Ghost World: Quirky and Realistic Depictions of Teenage Eccentricity, Angst, and Evolution

It’s rare for a film to capture the essence of adolescents tangibly. A person’s teenagehood is some of the most formative years of their life. There are so many emotional, physical, and psychological changes occurring all at once, which is why the general public loves movies about teenagers. The combination of fun and awkward times is fun to relive through the silver screen. Hollywood teenage-era movies can be a glamorous escape from what the actual teenage experience is like by reinforcing untrue stereotypes, casting actors who are way older than their character’s age, and pushing narratives that young people have an ideal adolescent experience in the United States should try to have. Most blockbuster teenage-era movies support unrealistic tropes like how the cheerleader should date the quarterback. Terry Zwigoff’s “Ghost World” is different. Instead of pushing the overused narratives, perspectives, and characters we’ve seen in hundreds of films, Zwigoff’s coming of age story about two teenage girls fresh out of high school is an incredible depiction of teenage eccentricity, angst, and evolution through characters that are unfamiliar to the screen, but familiar to the heart. 

“Ghost World” is adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Daniel Clowes and follows the lives of Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson), who have just graduated high school in Los Angeles. They spend their days in record stores, thrift and coffee shops, but their favorite activity is imitating the artificiality and phoniness that surrounds them. In their searches for self, the two friends find themselves drifting apart as Rebecca yearns for maturity while Enid befriends a middle-aged man, Seymour (Steve Buscemi). 

This film was made in 2001, right in the middle of possibly the golden age of teenage movies. From “A Cinderella Story” to “Bring It On” to “Mean Girls,” there was no shortage of films being made about teenage, especially girls, high school experiences. But “Ghost World” sticks out amongst that era of cinema because the main characters don’t play into the stereotypes that most early 2000s movies did. For example, Enid’s crush is a grumpy, older record collector, while the main character’s crush in “Mean Girls” is a popular athlete. 

Watching “Ghost World” is like watching real life, and part of what makes the characters feel so natural is the dialogue. It’s sharp, funny, and sarcastic, perfectly capturing the eccentricity of the characters, teenage angst, and the growing pains that come with becoming an adult. Lines like, “High school is like the training wheels for the bicycle of real-life” are common throughout the movie because of their duality of humor and sincerity. Shortly after this is said in the film, Enid and Rebecca make fun of the girl who said the cliché dictum. Even though they are now adults, they still act like children during significant transitions in their lives. 

The eccentricity of the leading characters is one of the many strengths of this movie. It’s unique to see more quirky characters in a teenage-era movie. The three main characters, Enid, Rebbecca, and Seymour, are characters but not ​​caricatures. The way they interact with each other is natural and funny, just like in real life. As mentioned previously, the sarcasm of this film is written with such accuracy, especially with the character of Enid. One example of her irony comes out when she has breakfast with her father, telling her about his thoughts on her post-graduation plans. As he goes on to tell her about how she could enroll at the community college, she says with all seriousness but a blank look on her face, “Look at me, I’m not even listening to a word you’re saying.” These miffed little comments made by Enid throughout the movie are what teenagers actually speak like; as a teenager myself, it is comforting to see another teenager have her moments of immaturity, obnoxiousness, and misfortune. 

Teenage angst, we have all heard of it, and we have all been there. This angst many adolescents experience comes from feelings of insecurity and apprehension. While these feelings are a result of raging adolescent hormones at the end of the day, these moods can feel extremely serious. One of the most angsty, dialogue-driven scenes in the film comes during the second half when Enid and Rebecca get into a fight about looking for an apartment to rent. While Rebecca is eager to move into her own place, Enid is not ready for that type of independence, leading to tension between the two friends, who realize that they are in different stages of maturity. “I mean, you’ve totally ignored me ever since high school ended,” says Rebecca. “You’re the one still living out some stupid, seventh-grade fantasy! ‘Your own apartment,’” says Enid.  “Fuck you. Have fun living with your dad for the rest of your life,” says Rebecca as she walks away. The conversation is comical, realistic, and slightly cringe-worthy to the audience, who have at one point or another experienced the pains of the angst teens feel when having to make crucial decisions regarding their futures. 

This movie is all about growing up and evolving from a teenager to an adult. This film takes place at an exciting time in the main character’s lives, the summer after high school graduation. While you are a young adult, it can be hard to feel like you are not still a child. Enid struggles with this throughout the film, while Rebecca seems to embrace it. Rebecca gets a job at a coffee shop, and it motivates to make her own money to move into an apartment of her own while Enid feels stuck in her summers plans: “I’m taking a remedial high school art class for fuck-ups and retards.” It’s hard for Enid to feel like she is maturing and coming into her own when she’s still doing high school work until she meets Seymour, another soul who feels out of place in this complicated world. Seymour’s interests in esoteric pop culture excite Enid, and she believes the two are kindred spirits. Another reason for conflict between Enid and Rebecca is Seymour’s age, Enid is intrigued by it, and Rebecca is put off by it. 

While watching the film, some of the main themes I picked up throughout the movie related to teenagers were extreme alienation, boredom, and irony. They all work hand in hand and propel the narrative further by painting realistic depictions of teenagers. Two scenes stick out to me when thinking about the film’s themes. The first is right at the film’s beginning when Enid and Rebecca snicker about a classmate who gave a speech at their high school graduation. “I liked her so much better when she was an alcoholic crack addict. She gets in one car wreck, and all of a sudden, she’s little miss perfect, and everyone loves her.” Throughout the film, Enid and Rebecca feel very different from the rest of their classmates, and this is the first instance where we see them separating themselves from their peers. Another scene where the themes are clear is when Enid and Rebecca discuss their first impressions of Seymour. “I don't know... I kinda like him. He's the exact opposite of everything I really hate. In a way, he's such a clueless dork; he’s almost kinda cool,” says Enid. “That guy is many things, but he's definitely not cool,” says Rebecca. Their constant banter on what’s cool and what’s not is relatable to teens because it’s natural to want to seem “cool” in this particular stage of development. I love how Zwigoff uses the constant teenage urge to feel “cool” by not using the usual teenage movie tropes. Most adolescent movies of the early 2000s showed teenagers trying to be “cool” by winning prom queen or dating the most famous person in school. But “Ghost World” tackles the phenomenon of teenagers trying to be “cool” by two unpopular quirky girls trying to impress a lonely middle-aged man with how much they know about esoteric records and old movies.

When I first watched “Ghost World” this summer, I was in exactly the same position as Enid and Rebecca: fresh out of high school with apparently the whole world at my disposal. The newness of being an “adult” was exciting and scary, and being able to see the main characters on screen grapple with this new identity of adulthood and not always making the best decisions was an important reminder that it’s okay to feel like you don’t know what you're doing. While I love using movies as an escape from my reality, seeing your reality reflected can be a heartwarming cinematic experience as well. The sweet familiarity of the characters truly makes “Ghost World” so great. Enid and Rebecca remind me of how my friends and I act around each other. I was never in a friendship group like “Mean Girls'' or a popular cheerleader like the girls in “Bring it On.” My friends and I spent all of high school not following the crowd or caring about surface-level things like popularity or having the fanciest prom dresses, which is why I connected so well with Terry Zwigoff’s 2001 film, “Ghost World.” Instead of pushing the overused narratives, perspectives, and characters we’ve seen in hundreds of movies, Zwigoff’s coming of age story about two teenage girls fresh out of high school is an incredible depiction of teenage eccentricity, angst, and evolution through characters that are unfamiliar to the screen, but familiar to the heart.