Keatlejuice - Blog Posts

Beetlejuice has literally been stalking Lydia for years. He's intentionally off-putting and gross. He openly enjoys freaking her out. It's his way of showing affection. He's like a horror Pepe Le Pew.

They refer to him as being a demon at least 3 times in BJBJ, as well as the fact that he had a satanic first wedding and cannot make the sign of the cross without setting himself on fire. He's evil. Funny, and sometimes helpful, but still evil. Doesn't mean he can't fall in love.

No, movie Lydia isn't into him. Why would she be? He's always terrorizing her and trying to coerce her into marriage, presumably for selfish reasons. Plus he's covered in bugs and spews guts and fluids wherever he goes. But that doesn't mean that they can't both change eventually. Hell, it's still a better love story than Twilight or (gag) Rory/Lydia.

So there is no "Is this particular scenario okay and not problematic?" with Beetlejuice. You're either on board with him being a literal monster, or you're not. You have to acknowledge it, accept it, and still be into it to be a Beetlebabe who isn't trying to make BJ into something nicer and cleaner than he is. We like it because monsters and goth girls are fun, not because it's in any way related to real life. Beetlejuice is about as far away from real life as you can get.

Sometimes you need a break from reality, morality, and acceptability. It's healthy to take a break from all that societal pressure. The reason horror and subversive comedy is popular is because it gives us some much needed freedom from the limited ways we're always expected to feel and behave.