautiful which is just garbage flopping around in the wind. "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in." Why would his heart cave in if there was so much beauty in the world? At the very end of the movie, after Lester Burnham dies, he gives a brief closing speech: "[…] it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst." Lester says this immediately after being murdered, just as his life had begun to take an upward turn. His sarcasm is not so obvious, but his point remains the same. He is advising everyone to sift through all the fake beauty in the world, and be happy with whom you are.

American Beauty is a movie full of symbols and hidden messages. Although the story might not be that simple, the theme is quite obvious, and this movie is an example of an Aristotelian tragedy. The ending leaves the viewers with a feeling of enlightenment, and a sense of gratitude and appreciation for their own lives, now happier to be alive.