Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetle-loved

Beloved, an American novel by Toni Morrison set in rural Ohio, delves into the spiritual world of ghosts and the haunted following the era of slavery. The novel introduces Sethe and her daughter Denver, the current residents of 124 Bluestone Road. It’s been months since Sethe had gone in to a state of panic and brutally attacked her sons and murdered her infant daughter in an attempt to save them from the horrors of slavery. Following the incident the only two left at 124, or so we thought, are Sethe and Denver. Recently the two have been experiencing paranormal activities within the house. One day Paul D, an old friend of Sethe’s arrives at 124 trying to rekindle their relationship. Paul D’s presence causes an outburst from the supposed ghost that haunts 124. Threatened, Paul D begins flailing a dining room chair in the air to defend against the unseen attack. In the process he breaks a few pieces of furniture, but seems to have scared the ghost away for awhile. In the coming days there is no sign of paranormal activity allowing the three residents some serenity.

Parallel to this beginning for Sethe and her family is the story of the Maitlands, a newly wed couple in the film, Beetlejuice, directed by Tim Burton. The Maitlands, Adam and Barbara, experience a tragic death by car accident over a bridge in their small town in Connecticut. Waking up disoriented in their home, they find it being invaded by another family attempting to move in. Soon after Adam and Barbara are hit with the realization that they are deceased ghosts, forced to haunt their house for eternity. Convinced they can scare away the new family from moving in, they begin causing paranormal mayhem. 

Similar to the aggravated deceased Adam and Barbara is the ghost character that appears at 124 in the novel Beloved. Walking out of the creek by 124 is a young girl whom Sethe and Denver come to realize is the reincarnation of Sethe’s murdered infant. This new character named Beloved, wrecks havoc within the family dynamic between Sethe, Denver, and Paul D. Beloved’s soul purpose is to achieve Sethes undivided attention what ever the cost. This deters Denver and Paul D from Sethe. Eventually Paul leaves 124 and Denver seeks work in the community to avoid spending time at home. Similarly, the Maitlands use strategies like Beloved’s scare tactics and creating a rifts in family dynamics, to deter the new family from living in their home on the hill. 

Both works of art explore the theme of death and afterlife through a sinister plot of haunting. While Beetlejuice utilizes humor much more than Beloved, they both execute the idea that death can cause as much torment as life. Chris Stangl states in his critique of Beetlejuice, “The afterlife is imagined as a mazelike bureaucracy of incomprehensible rules and constant roadblocks, constructed of junkheaped illogic designed only to demonstrate that the afterlife is full of frustration and petty problems as life.” Author Toni Morrison and director Tim Burton illustrate the fearsome similarities between the dead and the living ironically, through an entity that exists between the two worlds of life and death. Each provide one shared and clear message, being dead really doesn't solve anything.

(^your face after reading this post)