I really enjoyed your conversation about this movie, which has long been a favorite of mine. I really feel a connection to this movie and can’t articulate why. I’ve met people who have seen it, and I’ve introduced it to many people, but none of them ever have appreciated it to the degree I do. I guess it’s just a very personal connection in the same way a person may cry when they see some abstract painting that most people just shrug off as junk. I do know that I relate closely to both Enid and Seymour. As an adolescent I behaved so much like Enid, privately mocking those around me, while internally struggling to find my place in the world. And as an adult, single male I relate to Seymour, with the reclusiveness, the collector’s mentality, the lack of confidence, and inability to relate to others. To me, this movie feels brilliantly perceptive. I personally relate to it. Incidentally, there’s another movie I feel very similar about, for reasons not dissimilar. Me, You and Everyone We Know. I’d highly recommend seeing that.
Same here. It's my favourite movie and aI always force people to watch it, and even though they like it, I still feel they can't appreciate it at the same level I do. I also can't explain why. I've seen this movie in different moments of my life and every time I can identify with different characters. I've been Enid, Rebecca and Seymour at different moments.
I LOVE THIS VIDEO! So many movie review videos I've seen overintellectualize movies or try too hard to be cool. This video has unpretentious guys who thoughtfully, honestly, and sensitively reflect upon this movie. Kudos!
I loved the ending! Enid told Seymore about her fantasy of one day just leaving to go somewhere without telling anyone. She finally did it and I think her journey into adulthood will be full of adventure because she is not choosing the conventional path. Scarlett Johansson's character is the blueshammer of blues music😉
Trying to figure out the title of the film, I was thinking about what a ghost actually is. I guess you could say a ghost is trapped in the world, still carrying around their baggage (I credit another commenter for that observation), unable to find peace, unable to connect. And in many ways this is End at the end of the film. So maybe the film’s ending is a metaphor for how difficult Enid’s journey through life is going to be, and how poor her chances are in the world, almost because she has such high expectations of it (wouldn't a lot of misanthropes be people whose high hopes for the world are disappointed?). It’s almost impossible for her to do anything that isn’t selling out her ideals. But if she wants to stay true to herself she has to take that lonely road. Why does Enid keep appearing dressed in red anyway? Obviously it’s really hard to attach a single meaning to a colour, and that’s probably what makes it such a good device in any piece of art. In the film's closing scenes, the red could be a symbol of rebirth, but maybe also of sacrifice, not because Enid’s about to die, but because life is going to be pitiless with her. Maybe her path does even lead to suicide in the end, or to some other kind of defeat, but I want to imagine a happier fate for her. Maybe the best we can hope for her is as a ‘ghost’ - flitting from place to place, never fitting in, but never quite giving up. Not because the self she’s created is ‘right’, but because her dissatisfaction with the world shows a kind of fundamental lucidity about it. Enid may be like a ghost, silenced and on the margins of the margins, but she also sees through the superficiality of normal life, sees it for the ‘ghost world’ it is.
For me this is also one of my favorite movies. Some things I like about it are more arbitrary/surface level, such as the humor, the comic booky look of the movie etc. I think where the movie's real strength comes from are its characters and specifically Enid. A lot of Clowes' comics are about outsiders who think they are better than others. Enid inhabits some of the same traits as a typical nonconformist Clowes characters, with her own set of quirks and ironic remarks, but at the same time the film views her in a much more sympathetic light. She suffers because of her inferiority/superiority complex and the most poignant moment of the film IMO is right after she has slept with Seymour. We see that she doesn’t really know what she wants and only wants more. That's also why she keeps going back and forth on whether or not she and Scarlet's character should live together, her want for satisfaction is coming before her regard for others. It's very typical of Clowes showing characters that are unhappy due to their egotist behavior, and usually the stories' endings are cyclical. Although Ghost World also has an open/cyclical ending it is still way more gentle and leaves hope for the future. In general Ghost world is more optimistic and none of the characters are genuinely malicious. The most 'malicious' moment is Scarlet's character finding joy in seeing Seymour's humiliation (towards the end when she tells her about the fake blind date thing), but it's very clear that she is very angry at Enid at the moment she says it and wants to punish her. Basically the characters of Ghost World all have flaws but none of them are actually evil and none of them are punished in a nihilistic way for their flaws. One last thing I like about the film is the humor, but that's just my own personal taste. I love deadpan comedy and the packaging of laugh out loud moments inside a depressing setting is right up my alley.
Really great review! I enjoyed your takes on the film. I'm of the mindset that the ending is the sadder of the 2. I think Enid realized that she'd never adjust like her childhood friend did. That she'd be destined to end up like Seymore and either give up her genuine self (Seymore starts to do this with the yuppie jeans and pointless antiques) or be shunned as an outcast and be alone but true to herself. She's facing having to attend another year of high school by herself, her family life is everything she hates, and she's alienated all her friends. Enid even says her fantasy is to disappear, not to start over or move away. The whole movie seems to drop breadcrumbs throughout that points to suicide, but I disagree that it makes the movie weak. Films don't have to be positive or uplifting to be good, if it makes you feel something it's done it's job. I really like Ghost World, and the idea that there's some special unmarked old-timey bus that comes to out-of-service bus stops to pick up single passengers and whisk them away to new lives doesn't fit the rest of the narrative. But that's just my take...
Great discussion. Just watched this movie for the second time. Previously saw it in the early 2000s, probably on IFC as one of you mentioned. Really holds up well IMO. Still feels pretty fresh and contemporary to me, despite its 90s/early 2000s vibe. The sadness and frustration is almost palpable, yet the characters are so sympathetic (to me) that it isn’t off-putting. Easy to get lost in the world of this movie. Really not sure what to make of the ending, but I don’t dwell on it; I’m more intrigued by the characters and themes. And some of the little set-pieces are just so funny as well. Makes me want to re-watch other Buscemi indie films like Tree Lounge, and the Crumb documentary that this director also created. Both also very good, albeit very different films. Thanks for sharing this discussion.
About Devil got My Woman, it could be used to subliminally indicate Rebecca's desire to get a job and conform and Enid's loss as it relates to that. The devil being conformity.
Ghost because Enid slowly learned over time that she was living in a fake town full of fake people (not real, as in Ghosts). and at the end she decided that she had had enough. Norman may have died (wasn't carrying a suitcase at the bus stop) and if he did, that might have given her the added incentive to leave that tired town. she was not afraid of change, in fact, she craved it. also, i think she had built up the belief in herself and didn't need the familiarity of where she had grown up any more. she moved on. wise choice at her age. she did not commit suicide. she left the "dead" ones behind and moved on.
This is one of my favourite movies and I have watched this film at least 20 times lol ( literally ). I didn't feel sad at the end , I found it to be an exciting ending. I think the ending is leaving it open to endless possibilities of what might take place from that point onwards. And like someone else commented - she is for filling her fantasy as well. For all we know they went to find her or she came back after having adventures and meeting new people perhaps? Or she could of got off at the next stop and hitchhiked back or called for a lift . I would LOVE to see a sequel to this and even a TV series would be awesome in my opinion. I love how this is actually a comic book also ( for those that weren't aware. Absolutely love this movie and always will 🖤😎.
I don't think there's much more to the ending than Enid fulfilling the fantasy she told Seymour. To just leave. She didn't realize that fantasy could be real until she saw the bus come for the old guy, (Raymond?). He was escaping as well. So once she saw him leave on the bus that wasn't supposed to come, she saw hope for her fantasy. I don't think there's any suicide involved.
Does James Earl Jones have new movies? any in the last few days? Some movies hurt me. poo. poo did they have to go to court? I try to forgive. did they?
people are thinking about realism but it is just usual (not the usual usual though) to me as an intp --------------------------- queen's gambit has an atmosphere of realism a bit but the showcase of brightness makes it like a bit weird ----------------------- btw, I observed a lot of mbti types when different characters with different personalities appear ------------------- at the very end of the movie, I feel unsatisfied just the way I feel unsatisfied in nabokov's signs and symbols
read the comic. Enid changes all throughout the comic. She's trying to escape herself. her fantasy is to get on a bus and when she gets off she'll be or act as another person. the Seymour character doesn't exist in the comic but it really doesn't make any difference. also you don't get the reason why its called ghost world. There's a guy in the comic that tags ghost world all over the town. the bus stop also gets rerouted in the comic book,the book and the Film are different but same. I love both but the comic gives it more purpose.
I watched it over and over because I loved the characters. I could relate to Enid when her father got back with the bitchy girlfriend and she cried out of frustration.
I have adored this film ever since I first saw it back in 2001. I watched simply because of Thora Birch, who had impressed so much in 'American Beauty' and 'The Hole', and I got so much more than just another solid performance from Birch. It was the first time I saw Steve Buscemi (he will always be Seymour to me) and Scarlett Johnasson. The girls' interests and humour are so totally in synch when we first see them (following the Satanist couple, digging at Malora, even both fancying Josh) but they drift ever further apart as the film goes on. I always feel Enid wasted Becky's time when it came to finding an apartment and the whole 'living together' plan. Enid doesn't know what she wants at all... an expert demonstration of this she provides by leading on Seymour, then recoiling... and I don't blame her at all as most teens are also in disarray - but few have the humour or talent of Enid. I wished we had gotten to see more of her scribbling pad where her doodles are as they are wonderful. The only character in this film who seems a complete caricature and ridiculously over the top is the skinny geezer with the moustache without his top on, who comes into the shop Josh works at and later attacks Seymour.
What are your thoughts on the ending of the film?
I was confused..like
I really enjoyed your conversation about this movie, which has long been a favorite of mine. I really feel a connection to this movie and can’t articulate why. I’ve met people who have seen it, and I’ve introduced it to many people, but none of them ever have appreciated it to the degree I do. I guess it’s just a very personal connection in the same way a person may cry when they see some abstract painting that most people just shrug off as junk. I do know that I relate closely to both Enid and Seymour. As an adolescent I behaved so much like Enid, privately mocking those around me, while internally struggling to find my place in the world. And as an adult, single male I relate to Seymour, with the reclusiveness, the collector’s mentality, the lack of confidence, and inability to relate to others. To me, this movie feels brilliantly perceptive. I personally relate to it. Incidentally, there’s another movie I feel very similar about, for reasons not dissimilar. Me, You and Everyone We Know. I’d highly recommend seeing that.
Same here. It's my favourite movie and aI always force people to watch it, and even though they like it, I still feel they can't appreciate it at the same level I do. I also can't explain why. I've seen this movie in different moments of my life and every time I can identify with different characters. I've been Enid, Rebecca and Seymour at different moments.
I just finished watching the movie, and I wanted to hear what people had to say about it. Good video, guys!
This film took me to places I never could have imagined a film in 2001 could achieve about teenage lives
I LOVE THIS VIDEO! So many movie review videos I've seen overintellectualize movies or try too hard to be cool. This video has unpretentious guys who thoughtfully, honestly, and sensitively reflect upon this movie. Kudos!
I loved the ending! Enid told Seymore about her fantasy of one day just leaving to go somewhere without telling anyone. She finally did it and I think her journey into adulthood will be full of adventure because she is not choosing the conventional path. Scarlett Johansson's character is the blueshammer of blues music😉
Yeah I Love this Movie more every time I watch it! Nice quick little commentary on the movie btw!
Trying to figure out the title of the film, I was thinking about what a ghost actually is. I guess you could say a ghost is trapped in the world, still carrying around their baggage (I credit another commenter for that observation), unable to find peace, unable to connect. And in many ways this is End at the end of the film.
So maybe the film’s ending is a metaphor for how difficult Enid’s journey through life is going to be, and how poor her chances are in the world, almost because she has such high expectations of it (wouldn't a lot of misanthropes be people whose high hopes for the world are disappointed?). It’s almost impossible for her to do anything that isn’t selling out her ideals. But if she wants to stay true to herself she has to take that lonely road.
Why does Enid keep appearing dressed in red anyway? Obviously it’s really hard to attach a single meaning to a colour, and that’s probably what makes it such a good device in any piece of art. In the film's closing scenes, the red could be a symbol of rebirth, but maybe also of sacrifice, not because Enid’s about to die, but because life is going to be pitiless with her.
Maybe her path does even lead to suicide in the end, or to some other kind of defeat, but I want to imagine a happier fate for her. Maybe the best we can hope for her is as a ‘ghost’ - flitting from place to place, never fitting in, but never quite giving up. Not because the self she’s created is ‘right’, but because her dissatisfaction with the world shows a kind of fundamental lucidity about it. Enid may be like a ghost, silenced and on the margins of the margins, but she also sees through the superficiality of normal life, sees it for the ‘ghost world’ it is.
For me this is also one of my favorite movies. Some things I like about it are more arbitrary/surface level, such as the humor, the comic booky look of the movie etc. I think where the movie's real strength comes from are its characters and specifically Enid. A lot of Clowes' comics are about outsiders who think they are better than others. Enid inhabits some of the same traits as a typical nonconformist Clowes characters, with her own set of quirks and ironic remarks, but at the same time the film views her in a much more sympathetic light. She suffers because of her inferiority/superiority complex and the most poignant moment of the film IMO is right after she has slept with Seymour. We see that she doesn’t really know what she wants and only wants more. That's also why she keeps going back and forth on whether or not she and Scarlet's character should live together, her want for satisfaction is coming before her regard for others. It's very typical of Clowes showing characters that are unhappy due to their egotist behavior, and usually the stories' endings are cyclical. Although Ghost World also has an open/cyclical ending it is still way more gentle and leaves hope for the future. In general Ghost world is more optimistic and none of the characters are genuinely malicious. The most 'malicious' moment is Scarlet's character finding joy in seeing Seymour's humiliation (towards the end when she tells her about the fake blind date thing), but it's very clear that she is very angry at Enid at the moment she says it and wants to punish her. Basically the characters of Ghost World all have flaws but none of them are actually evil and none of them are punished in a nihilistic way for their flaws.
One last thing I like about the film is the humor, but that's just my own personal taste. I love deadpan comedy and the packaging of laugh out loud moments inside a depressing setting is right up my alley.
Really great review! I enjoyed your takes on the film. I'm of the mindset that the ending is the sadder of the 2. I think Enid realized that she'd never adjust like her childhood friend did. That she'd be destined to end up like Seymore and either give up her genuine self (Seymore starts to do this with the yuppie jeans and pointless antiques) or be shunned as an outcast and be alone but true to herself. She's facing having to attend another year of high school by herself, her family life is everything she hates, and she's alienated all her friends. Enid even says her fantasy is to disappear, not to start over or move away. The whole movie seems to drop breadcrumbs throughout that points to suicide, but I disagree that it makes the movie weak. Films don't have to be positive or uplifting to be good, if it makes you feel something it's done it's job. I really like Ghost World, and the idea that there's some special unmarked old-timey bus that comes to out-of-service bus stops to pick up single passengers and whisk them away to new lives doesn't fit the rest of the narrative. But that's just my take...
Great discussion. Just watched this movie for the second time. Previously saw it in the early 2000s, probably on IFC as one of you mentioned. Really holds up well IMO. Still feels pretty fresh and contemporary to me, despite its 90s/early 2000s vibe.
The sadness and frustration is almost palpable, yet the characters are so sympathetic (to me) that it isn’t off-putting. Easy to get lost in the world of this movie. Really not sure what to make of the ending, but I don’t dwell on it; I’m more intrigued by the characters and themes. And some of the little set-pieces are just so funny as well.
Makes me want to re-watch other Buscemi indie films like Tree Lounge, and the Crumb documentary that this director also created. Both also very good, albeit very different films. Thanks for sharing this discussion.
Enjoyed this discussion! One of my fav films of all time!
About Devil got My Woman, it could be used to subliminally indicate Rebecca's desire to get a job and conform and Enid's loss as it relates to that. The devil being conformity.
Ghost because Enid slowly learned over time that she was living in a fake town full of fake people (not real, as in Ghosts). and at the end she decided that she had had enough. Norman may have died (wasn't carrying a suitcase at the bus stop) and if he did, that might have given her the added incentive to leave that tired town. she was not afraid of change, in fact, she craved it. also, i think she had built up the belief in herself and didn't need the familiarity of where she had grown up any more. she moved on. wise choice at her age. she did not commit suicide. she left the "dead" ones behind and moved on.
This is one of my favourite movies and I have watched this film at least 20 times lol ( literally ). I didn't feel sad at the end , I found it to be an exciting ending. I think the ending is leaving it open to endless possibilities of what might take place from that point onwards. And like someone else commented - she is for filling her fantasy as well. For all we know they went to find her or she came back after having adventures and meeting new people perhaps? Or she could of got off at the next stop and hitchhiked back or called for a lift . I would LOVE to see a sequel to this and even a TV series would be awesome in my opinion. I love how this is actually a comic book also ( for those that weren't aware. Absolutely love this movie and always will 🖤😎.
I don't think there's much more to the ending than Enid fulfilling the fantasy she told Seymour. To just leave.
She didn't realize that fantasy could be real until she saw the bus come for the old guy, (Raymond?). He was escaping as well.
So once she saw him leave on the bus that wasn't supposed to come, she saw hope for her fantasy.
I don't think there's any suicide involved.
Great Movie !!! Instant Classic !!!
Does James Earl Jones have new movies? any in the last few days? Some movies hurt me. poo. poo did they have to go to court? I try to forgive. did they?
people are thinking about realism but it is just usual (not the usual usual though) to me as an intp
---------------------------
queen's gambit has an atmosphere of realism a bit but the showcase of brightness makes it like a bit weird
-----------------------
btw, I observed a lot of mbti types when different characters with different personalities appear
-------------------
at the very end of the movie, I feel unsatisfied just the way I feel unsatisfied in nabokov's signs and symbols
especially the estj one at enid's first day of job
read the comic. Enid changes all throughout the comic. She's trying to escape herself. her fantasy is to get on a bus and when she gets off she'll be or act as another person. the Seymour character doesn't exist in the comic but it really doesn't make any difference. also you don't get the reason why its called ghost world. There's a guy in the comic that tags ghost world all over the town. the bus stop also gets rerouted in the comic book,the book and the Film are different but same. I love both but the comic gives it more purpose.
I watched it over and over because I loved the characters. I could relate to Enid when her father got back with the bitchy girlfriend and she cried out of frustration.
Did Pepsi sponsor this video? Wild Turkey? The placement of both look very staged.
I wish!
i shall sub
I have adored this film ever since I first saw it back in 2001. I watched simply because of Thora Birch, who had impressed so much in 'American Beauty' and 'The Hole', and I got so much more than just another solid performance from Birch. It was the first time I saw Steve Buscemi (he will always be Seymour to me) and Scarlett Johnasson.
The girls' interests and humour are so totally in synch when we first see them (following the Satanist couple, digging at Malora, even both fancying Josh) but they drift ever further apart as the film goes on. I always feel Enid wasted Becky's time when it came to finding an apartment and the whole 'living together' plan. Enid doesn't know what she wants at all... an expert demonstration of this she provides by leading on Seymour, then recoiling... and I don't blame her at all as most teens are also in disarray - but few have the humour or talent of Enid.
I wished we had gotten to see more of her scribbling pad where her doodles are as they are wonderful.
The only character in this film who seems a complete caricature and ridiculously over the top is the skinny geezer with the moustache without his top on, who comes into the shop Josh works at and later attacks Seymour.