Do you consider Lester a pedophile?or just a Normal man? - American Beauty (1999) Discussion

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] snparks 8 years ago

No way was he a pedo by his actions. All men, if they're honest, would love to have a sexy teen girl if they can get away with it lol. Some men will find ways to fulfill this by having the girl on the down low or traveling abroad to seek them out. And this goes both ways with young girls wanting older men. I get it all the time as a man in my mid 30s, I have girls as young as 14-15 showing interest in me. They sometimes do it from a shy point of view but flirting is still flirting and I don't mind it, but of course, I'm careful.

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[–] Quentin36 8 years ago

Seriously??

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[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Yes. Are you new on Earth? YOUNG women test their wow power on men nearby. He didn't say he boinked them - he just said they show interest in him.

If you are new, on Earth, yes, this could surprise you as you take in the laws about sex as set up by an unrealistic oligarchy designed to keep an ordered society keeping them in the bling.

But...

While you are here on Earth, did you ever notice that sometimes Teens get pregnant?
If you understand the active dynamics in human mating, then you understand WHY I mentioned teen pregnancy.
If you don't understand the human reproduction system, well, that is a discussion for another place.

Teens become pregnant because boths bodies are designed to work that way, not because of how our legal structure is setup, pretending to guide your morals. This reality is in no way related to pedophilia which is, of course about kids not old enough physically to bare children.

Enjoy your stay on Earth! You will find many interesting and surprising things here!

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[–] sim7396 (121) 4 years ago

Bare children? As in undressing them? Geez! I hope you are not of childbearing age yet ;-)

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[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

:D HA!!!

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[–] suzanne-lawson1 8 years ago

So you're saying men have no self control and if they do anything bad it's because of their wife or daughter? You sound like those people in the middle east who make women walk around in black sheets or they will drive men to go into an uncontrollable frenzy.

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[–] Lester_Burnham_Risen 8 years ago

He can't be a pedophile by defn - it's just another example of the small f feminist crap taught in American schools (and reason Angela is so frigid).

But can you tell me where Lester actually "pursues" her - looks like the director has cleverly projected the mindset of the VIEWER to create something that never happened.

I mean a fully sexually able and willing gal says "what do YOU want?" - like what would anyone say?

http://www.kindleflippages.com/ablog/

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] patrick_bateman_90056 8 years ago

In any case, Lester wouldn't be a pedophile unless Angela was 10 and this was "Happiness". The correct term is ephebophile, the attraction to fully developed adolescents, which Angela would be to the T (& A).

Lester represents the standard heterosexual family man archetype, lustful for his faded youth and what it meant and guaranteed him. Angela was the personification of that, until she told him it was going to be her first time. Even in the script, it says the fantasy is over for Lester because he can't see her as anything more than a scared virgin afraid of taking the next step and that "shakes him" to reality. She needed a father at that moment, not a daddy.

https://www.criterion.com/my_criterion/15660-will-c/collection

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[–] gottaluvafriend 8 years ago

If he were a true pedophile he would not have turned the girl down.

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[–] Popcorngal (4816) 4 years ago

True, it wasn't like he tried to assault her. Although he was a bit of a creep, the girl is young enough to be his daughter. I found older men attractive, but still preferred guys close to my age. Also it would creep me out, when they would hit me. I feel the same way about older women craving teenage boys, but like girls, the guys are willing as well. At least most of the time. Women can drug and bind men against their will as well.

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[–] gracelemesos 8 years ago

Well, legally in the USA he might have been, but to my mind, no he was not.
As you said, Angela was not a little girl; she was quite aware of what she was doing.

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[–] YuunofYork 8 years ago

It's a mistake to blame Angela. The film makes this very clear.

Lester was almost a pedophile. He smartened up when he realized Angela's sexuality was just telegraphed to be popular. That was why at a weak point in his life he picked up on it in the gymnasium.

Any response on this thread that mentions specific ages of consent in their attempt to answer this question is being dangerously obtuse about pedophilia.

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[–] TxMike 8 years ago

Pedophilia - a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.

There is no indication that Lester was a pedophile. I don't even recall there being any prepubescent children that Lester had contact with.

Fitts

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[–] YuunofYork 8 years ago

And I'm saying that definition is inaccurate. Are not all the factors of domination, perception of innocence, blindness to social barriers/uninhibitedness all present and accounted for in the case of a man in his 40s obsessing over an inexperienced girl in high school? You don't diagnose, treat, or discuss psychiatric disorders by citing legal ordinances like age of consent. Plenty of people within the age of consent can be manipulated and abused by people who fit this profile and yours. It is obvious to me that a man in Lester's position who actually continued this behavior would eventually find objects of obsession, some older and some younger.

It does no favors to the men or their victims to cling to such an overly precise view of this, one predicated on the randomity and variability of local law.

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[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

hahahaha "DEFINITION is inaccurate".... nice. You get to rewrite definitions? How does one achieve this power? Sounds like fun!

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[–] fiatlux-1 8 years ago

Pedophilia - a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.

There is no indication that Lester was a pedophile. I don't even recall there being any prepubescent children that Lester had contact with.

Exactly. He wasn't a pedophile. That is a criminal act.

I will go as far as to say he acted a bit like a 'dirty old man' lol...in that he attempted sex with Angela.
She was too young for him, and his daughter's friend to boot. But illegal? No.
A pedophile? No.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

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[–] Jowston 8 years ago

He's not a pedophile he's a Ephebophile -

is the primary or exclusive adult sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19. The term was originally used in the late 19th to mid 20th century. It is one of a number of sexual preferences across age groups subsumed under the technical term chronophilia.

Is it normal? I'll leave that to the psychologists.

"I am surprised Stannis's fleet didn't sink under the weight of his own balls."

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[–] 8 years ago

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