Death. It’s something
that we sometimes hate thinking of. When we find out someone we’ve known has
died, we can’t believe it. And once they’re gone from our lives, they’re gone. In
Beetlejuice, the dead aren’t necessarily
gone; they just go about as strange and unusual, blind to the ‘normal’ eye. When
the Maitlands die, their death isn’t sad. We see no funeral. There are no
grotesque bodies. There are no upset families or neighbors, except for Jane,
who wanted to sell the house anyway. When the Maitlands die, we don’t really
know that they are dead yet.
Throughout the entire
film, the Maitlands actually seem quite fine and alive. They use their ghostly
powers occasionally, but it’s really nothing too supernatural. At the end of
the film, they seem perfectly alive and fine again. Barbara is hanging new
wallpaper, Adam is still working on his model and they both seem to help Lydia
with her studies just as normal family members or friends would. The film isn’t
accepting that they or anyone else is dead. The film doesn’t let them move on.
Their presence continues to linger.
In American, we burry
our dead dressed and made up as if they were still alive. We touch and kiss
their bodies as a final goodbye even if they’ve died days or weeks ago. We use
funerals to celebrate their lives not mourn their deaths. In New Orleans, we
have second lines (after parties) for the lost. We swear we’ll keep them alive
in our hearts and memories. We refuse to accept the fact that they are gone. We
try to keep them alive in as many senses as possible. It’s hard to think that
someone whom you cared so deeply for is no longer around. So here, in America,
we do what we must to try to keep people alive, just as Lydia prepared to marry
Betelgeuse to keep the already dead Maitlands alive.
We like to think that
the loved ones we have lost have all gone to a better place where they will
finally be free from their troubles. We like to ease the survivor’s guilt
hanging over our shoulders. America tries to avoid the death of their own
people as much as they possibly can.
We like to ease the survivors guilt hanging over our shoulders. America tries to avoid the death of their own
people as much as they possibly can.
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