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American Beauty · 1999 — 第 5 / 14 章 · 3'03" · B2

Carolyn Demands Lester Attend the Party, Explained：sell an image

Carolyn needs a husband on her arm for a business party — 'How'd it look if I showed up with no one?' — and Lester agrees to come, but not to perform. Before the guests he tells her to 'spare me the propaganda'; at the party he quietly refuses to be the polished version of himself.

あらすじ

At home, Carolyn asks Lester to attend an important business function and tells him to act happy. He comes along, but at the party he quietly undercuts every social ritual — when a colleague doesn't remember meeting him, he shrugs, 'It's OK. I wouldn't remember me, either,' then heads straight for the bar.

PartiesMarriage troubleComplainingSmall talkSpousesB2slowamericanClean
IMDb ↗

注目の表現

nail someonebull of the woodsshow upend up

00:00 / 03:03
Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
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このシーンの表現

sell an image

project a public image

At the party Carolyn tells a client that her trade is really about image, and she must live it.

These influencers sell an image of effortless wealth.

このシーンの他の表現

  • nail someone

    catch someone

  • bull of the woods

    the self-important boss

  • show up

    turn up, appear

  • end up

    wind up, turn out

  • healthy relationship

    a sound relationship, said wryly

このシーンのメモ一覧

44 行のセリフに 25 件のメモ

スラング · B1freak

oddball — Common behind someone's back; rude to their face.

What a freak!
表現 · A2dress like someone/something

wear clothes like

And why does he dress like a Bible salesman?
発音don't believe

The t in don't is barely released before believe.

I don't believe him.
表現 · A2get in(to) something

enter or join

How'd you get in the Army?
発音How'd you

The d melts into you, so it lands close to how-ja get.

How'd you get in the Army?
スラング · B1nailed me

caught me — Playful for getting caught; keep it casual.

First, I'm patriotic. Second, I love my country. And third, they nailed me.
表現 · B1report to someone

check in with

You two boys report to me immediately after this formation.
表現 · A2take someone away

lead someone off

Take them away, Sarge!
スラング · B2Sarge

Sarge, sergeant — Army slang for a sergeant, not for civilians.

Take them away, Sarge!
発音going on

Run going and on together as one smooth unit.

What's going on here?
表現 · A2all the way + 方向

the whole distance down

Bend all the way down. Here comes the bull of the woods.
表現 · A2show up

turn up, appear

Carolyn counts the couples at the party and argues that she cannot show up on her own.

Everyone's with their spouse. How'd it look if I showed up with no one?
文法 · B2How'd it look if I showed up

hypothetical if: How'd it look introduces a hypothetical: she is not really arriving alone, she is asking what people would think.

Everyone's with their spouse. How'd it look if I showed up with no one?
表現 · B1end up doing something

wind up, turn out

Carolyn predicts how the night will go, then cuts Lester off before he can finish.

- You end up ignoring me and talking... - Now listen to me.
表現 · B2an important business function

corporate event

This is an important business function.
表現 · B2sell an image

project a public image

At the party Carolyn tells a client that her trade is really about image, and she must live it.

As you know, my business is selling an image and part of my job is to live that image...
文法 · B2As you know

parenthetical: As you know is a side comment that assumes agreement before the main claim lands.

As you know, my business is selling an image and part of my job is to live that image...
表現 · A2do someone a favor

give me a hand

Honey, do me a favor.
表現 · B1spare someone something

don't put me through

Just say whatever you want to say and spare me the propaganda.
発音spare me the propaganda

Stress propaganda; the sarcasm rides on that last word.

Just say whatever you want to say and spare me the propaganda.
表現 · A2have met before

we've met already

Lester is introduced to a guest and claims they have met before, at last year's event.

We've met before, actually. This thing last year.
文法 · B2whatever you want me to be

noun clause: The whatever clause hands over his whole self: he will become any version she asks for.

- I'll be whatever you want me to be. - Well, OK...
表現 · B2a healthy relationship

a sound relationship, said wryly

Carolyn calls her marriage healthy in front of guests, right after ordering Lester to fake being happy.

- We have a very healthy relationship. - I see.
表現 · A1a little more

a bit more

Put a little more in there, cowboy.
スラング · B2cowboy

pal, fella — A jokey address for a man, slightly western.

Put a little more in there, cowboy.

「Carolyn Demands Lester Attend the Party」を読み解く

What's really going on

The marriage here is a performance, and Carolyn says so out loud: 'my business is selling an image and part of my job is to live that image.' Lester's reply — 'Just say whatever you want to say and spare me the propaganda' — is not a fight so much as a refusal. He has stopped believing the script, but he still attends. That is what makes the scene uncomfortable: he doesn't storm out, he just stops pretending. Buddy breezes in, doesn't remember meeting Lester last year, and Lester takes the slight as a joke rather than an insult. The couple's claim that they 'have a very healthy relationship' lands as the opposite. Nobody is shouting. Everyone is acting.

Theme

MarriageThe couple keeps up appearances in public while the affection is gone — a marriage run as a business arrangement.
IdentityCarolyn sells an image for a living; Lester refuses to be that image any longer, even as he plays along.

このチャプターで学べること

  • spare me the propaganda refuses the script politely
  • Carolyn treats the marriage as a public performance
  • show up means whether you bothered to come
  • sell an image admits the job is mostly acting

発音のポイント

  • don't believe — The t in don't is barely released before believe.
  • How'd you — The d melts into you, so it lands close to how-ja get.
  • going on — Run going and on together as one smooth unit.
  • spare me the propaganda — Stress propaganda; the sarcasm rides on that last word.
Just say whatever you want to say and spare me the propaganda.

Lester cuts through Carolyn's rehearsed pitch. He'll listen to the real request, not the sales talk she has clearly practiced.

Everyone's with their spouse. How'd it look if I showed up with no one?

Carolyn's reason for bringing Lester is appearance, not closeness. She needs a husband at the party the way she needs the right dress.

As you know, my business is selling an image and part of my job is to live that image...

Carolyn explains her whole world: the job isn't just selling houses, it's selling a version of herself, and she expects Lester to perform it too.

It's OK. I wouldn't remember me, either.

Lester waves off being forgotten with self-deprecating humor. It isn't hurt feelings — it's a man who has already stopped expecting anyone to notice him.

このシーンについての質問

Why does Carolyn need Lester at the party so badly?

Because the party is a business function, and her business is image. Arriving alone would look wrong to clients and colleagues. She isn't asking for company; she's asking him to complete the picture.

Is Lester trying to embarrass Carolyn, or is he just being honest?

He's being honest in a way that embarrasses her. He agrees to attend but refuses to act happy or remember rehearsed lines. The scene keeps both readings alive: petty payback, and a man finally done pretending.

What does 'the bull of the woods' mean?

It's an old phrase for the person who thinks he runs the place — the big shot. Here it comes from the war movie the family is watching, not from a real conversation, and it mocks the self-important type Lester is surrounded by.

Why does Lester go straight for a drink at the party?

Because he's decided to endure the evening on his own terms. If he has to be there, he'll be there as himself — drinking, cracking jokes, offending no one important enough to matter. It's passive rebellion.

Does Buddy recognize Lester at the party?

No. Lester has to remind him they met at Christmas last year, and Buddy clearly doesn't place him. Lester's shrug — 'I wouldn't remember me, either' — turns the snub into a joke instead of a wound.

アメリカン・ビューティー · 全 14 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 6 章pick your brainLester Quits His Job
第 1 章cut cornersBrad Warns Lester to Save His Job第 2 章come right out and sayThe Burnhams' Cold Dinner第 3 章cut to the chaseJim and Jim Welcome the Fitts第 4 章take something out on someoneJane Meets Ricky at School再生中 · 第 5 章sell an imageCarolyn Demands Lester Attend the Party第 6 章pick your brainLester Quits His Job第 7 章make your head spinCarolyn Confronts Lester第 8 章cut a dealLester Meets the Neighbors第 9 章nothing to loseLester Blackmails His Bosses第 10 章drive someone nutsLester Applies at Mr. Smiley's第 11 章whatever happened toLester and Carolyn's Couch Fight第 12 章put him out of his miseryRicky and Jane Share Their Secrets第 13 章so bustedLester Catches Carolyn at the Drive-Thru第 14 章sit back and watchColonel Fitts Confronts Ricky
第 5 / 14 章 · 残り約 27 分