Beetlejuice http://varnishedvalkyrie.blogspot.com/2012/09/beetlejuice-beetlejuice-beetlejuice.html
Indeed, America is definitely a country that denies death.
It could be because Americans put so much effort and attention into actually living.
America is full of ambitious, intelligent people. These people are focused on
living out the American Dream. These people want to be somebody of significance.
They will not be able to fulfill their dreams if all they think about is death.
In a way, the thought of death could become a handicap. It could possibly
become an excuse to not try to achieve or reach any type of goals. So instead,
Americans decide to just pretend to be ignorant of the fact of death. And
depending on the type of person you are, death could sometimes be a depressing
thought. Which brings us to the case in Beetlejuice.
In this film, the subject of death was just the opposite. Instead of it being
sad and gloomy, it was actually quite comedic. Many different genres were
visibly present in the film. Using comedy, made it seem as though the film was
pro-death or accepting the thought of death. Actually by using comedy, it was
made evident that the movie is not at all accepting of the thought. This is
proven by how the death of the Maitlands actually happened. Their death was much
like living. The Maitlands stayed at their house, they still did the same
things they had always done in the attic, and they still had a functioning
relationship besides the different sorts of comedic relief that was bought from
being dead. It seems as though Tim Burton was essentially selling a dream to
the fans of his films. He portrayed death as being just the same as life was,
which means that he did not accept death for what it really was. Even at the
end of the film, the Maitlands existed as if nothing had ever happened. The
fact that Tim Burton depicted death just as life shows how unwilling Americans
are to not accept death as the ultimate end. Americans choose to be ignorant to death so
that they can live how they want to.
I disagree that Americans out their focus into living. Consider how many people live today; wake up at the crack of dawn, grab a quick cup of coffee before kissing their spouse (whom they haven't spoken to all morning) on the cheek then rushing off to work. After work it's time to do errands, cook dinner, clean house, and then before you know it, it's bed time. Especially with today's technology, any human interaction that we do have is scarcely in person. We don't have (or make) time to visit relatives, spend time with our families, or even spend time with our friends like we should because personal responsibilities and leisures get in the way. When we need to talk to someone, we don't stop by their houses or write letters; we text them. How we live today isn't a focus on living, it's a focus on surviving. I also disagree that the use of comedy appeared to make the film seem as if it is not accepting of death by making death a reflection of life. The Maitland's did not realize that they were dead, meaning that their personal conception of death was that it would be beyond something so familiar. I believe this is a play on how many Americans view death; we expect it to be different, to really be the end or to begin a new life in paradise. I feel as if Burton is poking fun at this fact by showing us that we really don't know what it's like. The Maitland's true denial of death comes in their attempt to remove the Deetz family from their home, refusing to give up the fact that they have the same rights as a living person. They do not want to give up the life they once lived. In the end the Maitland's have accepted their death and the differences that have come along with it, such as living peacefully with the Deetz's and accepting their new way of life.
ReplyDelete-Summer Balbero