………..You think I'll weep No, I'll not weep: I have full cause of weeping; but this heart Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws, Or ere I'll weep. O fool, I shall go mad! Act II, Scene 4, King Lear
Thoughts for your journal: The Madness of King George
Is honesty feared & shunned -- so that people who speak the truth are considered "crazy" or "mad" simply because they make people uncomfortable? What are urban legends? Is it easy to fall for them and consider them real? Is paranoia something one learns by being conditioned by society? What happens when a leader is mad? Can you think of any world leaders who were clinically insane? What effect did this have on their countries, and on their citizens? Was the madness considered sanity -- and did madness become the norm? When & where?
How and when do you begin to realize that what appears to be the American Dream is not? What does presenting the "dark side" of the following elements of American suburbia do to the presentation of love and/or sanity in American Beauty?
- The husband's white-collar job - The wife's job as a real estate broker - The neighborhood, and relations with the neighbors - The next door neighbor (the father) - The next door neighbor's son - Work at a fast-food restaurant - What constitutes success in American suburbia - What does it take to achieve success in that setting? Hard work? Commitment? High ethical values? Why or why not?
