"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm" (qtd. In Elibron). These are the words spoken by world-renowned author Aldous Huxley, whose words have made a lasting impression on Hollywood. Movie producers try to incorporate this child spirit into their movie characters.

However, as movies are a parallel to real life, this childlike characteristic, would naturally mislead people into thinking they are dealing with a child. A situation which manifest itself in American Beauty, where the lead character Lester Burnham happens to be a typical middle-aged, free willed man, but one who is given treatment equivalent to that of a child by his family.

Caroline, Lester's wife emphasizes her supremacy over her husband throughout the movie. Mirroring a relationship that an over powering mother would have with her child.

Lester's mistreatment by Caroline is none so more apparent than at the banquet scene of the movie. Where Caroline gives specific instructions to Lester on how to act towards her business rivals, acting as if she were taking to a child. Caroline corrects Le

Lester points out early in the movie the type of bond he shared with his daughter "Jane what happened, we used to pals," but as siblings drift apart as they get older so do Jane and Lester. They become isolated from each other to the point where Jane does not tell Lester about any important events in her life, such as her cheerleading during the high school basketball game. Instead she tells her mother, who drags an uninterested Lester, much like a younger brother forced to attend by his parent to watch his older sister perform.

Lester may have different relationships with his wife and daughter, but both of them see him as a child, rather then a husband and a father. They fail to realize the childlike personality within him is the genius side of him showing. Instead, his family decides to exploit this characteristic, only to have Lester truly become a child.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Caroline Lester's, Caroline Lester, Angela Jane's, Ironically Caroline, Listening Ricky's, Lester Shown, Jane Lester, Hollywood Movie, Caroline Caroline, CHILDS EYE, jane lester, little respect lester, lester father, quit job, little respect, respect lester, dinner table, role model, jane's friend, american beauty, daughter jane,
Approximate Word count = 1018
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)