Six pages of a comic book were turned into one of the coolest movies of. As seymour doesnt exist in the comic, he is left free from any comparisons. Based on the cult comic book series by daniel clowes and directed by terry zwigoff of. Daniel clowes began his career as an alternative cartoonist in 1985 with the shortlived comic book series lloyd llewellyn. Ghost world russ burlingame 09052017 best comic book adaptations on tv and film scott pilgrim vs. Based on the 19931997 comic book of the same name by daniel clowes. The movie ghost world was inspired by a graphic novel, with the same name, by daniel clowes. This becomes even more clear when seymour steve buscemi, a much older. Seymour is based more than just a little bit on zwigoff himself seymour even has a collection of old 78s similar to zwigoffs. Likewise, zwigoff has changed the look of ghost world from a slateblue monochrome to full color. Ghost world directed by terry zwigoff written by daniel clowes 2001 who are you supposed to be, cyndi lauper. Its about two friends enidthora birch and rebecca scarlett johansson who just graduate high school and dont really know what to do what there lives.
Both strips appeared in a comic book called eightball which also contained ghost world. Gradually and authentically, ghost world depicts an. In ghost world, daniel clowes doesnt romanticize the teenage experience or show teenage girls as sweet and idealistic. There are several references to other comic strips written and drawn by daniel clowes. His portrayal is raw, cynical, and honest, often hitting the nail on the head. Based on the 19931997 comic book of the same name by daniel clowes, with a screenplay cowritten by clowes and zwigoff, the story focuses on the lives of enid birch and rebecca johansson, two teenage outsiders in an unnamed american city. Enid and rebecca spend most of their time making fun of other people they encounter and occasionally playing mean tricks on them. Both graphic novel and film are subtle critiques of the effects of consumer capitalism. By cutting the last line of the comic book, zwigoff brings the film to a close visually and silently.
Thats the basic premise of the film version of ghost world, based on the comic book of the same name by daniel clowes. Ghost world the comic is a quieter, impressionistic work, with enid. While this sacrifices the melancholy, ghostly tone of the comic, it also allows for sharper contrasts between the garish, fluorescent world of fake fifties diners and multiplexes vs. Yet the bleak alienation of the consumerist ghost world isnt pictured as a simple. It was a commercial and critical success and developed into a cult classic. Ghost world tells the story of enid thora birch and rebecca scarlett. To him ghost world suggests the anomie, accidie and emptiness of our rootless, corporatemanaged culture that the girls mock and against which seymour has created a personal haven. Ghost worlds enid birch, a recent highschool grad, is a character who knows what she doesnt want out of life which is not the same thing as saying that shes an alienated teen or a. The character of seymour appears only as the victim of the girls prank in the comic and was made significant at terry zwigoffs suggestion. See more ideas about ghost world, ghost world movie and world. Once high school is over, one needs to decide where and how they are going to succeed in society. Rebecca is more passive, a skinny blond wasp according to enid though shes not a wasp, watching with some amusement and more dismay as enid does.
With steve buscemi, thora birch, scarlett johansson, brad renfro. Another change includes rebecca having a rather diminished role compared to her role in the comic, which gave a more balanced amount of attention to both girls. Daniel clowes writes either the funniest sad comics or the saddest funny comics in the world. The storyline is based on elisa camerons quest to discover the truth around her evident death. While the film does engage with issues of racism, censorship, and the futility of. I received this film as a gift from my mom many years ago. Ghost world features a pair of teenage best friends, enid and becky or. Then theres the squeaky third wheel, steve buscemis clueless dork turned enids mentor seymour.
But enid faces an existential crisis as she spends her summer considering art school, hanging out with an eccentric music buff named seymour, and taking an art class that she needs to earn her diploma. Rediscover the peculiar wonders of ghost world with these surprising facts. But on its own terms of truculent alienation and personal. Ghost world by terry zwigoff terry zwigoff, thora birch. Of course, buscemi is next level here and just owns seymour with the right amount of heart and soul.
Ghost world, the new film adapted from daniel clowes comic book stories of the. In 1989, he created the seminal comic book series, eightball. With the amazing opening scene of the film that is unforgettable and an ending that we are still talking about to this day, ghost world still holds up and is one of the finer comic book films ever made. Ghost world is also refreshing in its refusal to make sweeping, profound statements about social problems. They play a prank on an guy named seymoursteve buscemi through a personals ad in the newspaper. As the story progresses, the background changes dramatically. Ghost world is smart enough to know that enid and seymour cant solve their lives in a week or two. Its directed by terry zwigoff, from a screenplay cowritten by zwigoff and clowes, so the original creator was involved. Definitely a darker look at the classic comingofage stories, much of ghost worlds popularity lies in its frank treatment of adolescence and alienation. Ghost world seems at first like many another teen comedies set during. The first among many stories to gain notice were the darkly comic like a velvet glove cast in iron and his savage take on the comics industry, pusseythese were followed in the mid90s by the breakthrough. Enid is the forceful one, darkhaired, glasseswearing, jewish, highly opinionated, somewhat reckless. Ghost world takes place in an unnamed town filled with shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and urban sprawl.
Gradually and authentically, ghost world depicts an unraveling friendship. It follows deadpan snarkers enid coleslaw and rebecca doppelmeyer as they face the summer after high school graduation the character of josh, an alienated friend and quasilove interest of enids and rebeccas, also plays a major role in the comic. Ghost world, the comic book, is a gorgeous, moving piece of work because the girls relationship feels authentic and unforced there is no enforced. Ghost world is a series of eight related short stories about their daytoday lives.
Based on a cult comic book, ghost world is a dark comedy with a unique outlook. Throughout high school, a person is constantly changing the way they appear to others in order to define who they are. Zwigoff also proves himself with a deliberate visual style that evokes the panels of a comic book though the ghost world comic was in black and white, as well as the industrial wasteland at the outskirts of any. Comic book adaptations have historically been a tossup, some hitting the marks and others failing to capture the spirit of the source material. Its surely the best depiction of teenage eccentricity since. Originally serialized in the pages of the seminal comic book eightball throughout the mid1990s, this quasiautobiographical story the name of one of the protagonists is famously an anagram of the author. Written by zwigoff and daniel clowes, author of the samenamed comicbook serial, ghost world is a loving look at the growing pains of two eccentric young women, told in an almost bluesy tempo. Perhaps the greatest deviation from the textbased ghost world lies in the inclusion of the antisocial seymour played by steve buscemi, a character that does not exist in the comic book, but could potentially be considered an extension of the textbased character bob skeetes who only appears in a few panels. Ghost world is a 2001 black comedy film directed by terry zwigoff and starring thora birch, scarlett johansson, and steve buscemi. An analysis and summary of daniel clowes ghost world comic in comparison to the film by the same title. Director terry zwigoffs bitingly humorous ghost world successfully nails several brands of droll despair with its lustrous lull and gloom. Most notably, the coffee shop patron in the wheelchair is from clowes strip feldman and the tampon in a teacup gag is from a strip called art school confidential. She found an exrental copy in a blockbuster sale bin and picked it up because she thought it looked like something i would like.
The film follows two cynical high school graduates whose friendship is tested when one of them becomes fascinated by. Ghost world is an indie comic series by graphic novelist daniel clowes, which. Terry zwigoffs ghost world, loosely adapted from a novellength comic book by daniel clowes, continues this hopeful trend. Original and terrifically funny, ghost world is a rawedged comedy that. See more ideas about ghost world, music love and world. Significantly, seymour doesnt exist in the graphic novel, though elements of his personality can be found in a couple of minor characters. Striking a balance between competing strains of comic disdain and stealthy compassion, ghost world succeeds as a defiant, almost mathematical antithesis to every gummy john hughes teenfest.
We get distracted with the swath of comic book movies that are around these days, but i think this is one of the most faithful adaptations ive seen going from comic book to liveaction film. Hes won a pen award for his body of graphic work and an oscar nomination for the screenplay to. A few nights ago i saw ghost world, the new film adapted from daniel clowes comic book stories of the same name. Ghost world is a 2001 black comedy about two recently graduated high school students with devious designs for a lonely man looking for a date, finding some truths about themselves along the way.
The town plays a key part in the narrative, as it is constantly mocked and criticized by enid and rebecca. As a mere gag, they respond to a mans newspaper ad for a date, only to find it will greatly complicate their lives. The daniel clowes film ghost world endures for its. Enid and rebecca are best friends who constantly shout insults at. It first appeared in clowes comic book series eightball and was later published in book form. Ghost world, however, is enids story, and director terry zwigoff, making a seemingly natural leap from the world of documentaries he made the great crumb about underground comic book artist robert crumb, strikes a magnificent balancing act in depicting enids essential selfcenteredness without making it difficult to identify with her. The daniel clowes film ghost world endures for its cynicism and.
Seymour, the middleaged oddball whose personal ad inspires a bit of meanspirited mischief on her. Ghost world is about the awkward time in a teenagers life. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of ghost world by daniel clowes. Ghost world by daniel clowes is a graphic novel about enid coleslaw and rebecca doppelmeyer, two girls who have recently graduated from high school. With only the plan of moving in together after high school, two unusually devious friends seek direction in life. Ghost is a fictional comic book superhero who is part of the dark horse comics publication. Enid makes a prank phone call to seymour, pretending to be the woman and inviting him to meet her at a diner. Clowes and zwigoff find an ending that is more poetic, more true to the tradition of the classic short story, in which a minor character finds closure that symbolizes the next step for everyone. Enid and rebecca meet seymour after playing a prank on him, and at first they. Ghost world comic read ghost world comic online in high. Ghost world has become a cultural and generational touchstone, and continues to enthrall and inspire readers over a decade after its original release as a graphic novel.
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