Subject
Lolita/American Beauty (fwd)
Date
Body
I don't really see that there is any comparison between Lolita and American
Beauty. The Kevin Spacey character (can't remember his name), unlike HH is
sexually frustrated because he has a lousy marriage, is suffering from a
mid-life crisis, and cannot remotely be considered a paedophile because he
is attracted to his 18 year-old daughter's 18 year-old friends (which
classifies them as adults, surely). That his daughter finds this
reprehensible is absolutely right, in that it's embarrassing, but what she
doesn't realise is that he is simply indulging in a form of harmless
escapist fantasy. This is confirmed by the fact that when he discovers this
particular girl (can't remember her name either) is still a virgin, his
attraction evaporates instantly whereas of course for HH, this proves to be
something in Lo that makes her all the more appealing (after all, it's never
made absolutely clear exactly what went on with Charlie at Camp Q).
In fact, I found far more disturbing things in American Beauty than the
teenage-girl-fantasy thing, which as far as I could see, was about the most
healthy and normal element in a film that was profoundly suspect in all
other respects - something I don't want to go into here because, frankly, I
don't think the film is worth the time or the effort, in spite of it's Oscar
nominations...
Barbara Wyllie
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
University of London
Beauty. The Kevin Spacey character (can't remember his name), unlike HH is
sexually frustrated because he has a lousy marriage, is suffering from a
mid-life crisis, and cannot remotely be considered a paedophile because he
is attracted to his 18 year-old daughter's 18 year-old friends (which
classifies them as adults, surely). That his daughter finds this
reprehensible is absolutely right, in that it's embarrassing, but what she
doesn't realise is that he is simply indulging in a form of harmless
escapist fantasy. This is confirmed by the fact that when he discovers this
particular girl (can't remember her name either) is still a virgin, his
attraction evaporates instantly whereas of course for HH, this proves to be
something in Lo that makes her all the more appealing (after all, it's never
made absolutely clear exactly what went on with Charlie at Camp Q).
In fact, I found far more disturbing things in American Beauty than the
teenage-girl-fantasy thing, which as far as I could see, was about the most
healthy and normal element in a film that was profoundly suspect in all
other respects - something I don't want to go into here because, frankly, I
don't think the film is worth the time or the effort, in spite of it's Oscar
nominations...
Barbara Wyllie
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
University of London