Martinez- Death According to Beetlejuice

Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice” uses elements of comedy to deny and reject the reality of death. Death is not a subject, which most Americans would consider falling under “comedy” because death has always had a negative connotation in the American culture. American society values beauty and youth and how the two can be preserved for as long as they can. Media is constantly feeding society messages of what new products, methods, or procedures are available to keep each individual’s appearance staying beautiful and youthful. For these reasons, American society has a hard time accepting the reality of death because death is seen as an image of the end of youth and beauty.

With the sudden death of Barbara and Adam Maitland, Tim Burton uses the concept of the afterlife to reject the reality of death therefore giving it a comedic twist. Right after the Maitland’s die, they have trouble accepting the fact that they are ghosts trapped in their own home. They have to follow a manual, which gives them instructions on how to “live” in the afterlife. A new family immediately moves into the Maitland’s home, which leaves Alex and Barbara trying to find a way to make that family move out. The scene where Barbara and Adam see the commercial for an afterlife bio-exorcist named Beetlegeuse is poking fun at death because it is giving the idea that there is still a way of life after death. The Maitland’s proceed to contact Beetlegeuse in order to help them reclaim their home, but they quickly realize Beetlegeuse is a pervert and no longer want his services.

Scary ghosts are always affiliated with death, but when Barbara and Alex try to scare the Deetze family by putting sheets over themselves it does not go as planned. Instead, the Deetze family fails to notice them even though Barbara and Alex have pulled their heads off each other in order to seem gory and disturbing. The scene in which they failed to be scary ghosts gave a lighter and more comedic feel to the idea of ghosts. This different image of the role of ghosts made death seem comical.

Death is a prevalent theme in American culture because it is a theme in which Americans have always had a hard time accepting partly because it has always had a depressing and dark connotation. Even though the movie “Beetlejuice” still rejects death with the use of the afterlife, it gives a different connotation to the image of death through the use of comedy.