BF143003

I chose to do my project on the movie //Beetlejuice// by Tim Burton. His movies always have psychological qualities to them that make his films appealing whether the characteristics and little hints go unnoticed or not. //Beetlejuice// has scenes and actions that can be related to Kubler-Ross’s stages of death, narcissism, parenting styles, and other life changes such as death and marriage. Even the colors and patterns in the movie have specific meanings. Tim Burton always does so wonderful with his films and never fails to catch the viewers’ attention. The movie has had its fair share of criticism as well as praise. So much criticism for a certain scene however, it has been removed from all of the new versions of the movie. As controversial as the movie may have been in 1988, it is still an excellent movie.

The movie takes place in a small down in Connecticut sometime in what appears to be the 80’s. Barbara and Adam Maitland are the couple the movie is centered around. They are a married couple who live in a giant house just outside of town. This is to signify the couple’s preference for isolation and privacy (we see more of this as the movie plays out). The house itself is white so it also depicts the innocence of the couple and their lifestyle. The movie kicks off with the couple being sentimental and love struck as they talk about their vacation. The vacation was planned to take place in their own home as they spend time alone and redecorate. Barbara is in a white floral dress which signifies her innocence and motherly personality. Adam is in a mix match ensemble with glasses and slicked back hair with a part in it. He was clearly dressed to stand out as the sensible and logical one. After it is established that they are on vacation, Adam soon decides that they must take a drive down to his hardware store. It is on the way to the store that they pass a rickety looking bridge that is a bright red. This is an omen that Tim Burton chooses to bring out with the scarlet red. They ride into town and collect the supplies Adam needs for his hobby (building a lifelike model of their town). On their way home they go over the bridge again just to see a dog at the end of it. The couple swerves and goes through the side of the bridge. They die. Oddly enough, the couple ends up back in their home. How did they get there? Did they survive the crash? The movie continues with a few obvious things happening to determine the answer. They cannot see their reflection and Barbara’s fingers catch on fire without her feeling any pain or having any burn marks or scars. They also discover a book which has been conveniently placed on their end table. The book is title “Handbook for the recently deceased”. Adam and Barbara also come to the realization that they are not able to leave the house. They realize this when they exit the front door and fall into a parallel plane. This ends their denial in Kubler-Ross’s stages of dying.

Once the couple are done denying their death, a new family suddenly moves into their home. Barbara and Adam are angry that they are dead and wish they were alive so they could do such things as leaving the house for cleaning supplies and hardware for Adams model. They are also angry at the fact that they are the only dead folk around. It is the Deetz family are obnoxious and completely opposite of Barbara and Adam. The Deetz’ family is from the city and is higher up as far as social status goes. The Maitland’s are simple people who like living in isolation. Delia Deetz is the stepmother who thinks she is artistic and of the highest form of sophistication. Her parenting style can best be described as authoritarian. This is where the parent’s style is low in nurturance and communication, but high in control and maturity demands. Delia treats Lydia in a controlling manner. For example, when Lydia says there are ghosts and Delia feels it’s out of the ordinary, she’s quick to down her and say she doesn’t know what she’s talking about and to stop making up stories. Then when ghosts are suddenly cool, she encourages Lydia’s stories. She takes no notice of Lydia’s feeling and treats her like an object. Charles Deetz is more laid back and attempts to relax and enjoy life with this new move. Charles has a parenting style that can best be described as permissive. He loves Lydia and provides for her but won’t support her or even listen to her. He acts as though she isn’t there for the most part. Lydia is the daughter. She is a dark one with only black clothing and seeks to be the darkest of all. She is like that simply to get the correct parenting style out of her parents.

As the Deetz family is moving into the house, Delia brings in her friend Otho. The two begin to plan renovations and start criticizing every inch of the house. Otho and Delia are unable to go into the attic because Adam slams the door in their face. Since Delia and Otho cannot see the ghosts, they think nothing of it. Of course, someone has to be able to see the ghosts in the house. That person is Lydia. She sees them in the window when her family moves in and then begins to associate herself with them in their attic. The Deetz family catches on and soon decides the ghosts would make a good tourist attraction and a great source of income. The struggle begins with Barbara and Adam trying to force the Deetz family out of their house. The problem is the more they try the more intrigued the Deetz family becomes.

Soon, the Maitland’s seek out their case worker by the name of Juno. Juno explains to them that they must scare the Deetz family out of their home without the help of the narcissistic nut by the name of Beetlejuice. Juno explains that Beetlejuice is nothing but fraud who “doesn’t work well with others”. It is with Juno that the couple moves from Kubler-Ross’s stage of anger to bargaining. They are willing to do anything to get their home back and live like mortals. Juno isn’t much help except for the warning about Beetlejuice. The couple try and try to scare the Deetz family but nothing seems to work. It makes it much harder for Barbara and Adam to scare away the family once they begin to care for Lydia. Even after Juno’s warning, they seek out Beetlejuice to find out if he would in fact be of any help to them. He soon scares them off with his troubling ways. He feels let down and threatened when Barbara and Adam refuse his help. Beetlejuice is a true narcissist who craves attention, power, and approval. He feels no empathy for others and couldn’t care less who he hurts. After countless attempts at safely scaring the family, the seek Juno’s help again. Barbara looks around at all the dead people in the waiting room and asks Adam, “Is this what happens when you die?” Barbara has clearly begun to experience depression. The reason she goes into depression is because she is looking at all the mangled and disfigured corpses that are sitting in the waiting room next to her and Adam. She weeps around the hallway after speaking with Juno and tells Adam that she really cares for Lydia and doesn’t wish to cause her or her family any problems. Adam soon comes to the same conclusion. It is shortly after that Adam and Barbara move to the last stage, acceptance. They do this by expressing to Lydia that they would love it if they would share the house with them. Adam and Barbara always liked Lydia. It was Lydia’s family that was the problem. However, they love Lydia and begin to think of her as their own child. Because of this, they are willing to deal with her family and try to get along with them.

With Lydia discussing the new possible living arrangements with the Maitland’s, the Deetz family is having a ritual or ceremony for the dead (the Maitland’s). The Deetz family lies out Barbara’s old wedding dress and Adam’s tuxedo. It is then that the Deetz’s family and their company begin to say a chant. Slowly, Barbara begins to disappear from Adam’s sight up in the attic and starts to fill out and appear downstairs in the wedding dress. As she hovers over the dinner party, she begins to age and deteriorate before their eyes. Unfortunately, the ceremony is still going on as Barbara is slowly deteriorates. Adam then disappears from the attic and reappears in his tuxedo downstairs beside Barbara. Just like Barbara, Adam begins to age and deteriorate as well. In a desperate last attempt to save the Maitland’s, Lydia summons Beetlejuice to save them. However, with Beetlejuice nothing is free. The catch is Lydia would have to marry him so he could never be locked away again. She agrees and he saves Barbara and Adam. With Beetlejuice holding up his side of the bargain, Lydia now must hold up her end. Beetlejuice tries to force Lydia to go through with the ceremony. However, Barbara and Adam will not allow her to be trapped by the creep. Beetlejuice is then devoured by a giant worm and is never heard from again. Lydia’s family as well as the Maitland’s then live together sharing the house. The final scene has Barbara and Adam in the living room decorating and working on the model as Lydia arrives from school. She explains that she made an A on her math test after studying all week with Adam. His reward to Lydia is that he will possess her and let her float in the air and sing.

Every single color, pattern, personality characteristics, and even random dogs running down the road have a place in the movie and story. From the white house to the red bridge, it all has a meaning. Not all felt this way however, some critics thought the film was foolish and that Michael Keaton seemed foolish and crude with the humor. It even got some criticism for being sexual. The most noticeable was the fact that Beetlejuice was into Lydia. Being that she’s a minor it was bound to bring up some bad feelings. He made a lot of comments to her and even made it a point at the end of the movie to try to elope with her. Beetlejuice was even sexual with Barbara when he first met her. He gave her a kiss, grabbed at her midriff, and attempted to lift her dress to see her underwear. The visual effects and imagination seemed to be what the critics liked most about the film. Another thing noted by critics was how humorous the movie was. It may have been rated PG-13 but it seemed highly inappropriate for that rating being that Beetlejuice screamed “Nice F** model”, and grabbed at his crotch in a scene and also honks twice in the movie. He also goes to a whorehouse. Some of the images and details in the movie were said to be inappropriate for teens to watch. It’s funny how an animated series was made shortly after for children. The movie was actually once rated PG-13 believe it or not. Since this, the movie has been modified with a lot of content edited and taken out so it could be rated a family film and could receive the rating of PG. I watched the older version however. The visual effects alone with all the corps and dead people should automatically disqualify the film from being PG no matter what material they take out. I love the movie no matter what they do to it simple because I love Tim Burton and pretty much anything he produces. The film was great and is a must see.

__Subject Matter—15 points out of 20__ You need in-text citations to the textbook for the concepts you are referring to. You need to have a list of works cited, so I can evaluate your research and resources.

__Higher-Order Thinking—15 points out of 20__ :

You start out strong, but you use fewer references to textbook concepts as you go.

__Organization--30 points out of 30__

Simple and straightforward--good job!

__Format--0 points out of 10__

No in-text citations or references.

__Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling--10 points out of 10__

__Readability/Style--8 points out of 10__

Awkward paragraph transitions--try breaking them apart using empty lines (hit "enter" twice).

Grade:78/100