How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from American Beauty.
Quote #4
RICKY: When you see something like that, it's like God is looking right at you, just for a second. And if you're careful, you can look right back.
See, here's that explanation we mentioned: Ricky's not morbid; he just thinks that looking mortality head-on is meaningful and maybe even gives you some kind of spiritual access. We'll take his word for it, since we're pretty sure there are ethical problems with filming the dead in that kind of situation.
Quote #5
RICKY: It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing. And there's this electricity in the air. You can almost hear it, right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know that there was no reason to be afraid. Ever.
And here's where we really start to like Ricky Fitts, who is so sensitive and hopeful about finding meaning in life that he manages to see significance in a plastic bag skipping around on the air. Would most of us find it hard to see evidence of a benevolent force in flying trash? Absolutely—but that's not Ricky. He desperately wants to see the world underneath appearances, and these quiet, mundane moments (and the filming of dead people and animals, of course) seem to get him there.
Quote #6
LESTER: This isn't life. This is just stuff. And it's become more important to you than living. Well, honey, that's just nuts.
As Lester kind of says early in the movie, you can actually be more or less "dead"—at least in terms of your feelings—and still be walking around. That's how he felt until Angela aroused his passions, and here he's trying to get Carolyn to see that she, too, is in a kind of zombie state. Because she's so focused on "stuff" as opposed passion, Lester thinks she's not actually living her life.