American Beauty

Some of us may have seen the film "American Beauty," directed by Sam Mendes--I think it offers up a number of interesting issues, a few of which deal directly with existentialism. For those who haven't seen the story, you can ruin it for yourselves here, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Beauty_(film), so as to get an idea of what I'm talking about. 

One major facet of existentialism is the way it believes in the concept of "existence precedes essence." Something must exist before it can have a purpose, or a soul. Main character Lester Burnham certainly fits the bill, although it takes him forty-odd years before he manages to finally find any sort of purpose in his hopelessly convoluted, caving-in life. When Lester is surely going to be laid off from his job, he takes some initiative to do what he wants to do: start working out, buy a convertible, smoke marijuana, and work as a burger flipper at a fast food restaurant. This choice is met with shock by his conventional wife, but it seems as though Lester has found his essence. Another major choice is by Lester's wife (who I consider to be fairly hypocritical) to fall into an affair with a rival real estate agent.

Another key point of existentialism is the idea of freedom. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Lester and his wife find themselves free to do whatever they desire, flouting societal conventions in order to do so.