Buzaid- Beetlejuice

 

               Death cannot be avoided and I think that’s what makes it so hard for us to accept. To be dead is an unimaginable state of being. If we were to put out a survey asking Americans what their biggest fear is, there is no doubt that the majority of people would answer “death.”

“America the brave fears what we don’t know”

This quote, taken from the song Same Love by the artist Macklemoore, applies to how our nation reacts to most things we do not understand. I find that Americans are never satisfied with accepting the way things are. We are constantly searching for explanations behind things that do not sit well with our own personal beliefs, values, and minds.  Therefore, the American culture challenges death. Our will to live is so strong that dying isn’t appreciated like it is in other countries. For example, Mexico celebrates a day known as “The Day of the Dead.” I think the closest thing we have to anything like that is VooDoo fest, here in New Orleans. Otherwise, Americans do not celebrate death in a positive way. Instead we do burial ceremonies, which all cultures in one way or another do.

 In the film Beetlejuice, the Maitlands became ghosts after they died. Could this be how Burton imagined life after death? They were ghosts restricted to only their house. I find this to be sort of funny because in the beginning of the film they wanted nothing more than to spend their vacation together at home. There was also the impression that the couple was having trouble getting pregnant. Also, Jane the sales woman makes a point of saying that the house is too big for just the two of them. Later on, we see the house full with Maitlands and the Deetzes living together happily, and Lydia playing the role of a child for the Maitlands. Here we see Burton making light of a usually dark and sad situation, leaving the audience satisfied with the end result. 

 

 

The scene where Lydia tells Barbara that she wants to be dead too and Barbara gets wide eyed and responds “No! Lydia, being dead really doesn’t make things any easier” is the only scene that I found Burton to be showing acceptance of the reality of death. Otherwise, wouldn’t have been ok for Lydia to join the Maitlands in their afterlife? With a few changes here and there that could have easily been a happy ending as well.