Liberty

I thought the movie was ultimately defeatist. The girls’ parents were not so horrible to justify suicide, which indicates that the real reason for the suicides was that girls did not see any value in living. Really, if everyone with overbearing parents killed himself, the population of the world would be decimated.

I actually find this topic of value. Knowing what's bad can save you the trouble of unwittingly watching it yourself. I've always wondered about the meaning behind "American Beauty". Is is purely nihilistic or is there an attempt at the end to show that there are values in the world?