American Beauty was such a wonderful, thought provoking film. I was going through a divorce when it came out (1999). My emotions were pretty raw and the film touched me on many levels.
The bag scene made an impact on me, too…to me it seemed like a “stop and smell the roses” sort of thing…how many people really notice something as simple and mundane as a bag flitting around on a windy day? Most of us are in constant motion and dont take time out of our lives to really notice the little things.
I liked your interpretation about the bag and the wind and lack of control. I’ve found that to be the case in many cases. We like to think we are so smart and have things so under control and then one day, some random, unexpected, never-imagined thing happens and – BAM!- your entire “reality” goes up in smoke…or you end up living in your car.
